y treated me with military correctness, slightly warmed by courtesy and consideration. I foundhim to be just, temperate, and dispassionate in his dealings with the men underhis command. But he could be awesome in his wrath when provoked by incompetence or malfeasance. A rigid disciplinarian, he was implacable oncehe had decided that punishment was in order. And never, at any time, did heshow any capacity for suffering fools gladly(37).Although Caius does not initially strike the reader as a particularly amiable character, Jack Whyte continues to develop Britannicus and his friendship with Publius, revealing a more compassionate character. This side of Caius Britannicus is uncovered when in The Skystone it says, "Britannicus, it was observed, put the welfare of his men - their food, their equipment and their billets - above everything else"(49). As Caius and his friendship with Publius continue to develop throughout The Skystone and The Singing Sword, the reader comes to an understanding of Caius' character, and realizes his positive role in the novels, valuing everything about his personality. The realization of the appreciation of Britannicus' character comes at the end of The Singing Sword when he is murdered, and the reader shares the mourning of a lost friend with Publius. The strong feelings that the reader develops for Caius Britannicus in The Skystone and The Singing Sword demonstrates the effectiveness of Jack Whyte's character development.Another character Jack Whyte develops effectively in these two novels is Caesarius Claudius Seneca. Before his character is even introduced into the story, the Seneca family is established as detestable by Caius when he says to Publius in The Skystone, "Humph! You must be a man of great subtlety, to bring out the decency in a Seneca"(34). Publius meets Claudius Seneca for the first time when Seneca begins ordering Publius and his friend Plautus around while they are relaxing at a mansio. Whyte...
