Product Description

Spring AD 80. The sailing season has begun. Lupus decides to see if his mother is still alive and to follow his uncle's dying wish. The friends sail to the island of Rhodes, site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world . . . and base of a criminal mastermind!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47862 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
'the usual appealing mix of mystery, history, humour, myth and adventure... keeps up the momentum of this excellent series.' -- Rowan Stanfield ACHUKA

From the Inside Flap
April, AD 80. Ostia, the port of Rome. The sailing season has begun, but the omens are not favourable. Lupus longs to travel to the Greek islands, to find his mother and fulfil his uncle's dying wish. When he and his friends, Flavia, Nubia and Jonathan, hear that freeborn children are being kidnapped again, they set sail in spite of the omens. But the voyage is fraught with danger: someone - or something - seems to be against them. Their mission takes them on a thrilling journey from Corinth to Rhodes, site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. There they encounter a powerful slave-dealer known as 'the Colossus', and when Flavia, Nubia and Jonathan are caught in a deadly trap, Lupus is forced to make a terrible choice. Caroline Lawrence is American. She grew up in California and came to England when she won a scholarship to Cambridge to study Classical Archaeology, which she followed with a degree in Hebrew and Jewish studies at the University of London. She lives by the river in London with her husband, a graphic designer. The Colossus of Rhodes is the ninth of the Roman Mysteries, following The Thieves of Ostia, The Secrets of Vesuvius, The Pirates of Pompeii, The Assassins of Rome, The Dolphins of Laurentum, The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina, The Enemies of Jupiter and The Gladiators from Capua. Eighteen books are planned. To find out more about the Roman Mysteries, visit www.romanmysteries.com

From the Back Cover
Ancient Rome, four young detectives and another mystery

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!
With a plot line, yet again full of the familiar surprises and shocks of the other books in the series, Colossus of Rhodes is the best Roman Mystery yet!
Following the journey taken by the by now familiar four children, Lupus, Nubia, Jonathon and Flavia we find conspirisy, secrets and adventure lurking in every corner. Lupus is very much the focused character in this book as it follows his emotions towards the others and to his quest to find his mother. Following on from the other Roman Mystery books doesnt bare a problem, as it is an independant story on its own but I would recommend reading Dolphins of Laurentum to fully appreciate this book. You are captivated by the characters, intrigued by the plot and left guessing till the end. This book is a definite 5 stars a perfect read that I enjoyed it from cover to cover and made me crave the next in the series! Absolutely Excellent!

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!
The collosus of rhodes is a great book for all ages. Caroline Lawrence makes the plot very easy to understand just like JK Rowling's Harry Potter series! Before you read this book its best to read The dolphins of laurentum because it will help you understand the past of Lupus's life! This book's main focus is on Lupus and it mostly takes place in a ship! But while on the ship Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia, and Lupus discover that there is yet another mystery for them to be solved at where the Delphina is going! This book was awesome! Ever since I got it, I've been reading it over and over again! I have an older brother who just hates reading!! But when he read the first chapter of the collosus of rhodes, he wouldn't even let me read it!! He kept hiding it from me so only he could read it!!!!!!!!! Caroline Lawrence is great! i cant wait to read the next book in the series!!!!!!! The suspence is killing me!! :-D

An awesome book in this amazingly gripping series!
The Roman Mysteries crew have taken to the seas!

The Colossus of Rhodes is the first Roman mysteries book to be set away from the land, but it has a surprising and varied plot like the sea itself.

I have enjoyed all of the roman mysteries so far and this is one of the best! It has the characteristic suspense that makes the stories so gripping and it features a return of all our favourite characters as well as some new ones.

As with all the books this one is centred around one of the four friends. It is Lupus turn. Lupus is a very interesting character and you can't help but want to know more about him. In this book we hear about his home island and about what has happened to his mother since she lost Lupus. The shame with some of the other books in the series is that they over look the other three friends and focus on the main character. Not in this one. Yes there is a lot of information on Lupus but all of the friends have a small story of their own; Flavia, Nubia and Jonathon (who's welcome return to the others makes this book as good as some of the earlier ones.) This book is also very enjoyable because all of the friends play a part in helping to solve the gripping mystery.

If you want to read this book then I suggest that you read the other books in the series so far as otherwise some of the information might be a bit confusing and the plot may not be as strong. But if you don't want to read the others then go ahead and read this book because it is FANTASTIC!! It has humour, suspense and best of all it's a Caroline Lawrence mystery.

Also these books are very good for accurate, historical information. I am a GCSE history student and some of the information I have learnt from these books has proved invaluable.

The next instalment in this great series is coming out soon and I understand that it is one of the best yet; I can't wait to get hold of it!!