I loved all three books of this trilogy, but the final book blew me away [warning, spoilers ahead]. It managed to break all my expectations, while at the same time remaining deeply true to the characters and the story.

I had always assumed this was a story where Marcus would be torn between his love for Una and his duty to his political wife, and the happy ending would probably involve his wife dying in some nobel way and Marcus freeing all the slaves and living happilly after with Una. Oh, how naive of me! Instead, the author kills off her hero in the first chapter of this final book. And instead of a story of 'how Marcus came to power and saved the world' we get this darker, bleaker tale of how Una survives the death of Marcus, and continues the fight to free the slaves of Rome. The story often avoids the easy trope (I assumed Una would end up pregnant with the heir to the Roman Empire) but manages a deeper truth because of it. It is a tale of war, of power, and how the actions of a few people who will not give up can make the world a better place for everyone. ( )