Fic Rec: SPQR

[dioscureantwins]

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 RomanusThe 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

Comments

[chapbook]

Love this series. It looks like several of us wanted to rec it, which is usually a good sign!

One of the things I enjoyed about this series is the obvious growth of the writer. From the ASiP remake that relied very heavily on the source material to the later casefics and the beautiful interlude at Mycroft's villa (my favorite part of the series) there is so much improvement! I don't mean this condescendingly, I just love seeing people evolve as writers.

As a historian I adore people who go the extra mile(s) by avoiding genre cliches through the use of solid historical sources to make the reader feel they are actually there watching people of the past interact. For example, John is not against slavery vs. making him have modern views on slavery. Also John's bisexuality being not a problem in the Roman context, but Sherlock's asexuality being WRONG. So, it's made quite clear the cultural values are very different than ours. Nothing at all wrong with say writing a "Western" instead of something based on historical knowledge, it's just far easier for me to shut up the v. loud Inner Historian and enjoy in a true history au.

[dioscureantwins]

Hmm, I don't know whether the writer actually evolves into a better writer. They heavy reliance on the source material might have been a deliberate ploy to get the reader, who has to overcome quite a few things like the setting and the Latin names, engage and actually become invested. Than, once we're hooked, they (one lives and learns every day) are free to take us wherever they damn well please, because we're bound to follow. I'd say that's the art of an extremely crafty writer.

The care and love that went into the research for and writing of this fic are stunning indeed. One really strides along with Celatus and Vannus through the streets of Roma, where abject decadence and dire poverty mingled so freely and abundantly.
Also, I abhor fics or films that are staged in the past and have people voice modern ideas. The author never walks into that obvious trap, which is another accomplishment. BTW, I think even in our times a lot of people still don't understand asexuality, perhaps especially not as sex appears to be the norm.

But yrs, a wonderful, wonderful series that deserves far more attention than it's getting. But then, sadly, that's true for a lot of excellent fics and series in the fandom.

[hoc_voluerunt]

Haha, you're giving me too much credit. I know my writing has definitely improved over the last two years (!!!) since I've been writing it, for one thing, which I'm very glad for. But honestly, I've said it a few times here and there: the reason 'STUDIUM GRAECE' is so underdeveloped is simply because I didn't know what I was doing. The whole idea of the AU was the product of a couple of long squee sessions with my friend verecunda, but it mostly consisted of headcanons, backgrounds, and names (SO MANY NAMES names are so hard oh my god). I wanted to write something for the AU, but I didn't know for certain if I wanted to stick with it, for how long, or where it was going to go. It was only after 'STUDIUM GRAECE' that I settled into the world, characters, and research properly and actually got comfortable with them, and knew where I was going. There's a part of me that still wants to go back and rewrite the whole first chapter because of this.
But thank you for the faith, and I do hope it works like that; in essence, that's almost how it worked for me! I lulled myself into a false sense of security and then suddenly found I'd plunged myself in way too deep. XD

Ohhh, chapbook, you've put your finger on one of my greatest values in writing this. !!! There are some things I'll always be wearing rose-tinted glasses for (the place of women, for example, and men's attitudes toward them; but, admittedly, the sources and historiography are so biased, it's really hard to know what day-to-day ordinary women's lives were really like); but I had a class recently on historical fiction, and one of the things I kept bringing up was how historical fiction writers have a responsibility both to the present (and the present audience) and to the past. Misrepresenting the past is an insult and a detriment not only to the people of the past, but also to understandings of the present. So I try to at least periodically cover something that clashes with modern western worldviews, because, as much as human beings never change (people were writing "Marcus was here" on walls in Pompeii, and they're doing it today in colonised Sydney), their societies and cultures and beliefs change so, so much, and the intersection of those two things is utterly fascinating.

And by the way, if your inner historian ever finds fault with something, please please do tell me! I can't research everything, and I want it to be as accurate as possible, so I'm always open to being corrected and going back to change something if I can.

[dioscureantwins]

Well, it worked for me. And I mean it, the familiarity with the case and the dialogue work as a guide into this setting that contains so many unusual elements. Once there, we're willing to follow you to the ends of the Roman world. :) And I greatly enjoy your ingenuity in translating twenty-first Century London into first Century Rome.

I'm not a historian myself but I enjoy reading history very much and about the Roman world in particular. I admire them for their ingenuity, the way they constantly learned from the people they conquered and managed to adapt themselves and adopt the clever inventions of other people.