Saylor, Steven Books

A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $11.16 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Griffin Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $4.58

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Historical
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

9 Stories about the Finder 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Saylor has pleased me again with a fairly good portrayal of the Roman world and the limits of investigations into mysteries and crimes. I was slightly disappointed to not see Tiro mentioned more often given the number of guest appearances Cicero made -- the letters of Cicero to his secretary slave and freedman suggest they were rarely apart save when the orator and politican was in political disfavor or danger and none of these stories take place then. But these are short stories and need to be more focused on the immediate mystery at hand unlike a novel which can dive into the personal relationships and culture in greater degree.

Editorial Review:

Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of novels, set in the later Roman Republic and featuring Gordianus the Finder, has garnered unusual acclaim from readers and reviewers alike, establishing him as one of the pre-eminent historical mystery writers. In A Gladiator Dies Only Once, the second collection of his award-winning stories featuring Gordianus, Saylor more than meets his own high standards. Set between the events of his novels Roman Blood and Catilina's Riddle, these previously untold adventures from the early career of Gordianus - when his adopted son, Eco, was still a mute boy and his wife, Bethesda, was but his slave - will delight Saylor's many fans while illuminating details of the ancient world like no other writer can.

The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $0.72

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Series

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very Entertaining 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This a collection of short stories, easy to follow and different from each other. Each describes different aspects of the Roman world, from customs, festivities, beliefs and superstitions.
This book is ideal for students studying English as a Second Language, or any kind of classroom. Students will find these easy stories informative, interesting and educative.

My favorite mysteries were "The King Bee and the Honey" and "Little Caesar and the Pirates."

Gordianus the Finder in Shorts 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

'The House of the Vestals' is Steven Saylor's first collection of short stories that fill in the gaps in the history, personal and professional of Gordianus the Finder. (Saylor later wrote 'A Gladiator Dies Only Once' to fill in even more of the blanks.)

Fans of the Roma Sub Rosa series that began in 'Roman Blood' will love these short stories. Saylor's stories are easy on the brow, enjoyable, not too taxing - the 'mysteries' are often pretty simple - but you root for Gordianus because he is a good and decent citizen.

Saylor's stories do have a serious side - they paint an admirably convincing portrait of late Republican Rome. I am by no means a scholar of ancient history, but I have read a half dozen or so histories of this era (such as 'Rubicon' by Tom Holland and 'Caesar' by Adrian Goildworthy) and he has me convinced. Saylor has a reputation for scrupulous accuracy and often cast his stroies admidst some actual event in history.

Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

It is Ancient Rome, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble. Stalking about the city's twisting trails looking for clues and finding bodies, Gordianus has had his share of misadventure with nobles and slaves alike. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus has stories to tell.

Rubicon: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Minotaur Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $1.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Steven Saylor's seventh installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series begins with a character saying, "Pompey will be mightily pissed." Scholars might argue that there is no evidence of this particular synonym for anger ever being used in 49 B.C., but the author would no doubt respond that poetic license includes doing whatever it takes to bridge the gap for modern audiences. And indeed, the head of the Roman Senate is mightily pissed. Rome is on the verge of another civil war, and the forces of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have crossed the Rubicon River and are marching toward the capital. To top it all off, one of Pompey's favorite cousins has been garroted to death.

Before Pompey flees the city, he asks Rome's greatest detective, Gordianus the Finder, to solve the murder. But Pompey has reason to distrust Gordianus, who may have an allegiance with Caesar. To force his loyalty, Pompey seizes the detective's son-in-law, and makes him join his household army. By doing so, he ensures that Gordianus's involvement in the coming conflict will be a very personal one. Confused and troubled, Gordianus walks through Rome toward the house of his former friend and mentor, the poet Cicero. "All around me, I felt the uneasiness of the city, like a sleeper in the throes of a nightmare." Awakening from the nightmare, surviving the chaos, and solving this whodunit will be the Finder's toughest battle yet. --Dick Adler

A Mist of Prophecies: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the year 48 B.C., Rome is in the midst of Civil War. As Pompey and Julius Caesar fight for control of the Republic, Rome itself becomes a hotbed of intrigue, riven by espionage, greedy profiteering, and bitter betrayals...

A MIST OF PROPHECIES

A beautiful young seeress staggers across the Roman marketplace and dies in the arms of Gordianus the Finder. Possibly mad and claiming no memory of her past, Cassandra--like her Trojan namesake-was reputed to possess the gift of prophecy. For such a gift there are many in Rome who would pay handsomely...or resort to murder.

Obsessed with Cassandra and her mystery, Gordianus begins to investigate her murder. As he gradually peels away the veils of secrecy that surround Cassandra's life and death, he discovers a web of conspiracy linking many of the city's most ruthless and powerful women. Now Gordianus's pursuit of the truth not only endangers his own life, but could change the future of Rome itself. . .

