"The American dream reveals itself to be a Lovecraftian nightmare in Mamatas's audacious first novel, set in the early 1960s, which goes on the road with Kerouac, Cassady, and Cthulhu." -- Publishers Weekly

This novel was nominated for both the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and the International Horror Guild Award for Best First Novel in 2005, and made the Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List for books published in 2004.

Sienkiewicz received the 1905 Nobel Price in Literature for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer".

The novel follows the developing love between a Christian woman and a Roman Patrician in the time of Nero. The romantic story arc is set against the conflict of the moral systems of the long established Roman Empire and the developing Christianity. Sienkiewicz uses this setting to explore morality and power, and his observations remain relevant today.

The novel is based on extensive historical research and gives a good view of life in those times.

The centrepiece of this collection of four stories is Nanna, the ninth of the 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series, which was to follow a family over many generations. Nanna had been earlier introduced as the daughter of an abusive drunk, forced to live on the streets and begin a life of prostitution. Here she discovers a unique talent for destroying men... When first published, the public was outraged by Nanna as they were by many of Zola's works.