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Product Reviews:
The Venus Throw: A Mystery of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome) |
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Summary: Gordianus' Discoveries about Gender
Comments: Venus Throw is a multi leveled story that involves: the murder of the Egyptian Ambassador Dio, investigation into the murder conspiracy, exacting preparation for the trial of the accused, presentation of he trial, and the gender education of Gordianus.
The conspiracy to murder Dio, the ambassador and former teacher of Gordianus, contains several missed murder attempts. The investigation by Gordianus is suspenseful and difficult for the "finder". The trial is brilliant with possibly Cicero's best oration.
The fun theme in Venus Throw is the many sexual allusions. He visits a run down bar that has a phallus symbol for it's sign (a large penis). He listens to a detailed discussion of how eunuchs castrate their new members. He finds himself in a bathhouse where men are propositioned. And his new employer, Clodia is blatantly explicit sexually .
For me, it is Gordianus' struggle with women that steals the show. Gordianus finds he is puzzled by his interactions with several females: His wife Bethesda, his daughter Diana, his client Clodia, and the slave girl Zotica. Gordianus has lived with Bethesda for many years and thought he knew her, however suddenly her behavior is unpredictable. His daughter Diana, who he saw as a child, now acts more like her mother's co-conspirator. Clodia is forward and openly manipulates men. Gordianus finds himself walking the streets of Rome in the middle of the night pondering women. As any male who has attempted to understand women will agree, Gordianus is just beginning a long journey toward appreciating the female gender.
This theme could be even more appreciated after reading the following: The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome)A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome) |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: out of time and place
Comments: It appears from some study I did after reading this novel
that the Roman morals portrayed are1to2centuries ahead of the actual
decay that did happen.
The Dio mentioned is probably roughly based on Dio Chrysostom of the 1st century AD
not the 1st century BC. The incipient decadence of the Roman Empire had it's origin in this era
of the Republic , however wasn't as strongly manifested as this novel portrays.
In later life Cicero was a stoic convert of the Diodotus school
which was diametrically opposed to the Epicurean traits portrayed here.
As the moral turpitude of the Egyptian philosopher is1of the major plot devices
the issue is important to the credibility of the plot.
In a stoic dominated era where the leaders were short haired and clean shaven,
this novel justs fails to be historically accurate.
During the Republic the morals portrayed would
have sentenced the people involved to capital punishment
by a magistrate. The Romans were actually a conservative heterosexual
society at this time and even allowed only1marriage as the Caesar Cleopatra affair
has written clearly in history.
It was the effects of the bread and circuses of the Empire
that led to the later laxness in morality.
A Study Of History (Abridgement of Vols. 1-10, 2-vol. set) |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: One of the best historical mystery writers out there!!
Comments: There are only a handful of historical mystery writers who have the knack of putting their readers right into the time and place that they are creating. I would count Steven Saylor as1of those. Others that come to mind are Ellis Peters and her Brother Cadfael series, Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, Lindsey Davis and her Falco and Saylor with his Gordianus. He is such a great writer that I forgot that we were in 56 B.C. and was following the story like we follow lurid headlines on today's news. In this book Gordianus stays in Rome, however he gets involved in a family feud that snares him and his family. He also gets thrown into Roman and Egyptian politics, where he really doesn't want to be. They're all here - all the historical names we know - Caesar, Pompey, Cicero, and many others, and I honestly enjoyed watching Gordianus find his way among these great historcial people. This was a brilliant book, and this is a honestly brilliant series. I have no higher praise to give it. |
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Summary: Fourth Book in the Series
Comments: Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began at an early age. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Berkeley, California. His series of books about Ancient Rome and featuring Gordianus the Finder are popular both here in England and also in America. Anyone who is a fan of Lindsey Davis will love these books too. Steven Saylor brings Ancient Rome to life, so much so that the reader can lose himself in the sights and sounds of the ancient city.
Gordianus the Finder, the investigator of crimes, a man whose skill and integrity have made him much sought after by some of the almost all important men in Rome. Men who may need a secret to be kept, men who need to know that when Gordianus is working for them he will be discreet and not susceptible to bribery.
The Sub Rosa series is quickly growing in popularity and it is easy to see why. The main character Gordianus the Finder is both a likeable and believable character and the author's descriptive talents bring the sights and sounds of Ancient Rome leaping off the pages. In this novel set in the period 50 BC Gordianus is hired to investigate a murder and he must follow a trail of intrigue to places that no1in their right mind would go, into the realms of political power. Nobody is more devious than the men who rule Rome. Men who, on the surface are the height of respectability, however rub the surface . . . |
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Summary: Easy read, interesting plot
Comments: Saylor has a knack for producing gripping plots. He also knows Rome--its topography, archaeology, and culture--thoroughly. Nevertheless, the story is anachronistic. For instance, he builds up Clodia as a protofeminist at the expense of the poet Catullus, who is portrayed as a disturbed stalker. |
