I will hold my hands up and say this sequel to Ohman's Meritropolis is miles better. Meritorium really expands on the world building and utilises the terror and spectacle of the gladiatorial combat in Ancient Rome to up the peril our band of heroes is in.

Meritorium uses the same harsh scoring system as Meritropolis does only rather than banishing its Low Scores it assigns them to combat in the arena, slavers roam the area around the city to capture anyone, regardless of score, to increase the entertainment of the combat for the masses and people flock from across the world to witness the spectacle.

Where this book, like it's predecessor, suffers is the main character. Charley continues to be completely unlikable and an absolutely terrible protagonist. Literally any of the other characters would be more interesting. Sandy is much more likeable - although it's difficult to tell if Ohman is buying into or laughing at the feminist agenda of the band of warriors Sandy falls in to - and her prowess with the bow is under utilised in the story. Sven and his crew of Low Scores are more likeable and in a system that oppresses them they're much more interesting to follow than Charley and his whining when he experiences any of their hardship. Even Orson has a much more compelling backstory to why his character is on this path. Of a book with a decent amount of complex side characters it's the main character - and the God and grace current running under the book - that let this down.