A Murder on the Appian Way: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Series

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I have no problem giving this one five stars. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I must admit that I feel like a "finder" for discovering this series. Gordianus the Finder is a remarkable character. He is clever, but vulnerable, jaded, but a loving father and husband, and he is vividly portrayed by Mr. Saylor. This is an outstanding series, but I truly recommend that it be read in order. This book is the fifth in the series. Saylor covers the peculiar slaying of Publius Clodius, and the fallout that occurred in Rome as result of his murder. In that respect, it is a little less of a mystery, but Gordianus has been asked by two very prominent citizens to find out what actually happened on the Appian Way the day Clodius was killed. Rome was at a very unsettled time at this point in history, and it was the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. The book illustrates all the conflicting ambitions that were driving Rome at this time. We have the murdered man, Clodius, and the man accused of killing him - Milo wanting power. We also have Pompey and Caesar in the background who also want to control Rome's destiny. These are totally engrossing books, and they've kind of taken over my life right now, even though I continue to read others by other authors, my mind keeps wandering back to wonder what Gordianus is up to now. Highly addicting!

Editorial Review:

This is the fifth in Steven Saylor's "Roma Sub Rosa" series: murder mysteries set in classical Rome just before the fall of the Empire. Once again, Saylor's sleuth is Gordoianus the Finder, a sort of Sam Spade in a toga, who is hired by the rich and infamous of Roman society to solve their personal and political troubles. This time the powerful politician Publius Clodius is murdered on an open road and as riots break out, the fate of the Republic is in doubt. The plotting is deft and the action -- both physical and intellectual -- is nonstop. Most of the characters here are heterosexual but Saylor (who also writes great erotica under the name Aaron Travis) brings a critical gay sensibility to his tales that forms the cultural and emotional crux of his work.

Arms of Nemesis: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.50 List Price: $6.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Minotaur Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The hideously disfigured body of Lucius Licinius was found in the atrium. The only clues are a blood-soaked cloak, and, carved into the stone at the corpse's feet, the word Sparta...For Gordianus the Finder, summoned from Rome to a luxury resort on the Bay of Naples, the case is agonizing. The overseer of Marcus Crassus's estate has been murdered, apparently by two slaves bent on joining Spartacus's revolt. The wealthy, powerful Crassus vows to honor an ancient law and kill his ninety-nine remaining slaves in retaliation. From the brutal stench of a slave galley to the limpid, sea-glazed beauty of Baiae and the sulphurous pits of the Sybil at Cumae, Giordanus draws closer to the terrifying truth. Enmeshed in a world of desperate slaves and duplicitous masters, extravagant feasts and sordid secrets, he must risk all he loves, including his life, to stop a senseless slaughter-and save the very future of Rome itself.AUTHORBIO: STEVEN SAYLOR is the author of eight books in the Roma Sub Rosa featuring Gordianus the Finder, most recently Roman Blood.He divides his time between homes in Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California.

Last Seen in Massilia: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Minotaur Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $2.19

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this mystery set in Marseilles in 49 B.C., master detective Gordianus the Finder is on a personal quest to learn the truth about his missing son, Meto. Plunged into the midst of the bloody Roman civil war, the well-connected Gordianus and his son-in-law Davus survive adventure after adventure as they penetrate the Gaulic city Massilia, which is walled against Roman invasion. From the first pages, author Steven Saylor is on sure ground with his distinguished protagonist. Gordianus's careful, thoughtful musings are infused with real pathos as he seeks out information about the lost adoptive son whom, he has been informed, is dead. There is some speculation that Meto betrayed Caesar and that death was his punishment. Lacking a corpse, Gordianus cannot bring himself to believe that Meto is really dead.

Indeed, bonds between fathers and children--their betrayals, promises, and legacies--play a key role in the twisting plot of Last Seen in Massilia. Literally the title refers to Meto, but the motif extends to other key characters as well. Apollonides, the imperious ruler of Massilia, has a peculiar bond with his horribly deformed daughter. And the city's "scapegoat" Hieronymus lives out the legacy of his parents' illegal double suicide by being the human repositor of Massilia's collective sins. He is expected to hurl himself from Sacrifice Rock to appease vengeful gods.

Sacrifice Rock is central to the book, the site of a tussle between man and woman that ends, provocatively, in the woman's death. Was it suicide or murder? The three witnesses--Gordianus, Davus, and Hieronymus--are sharply divided on exactly what they saw. Gordianus pursues the truth of this mystery almost as a diversion from the more compelling mystery of his son's weird disappearance.

Fans of Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series, of which Last Seen in Massilia is the eighth installment, will be pleased by the author's consistent tone. Saylor has proven that he knows how to season a good plot with lively historical details, and this book is perhaps even more gratifying than previous installments. --Kathi Inman Berens

The Judgment of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Minotaur Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $0.29

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Pleased to be reacquainted with this great writer 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The last time I read a book by Steven Saylor was "Venus Throw" in the mid 1990's. Saylor's books are easy to read and very entertaining.

Writing about ancient Egypt is always fascinating, and even more when Cleopatra and Julius Caesar are part of the plot. Saylor describes Cleopatra in such a convincing way that it would make any man straight.

Gordianus the Finder, the main character, is especially charismatic. The story is told by the same character, always in the first person, so the book takes a personal, intimate tone from the beginning to the end. The plot intensifies when Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy throw a dinner party to honor Caesar. Caesar's judgment takes place in the midst of the festivities and still entangled in this irresistible love triangle!

Leave it to Saylor to make an indirect reference to Harmodias and Aristogiton. I think he's one of the few authors who make reference to all the famous male couples in history.
(I think he mentioned Alexander and Hephaistion in another book, but can't remember which one).

The beginning of chapter XXXI is a good example of Saylor style. Gordianus complaints to Cleopatra about the stench of the Nile River:
"There's nothing beautiful about the Nile. It's fetid, smelly, dark and dank! The Nile brings death!"
And Cleopatra replies:
"Yet it brings life! Some men make the same complaints about the sacred delta between a woman's legs. And yet, from that place comes new life. Silly men, turning up your noses at the slippery fluids and strong odors of fertility!
You'd rather play with your hard, shiny swords and spears, and watch the blood spurt from each other's wounds!"

I laughed when I read that passage. Sexuality expressed so bluntly and so subtle at the same time.

Finally, I would like to say that it Saylor is an exceptional writer, and I am looking forward to read "Roma."

Editorial Review:

In 48 B.C., Roman generals Caesar and Pompey have long engaged in a battle to rule the world. Now, as Pompey plots a reckless stand on the banks of the Nile, Gordianus the Finder-who has brought his wife Bethesda to the river seeking a cure for her in its sacred waters-finds himself suddenly at the heart of a series of treacherous and history-altering events.

While Caesar and Cleopatra embark on a legendary romance, Egypt remains ravaged by the brutal contest between the Queen and her brother King Ptolemy. Worst of all for Gordianus, his once-disowned son and Caesar's right-hand man, stands falsely accused of murder. Caesar's judgment will decide Meto's fate, and it is up to Gordianus to somehow overcome colossal malevolent forces to reveal the carefully obscured truth and spare his son's life.

The Venus Throw: A Mystery of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 90 new & used starting at $0.04

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Authors, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Saylor, Steven
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Historical
Subjects -> Mystery & Thrillers -> Mystery -> Series

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

out of time and place 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

It appears from some study I did after reading this novel
that the Roman morals portrayed are one to two centuries ahead of the actual
decay that did happen.
The Dio mentioned is probably roughly based on Dio Chrysostom of the first century AD
not the first century BC. The incipient decadence of the Roman Empire had it's origin in this era
of the Republic , but 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 is one of 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 very conservative heterosexual
society at this time and even allowed only one marriage 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)

Editorial Review:

On a chill January evening in 56 B.C. , two strange visitors to Rome—an Egyptian ambassador and a eunuch priest—seek out Gordianus the Finder whose specialty is solving murders. But the ambassador, a philosopher named Dio, has come to ask for something Gordianus cannot give—help in staying alive. Before the night is out, he will be murdered.Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio's death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city's most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn nothing is as it seems—not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio's death which lies in secrets—not of state, but of the heart.

Roman Blood: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)

Steven Saylor

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Minotaur Amazon Marketplace: 68 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Historical
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Rome, 80 B.C.E. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Saylor, Steven. "Roman Blood", St. Martin's, 2000.

Rome, 80 B.C.E.

Amos Lassen

Some of you know Steven Saylor as the author of several books abut ancient Rome but I bet that you do not know that Saylor also writes some very hot gay erotica under the nom de plum of Aaron Travis and was editor of "Drummer" magazine. In his "Rome" novels there is always a gay subplot or an overtly gay character. "Roman Blood" continues that tradition. The "Rome" novels are based on the cases that Cicero argued in court.
Saylor authentically gives us the details of life in Republican Rome and writes about real historical figures. This novel centers on Sextus and the proscription lists (the names of those to be put to death). Anyone whose name appears on the list is liable to be killed and a reward is given to whoever does the deed. When Sextus ends up dead, there are questions about who did it and who is accountable for his death.
What makes this book interesting is that it deals the Roman on the street and we thereby get an intimate and realistic picture of Rome as opposed to reading about the generals, kings and upper class. There is a lot of history to be learned by reading Saylor. The book is not quite a mystery because we already know who did what. What it is then is a wonderful rendering of what happened and has a great deal of detail and description. Saylor gives us an intricate plot and am A-one novel. Under his pen, Rome comes alive. The "Rome" novels are the collection known as the Roma Sub Rosa series that both entertains and educates.

Editorial Review:

Elena asks that you come to the House of Swans at once . . . Compelled by this message, the wealthy, sybaritic Sextus Roscius goes not to his harlot, but to his doom—savagely murdered by unknown assassins. In the unseasonable heat of a spring morning in 80 B.C., Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate staking his reputation on this case. The charge is patricide; the motive, a son's greed. The punishment, rooted deep in Roman tradition, is horrific beyond imagining.

Gordianus's investigation takes him through the city's raucous, pungent streets and deep into urban Umbria, unraveling layers of deceit, twisted passions, and murderous desperation. From pompous, rouged nobles to wily slaves to citizens of seemingly simple virtue, the case becomes a political nightmare. As the defense proceeds toward a devastating confrontation in the Forum, one man's fate may be threaten the very leaders of Rome itself.