I'm 10% done with Pompeii: Giving myself a day to recover from the gruesome death of a slave. He was fed alive to moray eels because fish he cared for died. The fish actually died of sulfur in the water due to Vesuvius becoming active. Great introduction for a bad guy and I enjoy the book, but I think that execution is going to give me nightmares
edit. SPOILER WARNING VESUVIUS BLOWS UP AND PLINY THE ELDER DIES
sorry if I ruined the book for everyone else :P