Well, the pot is boiling! Tilla thinks Ruso will sell her so she runs away. She is sheltered by Britons, then tries to return to her village. Romans capture her. Returned to (evil) Priscus who will probably kill her. I was right, he is the murderer. Ruso spends all his money to retrieve a boy who is being torn from his mother and sold into slavery. But wait . . . he now needs the money to keep Priscus from selling Trilla into slavery. And there's more. One of the other girls is giving birth -- and only Trilla can save her (she's a midwife.) But Trilla has a poison acorn in her mouth that she will chomp down on if anyone invades her territory. So, Ruso talks her into being a midwife. Baby born successfully, of course. Mom alive, of course. Now can Ruso talk her into being his wife. (Turns out she's the daughter of a centurion, so not really of slave stock.) I'll know tomorrow, but my guess is that all will work out well. Fun, but hardly historical fiction. Author uses phrases like "low-life" and "I worked my balls off." No attempt even to duplicate the language.
Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world. Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way. Plot is involved but sensible. Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment. The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview. He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good. Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child.
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