CompleteMartialArts.com - The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

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Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780312359836 ISBN: 0312359837 Label: St. Martin's Minotaur Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 320 Publication Date: 2008-05-13 Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Release Date: 2008-05-13 Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion – Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome’s legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as Dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made King – the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed. Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of ‘Finder’ but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead – murdered -- on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar’s military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies -- to protect Caesar’s life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar’s, Gordianus agrees to help – but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:      Summary: A waste of time. Comment: Slow moving, not particularly interesting, forced myself to finish it waiting for it to get interesting (it didn't). If you want Roman historical novels, I would HIGHLY recommend Colleen McCollough's Masters of Rome series.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Disappointed... Comment: Like other reviewers, I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in the Sub Rosa series thus far. This one disappointed, sad to say. It seemed mostly a collection of cameo interviews with the famous of the period, and more than previous novels, works hard to show the author's strong dislike of Julius Caesar, making him smaller-than-life and nearly ridiculous. As always, the historical details are fascinating, and the book is well-written, however I found it lacking in the action and suspense of earlier Gordianus tales. I do hope the series isn't running out of steam.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Why did Saylor bother? Comment: I'm a great fan of Steven Saylor's "sub rosa" series about Gordianus the Finder, and it was with genuine distress that I faced the apparent deaths of Bethesda and Gordianus in what I thought would be the end of this very excellent series. Then, one day at Barnes & Noble, I saw "The Triumph of Caesar" and realized with a thrill that Gordianus was back!
Except he isn't really. This book lacks virtually all the things that make the rest of the series so grand. Instead of "sub rosa", it comes across as "pro forma", almost as though Saylor's other books didn't sell and his agent told him to "crank out another Gordianus book, I don't care if you killed him off. If Doyle could bring back Holmes, you can bring back Gordianus."
Bethesda is in the book also, though Saylor never reveals how she survived her apparent suicide in the Nile. What's worse is I'm not sure I even cared.
A sad business. My copy has already gone to Goodwill.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Triumph Comment: That Steven Saylor has given us another great read is no surprise to anyone who's familiar with his work. In The Triumph of Caesar, he's carried us, fascinated, through the streets and into the very homes of ancient Rome once again. The only fault I can ever find with Mr. Saylor's writing is that I want More faster than it's possible to compose!
Customer Rating:      Summary: The Aging Gordianus Comment: "The Triumph of Caesar" is Saylor at his best. There really is a nice pace to the story that begins strongly on Page 1. It never lets up. Good dialogue, a decent amount of suspense, tons of correct historical fact and description, and humor characterize the story. There is true suspense, a real mystery (murder) to solve, and clever resolution. This is a first rate Roman detective story, period perfect and reader friendly.
I confess that since Steven is a friend, that I'm a bit biased, but, irrespective of that, I really did like this story for its focus and simplicity. Some of the earlier tales in the Gordianus series are more intricate and the characters more numerous - thus harder to follow. Here I think Saylor has matured as a novelist to simplify not only the story but his writing. There is not one extraneous word in this 300-page novel.
Of course, the story is populated by some of the most famous historical figures of all time, and we meet them face-to-face, warts and all, through dialogue and description from Caesar to Octavian to Brutus to Antony to Cleopatra and Calpurnia. Who can resist a story with these folks gracing the pages? Gordianus (and the blossoming newbie-detective -- his daughter Dianna) handle these encounters with little trepidation and quite a bit of moxie. I liked Dianna's insertion into solving the "who done it?" Will she eventually replace the aging Gordianus?
I did tire of repeated descriptions of the 4 Triumphs, although Saylor did shorten each one substantially. Thank you for that. One Triumph is quite a bit like another and we could have been spared some of the repetitious recounting of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
The book is a triumph for Saylor, quite possibly his best. Congratulations.
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