"She felt dimly that the true power was to withhold the death stroke, to let the creature go when you could
have killed it." This observation by Aurelia, Caesar's daughter, aptly summarizes the central theme of Banks's (The Indian in the Cupboard
) gripping, tantalizing examination of power, sacrifice and mercy. At the novel's start, two brother tiger cubs are taken from their native land and brought to ancient Rome. The older, larger one becomes a celebrated killer in the circuses held at the Colosseum, while the younger becomes the pampered and adored pet of Aurelia, who names him Boots. Aurelia's warm feelings soon extend to the cub's keeper as well, a handsome young slave named Julius. But even the novel's most idyllic scenes, set in the sheltered luxury of the Emperor's palace, are infused with a nearly unbearable slow-boiling sense of anxiety, thanks to the ominous shadow of the brutal circus. When Aurelia's weak and selfish cousin Marcus devises a prank to play on Julius and Boots, he sets into motion a series of events that forever changes the lives of the three youngsters and the tiger brothers. Thrilling in its compassion and tinged with bittersweetness, the novel's conclusion leaves plenty of questions enticingly unanswered, providing ample material for thoughtful readers to ponder. Ages 12-up. (June)
