Feed aggregator

I've curated a list of 19 simple, but functional items that I would use to build my dream minimalist office. Many of them are on sale this Cyber Monday.

Samsung’s fastest SSD with a heatsink to date is now available at its lowest price ever

From gorgeous OLED TVs to super-affordable models, it's never been cheaper to buy a huge honkin' TV

The leak is broadly believed to be genuine, and hints at two new potential gameplay elements.

ExpressVPN has launched its Black Friday VPN deal for 2025, and it's a biggie. The provider has dropped to its lowest-ever price, and is also offering 4 extra months with the deal.

Black Friday might be over, but Cyber Monday is here to pick up the slack, which means there are still plenty of great gaming PC deals around.

These Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals warm my cold PC gaming heart...

You can save up to 30% off under-desk treadmills for Cyber Monday – here are the 3 best walking pad deals

I've poured over the top online retailers for the best Cyber Monday camera prices on Canon, Sony, Nikon, DJI gear and more.

Underworldly flames and fires that don't go out? Time to press play on these.

I can only think of one time in my life where I've felt so sick watching something I've had to turn off my TV (Raw, the body horror movie by Julia Ducournau). Now, there's a second entry in that list – the new Starz show Spartacus: House of Ashur.

Think Gladiator if Ridley Scott didn't have to adhere to cinema age rating criteria. Blood is well and truly spilled in this version of Ancient Rome, and it's enough to make even the most hardened of horror fans turn green.

Having said that, the legacy sequel (Spartacus originally ran on the network from 2010-2013) is only a horror in how it's delivered. Starz has gone heavy on the spectacle here, and all the gory action distracts us from the fact there's not much that's noteworthy under the show's surface.

There are a few new breakout stars as our returning cast members (Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur, mainly) slip back into their roles like no time has passed. But is this enough to save a show that's reliant on tricks and showmanship?

In a word, no... or at least, not for me. I often found myself wanting to fast-forward through any scenes that didn't have a sword being plunged into somebody's stomach, and I cringed at the gratuitous sex and assault scenes that I knew a historical drama just couldn't resist including.

Shock-factor isn't always an indicator of something good, no matter how entertaining the moment itself is. In fact, I'd probably enjoy episodes more as bitesize bites on TikTok.

Lift the lid on Spartacus: House of Ashur and you'll start to see the problems

Even the above trailer has had to be heavily redacted so it can actually be posted on YouTube. The gore and guts are easily Spartacus: House of Ashur's big selling point, and this means returning fans will definitely not be disappointed.

There are certainly some astonishing and creative maiming, even if the VFX don't always make them look believable. Without giving anything away, my favorite (if that's the right thing to call it) is at the end of episode 2, where Achillia (Tenika Davis) finally gets her own back on the male gladiators who have been expectedly sexist.

Here's the first big dichotomy. The sequel introduces a female gladiator to its ranks as the big 'we have can diverse casting just as effective as Bridgerton's' moment. It's actually a historically accurate decision, but more importantly, it's effective.

Davis is easily the best part of Spartacus: House of Ashur, running literal rings around her co-stars. She's clearly put in a lot of hours of training, and Achillia's attitude to Ancient Rome isn't just refreshing, but a necessary palate cleanser. Claudia Black's Cossutia isn't too far behind, effortlessly swinging from wife to warrior.

As for the rest of the show's female characters, there's a lot left to be desired. It's almost a given that a historical drama will falter to showing degradation unnecessarily because, a) it actually happened and, b) it's an easy way to create on-screen tension.

But wouldn't it be a novel idea to be as forward-thinking narratively as shows are in their casting? Rewrite history for the right reasons, people!

As for the rest, it's all convoluted

Tenika Davis' Achillia is one to watch. (Image credit: Starz)

But let's move onto the meat of the show, as it very much were. Aside from Ashur and right-hand man Korris (Graham McTavish), our men are not as interesting once they've put down their spears and shields. A good 90% of their time is taken up with combat training, so anything else we see (e.g. emotional narrative) is incredibly heavy-handed.

Outside of the impactful fighting, nothing else really lands. There's no point in time that I'm concerned with finding out what happens next, or wondering whether the overall storyline is going to take me somewhere else. Instead, I'm wondering who will have blood gushing out of their legs next.

Still, there are small wins. Episode 1 kicks us off with a surprise Lucy Lawless cameo and Ashur keeps a firm hand on the tiller as the new Dominius. But as I've hammered home by now, we're essentially sitting ringside for a 10-episode long fight we can just about stomach.

Nuance, meaning and complexity? Not present here. Full-throttle entertainment, gore and fighting to the death? Amped up to the max. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

Not signed up to Starz yet and live in the US? Use the below deal to get you started:

Starz subscription: was $10.99 a month now $2.99 at Starz
Want access to one of the best US network's originals and film library? Starz is offering a great discount that gets you 73% off the usual monthly price of $10.99 for your first three months to stream hit series like Outlander, American Gods, Now Apocalypse and more. This is a limited-time offer, but Starz hasn't said when it expires so make sure to be quick if you're interested. You can also get a more than half priced annual plan for just $11.99 right now, which works out to be just $1 a month. View Deal

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

I'm not exactly sure how to process what I watched in Spartacus: House of Ashur, and that's hardly a compliment.

Here's when The Mighty Nein's fifth episode will make its Prime Video debut.

Cyber Monday is here, and it's your last chance to grab the spectacular Sony WH-1000XM6 at a record-low price.

Our 5-star Garmin Fenix 8 is still available, but we'd recommend grabbing one now before the Cyber Monday sales are over.

I've been waiting all week for a decent Fujifilm deal, and Cyber Monday has finally delivered – up to 29% off the impossibly charming Fujifilm X half

The Acer Nitro V is a great mid-range gaming laptop and it's even more affordable this Cyber Monday after getting a $300 discount at Walmart.

Cyber Monday is the perfect time to upgrade your home, with huge savings on smart home tech from all the biggest brands.

After scanning the entire public database, he found thousands of secrets that could be used in cyberattacks.

The OnePlus 15R has a 165Hz screen, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, and other high-end specs.