I Am Not Spartacus

Harry Sidebottom's Those Who Are About to Die covers 24 hours in the lives of gladiators facing life‑or‑death battles in the arena, offering details and insights films and TV often embellish or ignore.

Each chapter opens with what the gladiators are doing and thinking, which sets the stage nicely. Too often, though, the narrative veers into broader descriptions of Roman life—food, dreams, suicide, sex—and during those detours the gladiators recede into the background.

Sidebottom’s scholarship provides many interesting facts about gladiators. Readers expecting a fast‑paced story may be frustrated; history buffs who enjoy detail will find it fascinating.

I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley.