Tata is Marcus's only other family member left and wouldn't know what to do with out him and Tata helps Marcus survive the destruction of Vesuvius the so thought in active volcano next to Pompeii
Festus is Marcus's slave he got form his father and makes Marcus work all day
I learned this when Marcus escapes from Pompeii he says " some day I will have revenge on festus" the Tata tells Marcus that hate drove festus to treating slaves very poor
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 because it was a very intriguing book, it had great character development and it was well rounded because some of these books can be outrageously unrealistic just because they add to much drama and suspense. But this book and some suspense, the conflict was well described, the characters were likable and it had dialog . But the reason I took away 1 star is because it didn't have good description of if they use a simile it was hard to relate to it.
I recommend this book to people who like acton and adventure because it is about a eruption and when you think of it your probably thinking about action and adventure