Product Description

The new novel in the "Roma Sub Rosa" series is set against the background of Caesar's stupendous quadruple triumphs in Rome in 46 BC, full of colour and spectacle. Having obliterated the opposition, Caesar is now dictator for life. In the upcoming celebrations, "Vercingetorix the Gaul" is scheduled to be executed, as is Arsinoe, the sister of Cleopatra...and Cleopatra herself is in Rome on a state visit, trying to convince Caesar to acknowledge their son as his heir.Marc Antony and Caesar are at odds; Cicero is making a fool of himself with a new teenage bride; and Caesar's wife Calpurnia, having fallen under the spell of an Etruscan soothsayer, is convinced of a plot on her husband's life. Murder and intrigue again draw Gordianus into the vortex of history. Praise for Stephen Saylor: 'Saylor's gifts include authentic historical and topographical backgrounds and...sombre themes set off the brilliant scenery and clever plotting' - "Times Literary Supplement". 'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched...this is entertainment of the first order' - "Washington Post". 'Saylor has acquired the information of a historian but he enjoys the gifts of a born novelist' - "Boston Globe".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24396 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Suspecting a plot against Julius Caesar, his wife Calpurnia calls on Gordianus the Finder to head it off.Now that he's resolved his Egyptian problems (The Judgment of Caesar, 2004), the Dictator of Rome has returned for four days of no-holds-barred festivals celebrating respectively his Gallic, Egyptian, Asian and African triumphs. Urged on by dire hints from her Etruscan soothsayer Porsenna and her agent Hieronymus, Calpurnia believes that someone is planning her husband's death. Her suspicions harden into certainty when Hieronymus is slain. Since Gordianus has been so successful for so long at finding the truth, she charges him to identify the ringleader Hieronymus was frightened to name even in his private notes. Mingling among a cast that includes the most illustrious people in the world - Julius Caesar, his grandnephew Octavius, his general Marc Antony, the defeated Gallic chief Vercingetorix, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her captive sister Arsinoe - Gordianus swiftly realizes that virtually everyone who's ever dealt with Caesar has sufficient grounds to wish him dead.Gordianus doesn't distinguish himself as a detective, and readers possessed of historical hindsight will easily eliminate most of the high-profile suspects. Still, no contemporary novelist approaches Saylor's continued ability to bring ancient Rome to life. --Kirkus Reviews

Synopsis
The new novel in the "Roma Sub Rosa" series is set against the background of Caesar's stupendous quadruple triumphs in Rome in 46 BC, full of colour and spectacle. Having obliterated the opposition, Caesar is now dictator for life. In the upcoming celebrations, "Vercingetorix the Gaul" is scheduled to be executed, as is Arsinoe, the sister of Cleopatra...and Cleopatra herself is in Rome on a state visit, trying to convince Caesar to acknowledge their son as his heir.Marc Antony and Caesar are at odds; Cicero is making a fool of himself with a new teenage bride; and Caesar's wife Calpurnia, having fallen under the spell of an Etruscan soothsayer, is convinced of a plot on her husband's life. Murder and intrigue again draw Gordianus into the vortex of history. Praise for Stephen Saylor: 'Saylor's gifts include authentic historical and topographical backgrounds and...sombre themes set off the brilliant scenery and clever plotting' - "Times Literary Supplement". 'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched...this is entertainment of the first order' - "Washington Post".

'Saylor has acquired the information of a historian but he enjoys the gifts of a born novelist' - "Boston Globe".

About the Author
Steven Saylor is the author of the critically acclaimed historical mystery novels set in ancient Rome, the Roma sub Rosa series, featuring Gordianus the Finder. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Minor Saylor
Steven Saylor returns to his Gordianus series and the result, although welcome is something of a disappointment. A somewhat slender and short story offers only transitory pleasures. But Saylor is a master storyteller and sage on all things Roman, so a sub par Roma Sub Rosa novel still eclipses his many rivals. A minor entry in the series and not the best starting point for newcomers, but for completists and fans a must buy.

A poor ending for a great character
This was a real disappointment. The beauty of Saylor's books was always the sensitive and intricate way he used the mystery stories of Gordianus the Finder to inform and enlighten the reader about Roman society and history. But Gordianus was - to me - always the heart and soul of the story. Saylor clearly knows Rome back and forward, in and out. But its fair to say recent entries in the series have begun to use Gordianus as the device rather than Rome. The low point came with Roma (not a Gordianus book) where Saylor's ambition to write a full story of Rome tried to balance names and dates with stories - much of which didn't work. The same is true here. If this is the last Gordianus book then Saylor seems to want to use it to tie up every storyline (most in two or three pages at the end. But Gordianus is almost forgotten. the "story" is terribly minor. How sad. 3 stars as even poor quality Saylor is still worth reading. But not for new readers. Go back to Roman Blood or Murder on the appian way.

Book Eleven in the Roma Sub Rosa Series
Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began in childhood. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Berkeley, California and has a huge number of fans of the Sub Rosa series he has written featuring Gordianus the Finder.

For avid readers of Saylor's books, this one will have been well worth waiting for, particularly as it features the return of the wonderful character of Gordianus the Finder, Ancient Rome's answer to the modern day private detective. Gordianus, along with the character of Marcus Didius Falco from the Lindsey Davis books are my favourite characters from any of the Roman whodunnits gracing the book shelves at the moment.

The civil wars that have plagued Rome are now over. Pompey, one of the main protagonists is dead. His opponent Caesar has returned to Rome amid rumours that not all of the resistance has been quashed. Nonetheless the Roman senate has appointed him as Dictator. He is not the only Roman to return home. Gordianus and his wife, Bethesda has recently returned from Egypt. Gordianus has retired from his profession of `Finder' but finds it impossible to refuse a call from Calpurnia, Caesar's wife.

Rumours abound about plots and conspiracy against the life of Caesar and the person hired by Calpurnia to look into these conspiracies, has turned up dead on her own doorstep. Gordianus agrees to help, but not from any love for Caesar. The person found dead on Calpurnia's doorstep was a friend of Gordianus and for old times sake Gordianus will do everything in his power to find the killer.