The Tyranny of Socks

Actually currently reading some articles and an undergraduate essay. But aside from those...

On the tablet: Adrian Goldsworthy, Vindolanda, which is one of those historical novels aimed at men who like stories about fighting. There are a lot of these around to do with Rome. This one is OK, even though you can kind of see all the plot developments coming. But Goldsworthy knows his stuff and has used a lot of evidence from Vindolanda and the rest of the region to structure the story he's telling, so the more you know the more "easter eggs" you find in it. It's not a genre I seek out, particularly, because the extended descriptions of battle and single combat get boring after a while, but every now and then one of them holds my attention. This is a pretty good example of the genre.

On paper: Richard Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian, which I came back to after putting it down for a while because I was so upset about Beckendorf! I'm enjoying it, but not as much as I enjoyed the Magnus Chase and Kane Chronicles books. I'm not sure whether or not I will go on to the Heroes of Olympus series after this; they sound a bit like more of the same, which is the kind of thing Spartacus likes, but which might be a bit too much for me.

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And now, internet, I turn to you for help. I need recommendations for books for Spartacus, ideally at the Richard Riordan reading level, and ideally with funny and fantastic elements. They need to fulfil the following criteria:

1. have a Jewish main or major secondary character. Extra points for a male character; I'm not sure Spartacus really wants to read All of a Kind Family, although I loved those books.

2. not be set in the Second World War, about the Holocaust, or a Very Special Lesson about anti-semitism.

2a. For books set in the ancient world, for the Jewish characters not to turn out to be secretly Christian. I'm looking at you, Caroline Lawrence.

3. [hard level] be available in print in the United Kingdom.

4. [deity level] be set in the United Kingdom.

I know that there are some very well-read people in my DW circle, but feel free to link this request elsewhere -- many of you get many more eyes on your posts than I do.