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Pavel Konoplitski konoplitski — After a fantastic start this was strangely anticlimactic, verging on quite boring by the end. I couldn't understand it. I think the fact that there was a total of 2 female characters in the entire book might've had something to do with it - so boring. I was a bit confused that Beric didn't seem to care much when he found out he was Titus's son, even though he spent most of the book obsessing about feeling like an 'outcast' in every society because he knew nothing about his real parents. And why didn't he go back to Rome after finding out he was in fact Roman, to find Glaccus and Lucilla's husband conveniently dead so that he could marry her? Would've made a FAR better story. I did like the fact that it was so well-researched, especially the way most Romans were portrayed as viewing slaves as animals - they referred to things like "meat-fed galley slaves" and "a well-matched team" of blonde-haired litter-bearers. In a lot of historical fiction I think this idea is seen as too repugnant for the modern audience or something because whilst Romans are often shown being cruel to their slaves, they usually understand that they're human and treat them accordingly. Or maybe the current social distate for slavery is so strong that modern authors find it hard to get into the ancient Roman mindset? Who knows. Anyway in conclusion I would definitely still like to read more by this author.

王 欣 wsxmnoo1487 — Only at the outset was it slow to keep my attention - while I was enthralled by the imagery Wishnia provided, I was put off by the modernization of the dialogue. And although Wishnia includes an author's note clarifying his reasons for bringing 16th century conversations to a more contemporary approach, I did (only initially) struggle with it. I much prefer historical fiction to be representative (or as closely as it can be, or maybe even how it is imagined it would be) to the actual speech patterns and word usage that are found during that time so it did make it difficult to get into the rhythm of the book. Once I did, though, it was a highly enjoyable read. I appreciate Jewish fiction and especially historical fiction, so to be able to combine the two and then throw a murder mystery on top of that, added to my overall pleasure. While I do wish the mystery played a more central part throughout the story, I could accept that the primary discussion Wishnia focused on was of the interaction and struggles that the Jewish community experienced during this time. The spiritual and personal challenges of Ben-Akiva and others provided fantastic character development, and I enjoyed the insight into these characters. Wishnia does provide a helpful glossary in the back of the book, however he does a fantastic job of sentence structure to contextualize it so that you may not need to use the glossary. Richly described and exuding the smells and sounds of what 16th century Prague surely must have been like, Wishnia has clearly researched thoroughly for The Fifth Servant, and it is a strikingly beautiful and gritty look into this time period. Whether it is a group of Jesuits walking on the cobbled streets, or a tough scene of torture and interrogation of a potential "witch," Wishnia has superbly captured scenes so vivid that in several instances, a moment of reflection was needed before proceeding. I look forward to more of his work.