When I watched the film for the first time, I was only fifteen and I thought that it was one of the best films I've ever watched. Since then, I have watched many films set in the times of the Roman Empire, but most importantly, I have read many non-fiction works about the era, which have altered my opinion of Ridley Scott's film. I still like it very much, mind you, but I have come to realise how crucially inaccurate it is. Still, the novelization by Dewey Gram is really good. His descriptions and the trasformation of the dialogue from the naked script to a novel are flowing and natural. I appreciated the fact that we are having so much more insight on Lucilla's character which, for me, was the most interesting of all. This is a novel I would appreciate and keep even if there wasn't a film to support it. ( )