Fic Rec: SPQR

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Title: SPQR
Author: hoc_voluerunt
Pairing: Sherlock/John, or rather Celatus/Vannus
Length: approx. 118,500 words
Rating: explicit
Warnings: none
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sollemnis Populusque Romanus
The year is AD 68. Emperor Nero is on the throne, the Jewish Revolt is nearing its end under the firm hands of Vespasian and his son Titus, and Marcus Caelius Piso Vannus, son of a British freedman and former surgeon to the Fifteenth Apollonian Legion, has just returned from the provinces with an injured shoulder and no veteran's benefits to rent a shabby room in the shadow of the city wall. Thrust into his life, however, comes Amulius Cornelius Celatus -- a noble man from an ancient family, with good hair, a better toga, and the biggest ego this side of the Tiber. You wouldn't think they'd end up living together, let alone fighting crime; but then, neither would you think that one shadowy criminal figure orchestrated the fire of 64...
(ancient Rome!AU of Sherlock)

Reccer's comments: An enormously fun and clever AU that transports the whole Sherlock BBC cast to ancient Rome, right around the time the Empire was shaking on its very foundations. The series consists of a retelling/recreation of the series’ episodes, with lots of little winks to the original ACD stories and a very ingenious use of both the setting of Rome and the materials provided at that time which are of course no match for the scientific equipment the Sherlock in the series gets to work with. But the setting gives the author the chance to have Vannus appear as a gladiator and recreate Irene Adler as a vestal virgin, which had me bouncing with glee in my chair.
Celatus is every way as brilliant and haughty as his twenty-first century counterpart and Vannus just as loyal, trustworthy and devoted to his friend as John Watson is.

The author makes frequent use of Latin. This might put people off from reading, but I think it actually heightens the atmosphere the author creates and thus adds to the stories. She’s very thoughtfully provided a translation so this really shouldn’t be a reason not to read.
Anyone who is at least a little bit familiar with the history of Rome and the lay-out of the city around the time will be delighted with the use the author has made of these in the stories. Anyone who isn’t will still get to enjoy herself and learn a lot besides.
The motto of the series for instance had me giggling like mad once I encountered the personage it refers to, Sollemnis Populusque Romanus, such a clever variation - totally befitting of the Sherlock BBC series - on Senatus Populusque Romanus, or was it Sono Pazzi Questi Romani?