Circus Maximus: Return of the Champion
This, the last in Annelise Gray’s Circus Maximus Quartet, follows our heroine Dido, who is intent on returning to professional chariot racing, but the odds are stacked against her. She is female, which means that, as far as official chariot racing is concerned – she doesn’t exist.
When Dido’s favourite aging stallion, Porcellus, gives birth to a mare, Dido vows to race her at the Circus Maximus. Her horse’s training will begin when the Dido deems him ready – but there are plenty of horse managers who resent Dido’s skill, and are not averse to lying to get her out of the way. ‘She must be a sorceress,’ they argue, ‘her skill is not natural.’
The imperial family also has their own inheritance problems; and imperial slaves, like Dido’s mother, can no longer rely on the good will of their owners… Is Dido’s luck about to run out?
I had problems with this book. The sections towards the end where Dido is struggling with the imperial family are painfully real in their depiction of emotional betrayal. They reminded me of the Italian writer Primo Levi’s If This Is a Man, an account of his struggles to keep alive in a Nazi death camp. Dido’s experiences were probably very similar: horrifying and deeply distressing. On the one hand, the book is a thrilling read and Annelise Gray is a terrific writer, but I struggled with the descriptions of what happened in a way which felt suitable for a young reader of 10 plus.
