Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
25 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Song for Nero
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

A Song for Nero (Hardcover)

by Thomas Holt (Author) "So there we were in the condemned cell in Damascus - which is in Syria, and believe me, you don't want to go there, it's..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £16.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, July 16? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
2 new from £10.50 21 used from £0.01 2 collectible from £6.60
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New edition) £9.99 £7.49 36 used & new from £0.01

Frequently Bought Together

A Song for Nero + Meadowland + Alexander at World's End
Price For All Three: £30.47

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Alexander at World's End

Alexander at World's End

by Tom Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £7.49
Meadowland

Meadowland

by Thomas Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £5.99
Olympiad

Olympiad

by Tom Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars (3) 
The Walled Orchard

The Walled Orchard

by Tom Holt
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £6.99
The Better Mousetrap

The Better Mousetrap

by Tom Holt
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown (2 Jan 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316861138
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316861137
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.8 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,318,996 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Thomas Holt provides us, in A Song for Nero, with one of the more ingeniously unlikely what-ifs of the modern historical novel: what if the body rebel troops found and dishonoured was not that of the deposed emperor Nero, but that of his official double, Callistus? A decade later, he and Callistus's mouthy younger brother Galen are still wandering the provinces of the empire, living hand to mouth and scam to scam--in some ways, a more inventive punishment for a tyrant than any court could imagine.

Holt's Nero is a fascinating set of contradictions, a fairly likable man in recovery from the total corruption of absolute power and keen to deny his worst crimes, or at least play them down. The petty crook Galen is the ideal foil for him, someone who cannot quite believe that his companion once did those things. And then their problems start. Not everybody thinks Nero is really dead, and there are all sorts of people with a use for him.

Like Holt's other historical novels, this one combines some of the inventive wit of his fantasies with real knowledge of the Classical period and a dark sense of irony; its principal weakness--some very routine thriller plotting--does not diminish the effectiveness of this distinctive tone of voice. --Roz Kaveney

Review
Holt's comic-historical novel begins with an irresistible premise: that Nero, ex-Emperor of the Romans, is now traipsing round the ancient world with a 'tickler' of bath houses (where clothes are stolen via a long pole and a hook), a down-at-heel con man. Add a large supporting cast and the search for some lost treasure and the result is very entertaining - even if the main plot takes a while to get going. Holt's conversational style, arguably sometimes distracting in its knowing manner, has great immediacy and charm, carrying the reader swiftly through a series of events, comic and fantastic. Characteristically, the author wears his period research lightly throughout. Nero and his travelling companion Galen are an excellent fictional duo, making this a highly recommendable book.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
So there we were in the condemned cell in Damascus - which is in Syria, and believe me, you don't want to go there, it's scalpingly hot and the people are not friendly - waiting for the soldiers to come back and take us off to be crucified. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An improbable but funny historical romp, 25 April 2003
This book is the story of the Emperor Nero, his double Callistus, Callistus' brother Galen, and what might have happened if the Emperor Nero hadn't died in a ditch outside Rome. Despite some historical innacuracy, the book manages to evoke a dusty, raucous, long-ago time with great warmth and feeling. Told from the first-person perspective of Galen, I found the style to be a little grating initially, as the guy basically never shuts up. However, as the book progresses, the story really starts to flow; the humour and wit is everything you would expect from a Tom Holt novel, but the characterisation goes somewhat deeper, to great effect.
The plot lurches from one outrageous scam to another, with the "heroes" dogged by their own sheer stupidity, until you wonder how they can possibly blag their way out of yet another certain death situation. I spent most of the book wanting to give Nero a good sharp kick, and there were several scenes which caused me to laugh out loud (to the consternation of fellow train passengers). I thought the ending was very clever, it tied up enough loose ends to be neatish, without being an audience pleaser.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Brilliant, 26 Jan 2008
This review is from: A Song for Nero (Paperback)
The story of Galen, a ferret-faced middle-aged Greek with no friends except for the most hated man on the planet - Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, known to history as the Emperor Nero, who perhaps didn't commit suicide in AD69 after all.

A cross between I Claudius, The Odyssey and Catch-22, this is one of the funniest books I've read for years. I won't spoil it by outlining the plot, but it's well worth the read. This is not the story of a lantern-jawed hero - in fact it's a book without heroes - but Galen proves to be more heroic and more loyal than even he would admit. Even Nero, despite the admission that as Emperor he was almost as bad as people generally believe, comes across as a human being with some redeeming characteristics.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think anyone with a sense of humour will do too.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly Holt's best, 26 Aug 2007
By D. S. Roberts "dewirobs" (Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Song for Nero (Paperback)
I've been a big fan of Tom Holt for years now, and Olympiad (the historical novel released before this one) is one of my favourite books of all time. A Song For Nero continues to demonstrate Holt's strong flair for telling incredibly funny stories in a convincingly authentic-feeling ancient Greece. The book's lead character and narrator, Galen, is a typical Holt 'hero' - self-deprecating and sarcastic - and tells the story with a sustained dry wit that rarely lets up and managed to keep a big smile plastered on my face throughout. During the course of the book, Galen and Lucius Domitius - the former emperor Nero who is trying to conceal his identity following the death of his lookalike lover - get into a seemingly endless string of scams and near-death situations which are observed through Galen's eyes with Holt's trademark dry wit. The dialogue is snappy and funny, the characters all wonderfully believable and at times the book is extremely touching. A Song For Nero is a fantastic book about how two people who can't live with or without each other, and I absolutely loved it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Tom Holt never disapoints
I am a fun of historical novels. I always have been. So I had certain expectations from this book. Well I got a whole lot more! This guy is not just funny. He is hilarious!!! Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2004 by Maria Dellaporta

4.0 out of 5 stars A great historical romp, however unlikely the plot.
The story of the Emperor Nero, his double, Callistus, and Callistus' brother Galen. As funny and witty as anything you'd expect from the usual Tom Holt books, but with much more... Read more
Published on 24 April 2003

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

›Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

  

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates