What do you think?
Rate this book
Nero and Sporus: The Complete Epic of the Slave who became an Empress in Imperial Rome
Finally available in one volume! The decadence of Imperial Rome comes to life in S.P. Somtow's Literary Titan Award-winning novel about one of ancient history's wildest characters.
The historian Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Nero emasculated and married his slave Sporus, the spitting image of murdered Empress Poppaea. But history has more tidbits about Sporus, who went from "puer delicatus" to Empress to one Emperor and concubine to another, and ended up being sentenced to play the Earth-Goddess in the arena.
from Literary Titan
"If you like your historical fiction brutal and beautiful, if you’re into mythology reimagined through a queer lens, if you can handle morally messy characters and poetic trauma—this is for you. Fans of Mary Renault, Madeline Miller, or even Game of Thrones … will find something to love here."
The historian Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Nero emasculated and married his slave Sporus, the spitting image of murdered Empress Poppaea. But history has more tidbits about Sporus, who went from "puer delicatus" to Empress to one Emperor and concubine to another, and ended up being sentenced to play the Earth-Goddess in the arena.
from Literary Titan
"If you like your historical fiction brutal and beautiful, if you’re into mythology reimagined through a queer lens, if you can handle morally messy characters and poetic trauma—this is for you. Fans of Mary Renault, Madeline Miller, or even Game of Thrones … will find something to love here."
753 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2025
About the author
S.P. Somtow
257 books160 followersCalled by the Bangkok Post "the Thai person known by name to most people in the world," S.P. Somtow is an author, composer, filmmaker, and international media personality whose dazzling talents and acerbic wit have entertained and enlightened fans the world over.
He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author.
He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.
Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.
He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author.
He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.
Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 9, 2025
An Epic Read
An epic read filled with love, obsession, madness, envy, hate and resentment. This is a gripping read, based on historical figures. If you’re a fan of soap-opera like drama set in a historical setting, then look no further.
The story follows Sporus, a slave who catches the eye of King Nero. Sporus, a young male, is renowned for his youthful beauty and his stark resemblance to Nero’s wife. After she dies, Nero remarries Sporus and his obsession forces him to go so far as to rob Sporus’ manhood, in order to become the Empress. As the story progresses, Nero’s obsession with the former slave now turned empress only intensifies, making this an epic and gripping novel that will have you glued into the very end.
Overall, this book is very entertaining and well written. Bravo to the author for developing a very interesting and satisfying read. Additionally, the book has some lovely photographs depicting various scenes, which served as the icing to this already delicious cake.
An epic read filled with love, obsession, madness, envy, hate and resentment. This is a gripping read, based on historical figures. If you’re a fan of soap-opera like drama set in a historical setting, then look no further.
The story follows Sporus, a slave who catches the eye of King Nero. Sporus, a young male, is renowned for his youthful beauty and his stark resemblance to Nero’s wife. After she dies, Nero remarries Sporus and his obsession forces him to go so far as to rob Sporus’ manhood, in order to become the Empress. As the story progresses, Nero’s obsession with the former slave now turned empress only intensifies, making this an epic and gripping novel that will have you glued into the very end.
Overall, this book is very entertaining and well written. Bravo to the author for developing a very interesting and satisfying read. Additionally, the book has some lovely photographs depicting various scenes, which served as the icing to this already delicious cake.
June 25, 2025
I love a well researched and well written historical fiction novel. If I learn many things or get a better sense of a historical era or event WHILE enjoying the plot and characters, I’m happy. Nero and Sporus ticked many of the boxes that earn stars from me. The sheer brutality of the Roman government (as depicted in the book) at the time of Nero was surprising to me. The author certainly didn’t shy away from including it. So if you’re sensitive to violence or squeamish at all, this is likely not the novel for you.
Some complaints of mine are that the copy I received had MANY grammatical and typographical errors. Very distracting. And I felt the author’s use of obscure vocab words became a bit much. I’m an English teacher and have an extensive vocabulary; I enjoy it when I encounter a word I’m not quite sure about and need to look up, but even I got irritated after encountering this multiple times in this book. It popped me out of the narrative, leaving me feeling the author was writing with a thesaurus nearby, purposely looking up “bigger” words in order to impress.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Some complaints of mine are that the copy I received had MANY grammatical and typographical errors. Very distracting. And I felt the author’s use of obscure vocab words became a bit much. I’m an English teacher and have an extensive vocabulary; I enjoy it when I encounter a word I’m not quite sure about and need to look up, but even I got irritated after encountering this multiple times in this book. It popped me out of the narrative, leaving me feeling the author was writing with a thesaurus nearby, purposely looking up “bigger” words in order to impress.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 18, 2025
Nero and Sporus: The Complete Epic of the Slave who became an Empress in Imperial Rome, is certainly a tale of epic proportions. It follows the young boy Sporus as he is captured by 1st C AD Roman soldiers and sold into slavery. He is bought by the satirist and writer Petronius and subsequently attracts the attention of the Emperor Nero with his delicate, feminine beauty which makes him almost a double of Nero’s then mistress, later wife, Poppaea Sabina. When Poppaea dies, Nero’s infatuation leads him to marry Sporus and make him an empress, and subsequently, as puberty threatens his ethereal looks, to castrate him.
All the above are historical figures (and others make cameo appearances) and events. There is much icing on that cake as the author embroiders history, albeit in a way that is both entertaining and, being consistent with those facts that are recorded by contemporary writers and the mores of the time and place, mostly credible. Themes such as power, slavery, politics and the rise of Christianity are treated with gravitas where required and elsewhere with dry humour. The tawdry, febrile, dissolute atmosphere of Rome under the Emperor Nero is convincingly conveyed, as is the Emperor himself as seen through the lens of Sporus. The novel (in fact a trilogy) is cleverly structured around an imagined conversation (in the year of the four emperors who rapidly succeeded Nero) between Sporus and a slave, whose series of short questions prompts Sporus to relive in his memory episodes in his remarkable life.
By way of counterpoints to the above enthusiastic positives, a dramatis personae and a glossary of frequently used Latin words would have been extremely useful. And the book — particularly the second volume — would be immeasurably improved by a careful edit — there are many careless typos which detract from the generally flowing and elegant writing style. Apart from these easily rectified flaws, Nero and Sporus builds a compelling narrative set in a dramatic period of Roman history.
All the above are historical figures (and others make cameo appearances) and events. There is much icing on that cake as the author embroiders history, albeit in a way that is both entertaining and, being consistent with those facts that are recorded by contemporary writers and the mores of the time and place, mostly credible. Themes such as power, slavery, politics and the rise of Christianity are treated with gravitas where required and elsewhere with dry humour. The tawdry, febrile, dissolute atmosphere of Rome under the Emperor Nero is convincingly conveyed, as is the Emperor himself as seen through the lens of Sporus. The novel (in fact a trilogy) is cleverly structured around an imagined conversation (in the year of the four emperors who rapidly succeeded Nero) between Sporus and a slave, whose series of short questions prompts Sporus to relive in his memory episodes in his remarkable life.
By way of counterpoints to the above enthusiastic positives, a dramatis personae and a glossary of frequently used Latin words would have been extremely useful. And the book — particularly the second volume — would be immeasurably improved by a careful edit — there are many careless typos which detract from the generally flowing and elegant writing style. Apart from these easily rectified flaws, Nero and Sporus builds a compelling narrative set in a dramatic period of Roman history.
September 11, 2025
Historical fiction showing the depravity of Rome
This book is not for the faint of heart; and there is not a happy ending. The story brings Sporus to life, a boy captured and used as the slave for various Roman officials and emperors. His life is tragic, as are the lives of many slaves taken into custody. Nonetheless, the author brings the reader into the mind of Sporus as he fights for his survival, enduring rape and castration. The ruthlessness and barbarism of Rome is depicted accurately.
This book is not for the faint of heart; and there is not a happy ending. The story brings Sporus to life, a boy captured and used as the slave for various Roman officials and emperors. His life is tragic, as are the lives of many slaves taken into custody. Nonetheless, the author brings the reader into the mind of Sporus as he fights for his survival, enduring rape and castration. The ruthlessness and barbarism of Rome is depicted accurately.
November 6, 2025
Somtow’s Rome is a stage, its players costumed in divinity and ruin. Nero and Sporus moves like a performance: tragic, ceremonial, and precise. Every gesture reveals the absurd closeness of love and cruelty, devotion and destruction. Readers expecting simple morality will be unsettled. This is not history retold; it is belief unmasked. Somtow’s command of tone turns decadence into meditation, horror into ritual. The result is unforgettable.
July 16, 2025
Nero and Sporus unveils a gripping narrative of obsession, cruelty, and forbidden love.
Somtow’s prose is elegant, unflinching, and steeped in historical intensity.
Sporus’s journey from slave to empress is both heartbreaking and empowering.
An unforgettable epic that challenges the boundaries of history and humanity.
Somtow’s prose is elegant, unflinching, and steeped in historical intensity.
Sporus’s journey from slave to empress is both heartbreaking and empowering.
An unforgettable epic that challenges the boundaries of history and humanity.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews