Elena asks that you come to the House of Swans at once . . . Compelled by this message, the wealthy, sybaritic Sextus Roscius goes not to h...
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reviews
Jan 10, 2008
Jamie
rated it: 
Nice historical mystery. I'll read more in this series.
It's set towards the end of Sulla's dictatorship and features a young Cicero preparing to argue one of his first cases, defending an accused parricide. I liked the "detective" and the descriptions of the city were vivid.
It's set towards the end of Sulla's dictatorship and features a young Cicero preparing to argue one of his first cases, defending an accused parricide. I liked the "detective" and the descriptions of the city were vivid.
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Oct 14, 2010
Jon
rated it: 
Good quality (well researched) historical fiction and mystery. If this is how Roman citizens (and slaves) acted, why do we idolize them?
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Jan 31, 2012
Ensiform
rated it:
Gordianus the Finder --- a Roman detective with a lust for the truth, hard drinking, and his slave-girl Bathsheba --- is hired by Cicero to unearth the facts behind a mysterious killing. Gentleman farmer Sextus Roscius is accused of killing his estranged father, but the truth of the matter may reveal corruption not only in the man’s own family, but in the noblest and richest families of Rome; the murder may involve even the dictator Sulla himself.
This is a superb historical detective More...
This is a superb historical detective More...
Mar 24, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
Fun historical mystery. Marred somewhat by moments of awkward writing. In particular, I refer to the passage around 75% of the way in during which the narrator drones on and on and on and on about the Social Wars and Sulla versus Marius. Prior to this moment the author had seamlessly mixed historical exposition and original plot. Docking half a point for this, I was so annoyed. My wrath, this review can haz it.
There's lots to like about this, though. Cicero is as 'gray and gray moralit More...
There's lots to like about this, though. Cicero is as 'gray and gray moralit More...
Nov 25, 2009
Kelly
rated it:
“Roman Blood” was recommended to me by a staffer at the Oak Brook, Illinois, Borders. Not something that I would have chosen of my own accord, I was pleasantly surprised at how decent it turned out to be. There are, to be sure, plenty of clichéd bits of stagecraft (i.e., wispy linens draped provocatively over sexy women, gladiators described in purely animalistic terms, street scenes that play on our preconceived ideas of ancient licentiousness and filth, etc.), but there is an underlying smar
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May 01, 2009
Valorie
rated it: 
Roman Blood (book one of the Roma Sub Rosa series) by Steven Saylor centers around the real life patricide trial of a country farmer by the name of Sextus Roscius. The advocate of Sextus Roscius, the well known Marcus Tullius Cicero, employs the help of a man named Gordianus to dig up information about the murder in order to prove his client innocent. Gordianus is known as ‘the finder,’ a man well experienced in finding facts no matter how well hidden or obscure. Of course, such facts don’t
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May 09, 2011
Kam
rated it:
I honestly wasn't quite sure what to think when I'd acquired Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. It was something of a blind acquisition, really, given that I was looking for something to tide me over after I'd gotten something of a "Roman high" from watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand and was waiting for the arrival of my copy of Gods of the Arena. This seemed like a decent-enough series to start out with, so I decimated an entire shelf at the local thrift bookstore (miracle of miracles, it
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Jan 05, 2010
Sam
rated it:
Steven Saylor is a great story teller who peppers his tales of murder and intrigue with interesting facts and insights into Roman life. This book features Saylor's fictional Gordianus the Finder, who is brought into the employ of the very real Cicero as a fact-finder in the case of Sextus Roscius, an accused parricide whom the young Cicero must defend. The case is real, and much of the details come from Cicero's own writings on it. However, for somebody already familiar with Roman history, this
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Sep 17, 2010
Ben
rated it:
Background to book choice.
I was on a short break away and found myself without a book to read, so popped into a small bookshop to see if anything took my interest, the shop had a small historical fiction section so i decided to have a browse.
I think I probably picked this up because i'd recently been reading other Roman based fiction in the form of Simon Scarrow's brilliant 'Eagle' series.
I've had an interest in Roman history since studying it in history lessons at schoo More...
I was on a short break away and found myself without a book to read, so popped into a small bookshop to see if anything took my interest, the shop had a small historical fiction section so i decided to have a browse.
I think I probably picked this up because i'd recently been reading other Roman based fiction in the form of Simon Scarrow's brilliant 'Eagle' series.
I've had an interest in Roman history since studying it in history lessons at schoo More...
Jan 01, 2011
Mike
rated it:
This book was interesting. I was not sure what to expect going into it, but now that I am finished, I am impressed. As a history guy, I love the many references to life in Rome and the appearance of many historical figures. I even liked the asides that almost seem to stop the story to talk about a bit of the history involved. In terms of the actual story, it kept me wanted to know more from chapter to chapter. I don't think it was the best "mystery" story in the true sense of the
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Jul 13, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
After the season ending of The Borgia's and series ending of Camelot, I was craving some history. Read some King Arthur and Italian Medieval books, but nothing too original in that arena, it seems you read one you read it all. I remebered the series Rome on HBO a few years back and how much I enjoyed it (rumored for years to be made a movie). After some searching around on my Kindle I cam across the Roma sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor. I enjoyed Roma (courtesy of Alison) and have to say that I
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Feb 27, 2009
Djrmel
rated it:
This series of mysteries was recommended to me when I was lamenting the end of the HBO series Rome. I owe the recommender a fruit basket or something, because these books seem to be everything that show was, and more. The books follow the cases of fictional character Giordiannus The Finder (1st Century BC for Private Detective), with many real historic figures included to provide the plots. In this book, it's just-starting-out orator Cicero (yes, that Cicero) and his loyal, smart, and thinking-w
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Mar 08, 2010
JulesQ
rated it: 
4/10 I didn't like the first person perspective of this -- the very modern narrative style didn't jibe with the late Roman empire setting for me. Half way through the book I decided that I did like it, because if I were a contemporary of the narrator, his narration would sound modern to me. And then by the end of the book I didn't like it again.
Actually, Saylor sort of peters out about 2/3rd of the way through and there's whole unnecessary overly literary passages that do nothing to More...
Actually, Saylor sort of peters out about 2/3rd of the way through and there's whole unnecessary overly literary passages that do nothing to More...
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Jul 10, 2010
Karla (Mossy Love Grotto)
rated it:
I had to read this one for my Roman History class in college, and while it was ok, I didn't get a sense of Rome, its political atmosphere, and what made it tick anywhere near to what Colleen McCullough manages to do in her Masters of Rome series. Despite the professor's insistence that this book was more "accurate" wrt to Cataline's conspiracy and the portrayal of Cicero, the writing was pretty dry and uninvolving. I'm not big into mysteries anyway, so my enjoyment suffered from Genre
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Nov 13, 2011
Lance
rated it:
More like 3 and half stars. Good without being outstanding. It gave a lot of good background historical facts, interweaved within a good story that was based on those facts. This is better than some authors, who seem to take great liberties that reduce the historical aspect to give the story more punch. There is enough in this book to keep the reader interested, while not getting too bogged in discriptive detail. A good balance between entertainment and being imformed.
I will certainly More...
I will certainly More...
Jul 21, 2011
sabisteb
rated it:
Mein Lieblinssatz ist dieser
Zitat:
Ich versank in jene Prozeßapathie, die jeden vernünftigen Menschen unweigerlich vor Gericht befällt, hilflos treibend in einem Ozean salziger Rhetorik, der gegen verwitterte metaphorische Klippen brandet. (S. 427, Blanvalet HC)
Wunderbar diese Beschreibung, oder Jump ?
Einen kleinen historischen Fehler habe ich glaube ich doch gefunden:
Bei Crysogonus Festmahl gibt es Nudeln (S. 371). Die Chinesen hatten die Nudeln möglicherweise More...
Zitat:
Ich versank in jene Prozeßapathie, die jeden vernünftigen Menschen unweigerlich vor Gericht befällt, hilflos treibend in einem Ozean salziger Rhetorik, der gegen verwitterte metaphorische Klippen brandet. (S. 427, Blanvalet HC)
Wunderbar diese Beschreibung, oder Jump ?
Einen kleinen historischen Fehler habe ich glaube ich doch gefunden:
Bei Crysogonus Festmahl gibt es Nudeln (S. 371). Die Chinesen hatten die Nudeln möglicherweise More...
May 13, 2011
Harmonybites
rated it:
This is set in the Ancient Roman Republic in 80BC, the time of rule by the dictator Sulla when Ceasar was young. The narrator and protagonist, Gordianus "the finder" is a kind of private investigator who is hired by a young Cicero to help his client accused of patricide.
I couldn't help but smile at our introduction to Gordianus when he's found by Cicero's slave Tiro. He favors the young man with a demonstration of his deductive talents very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes whe More...
I couldn't help but smile at our introduction to Gordianus when he's found by Cicero's slave Tiro. He favors the young man with a demonstration of his deductive talents very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes whe More...
May 08, 2011
Caroline
rated it:
Roman Blood by Steven Saylor
Roman Blood is the first in a series of historical mysteries, this time set in Ancient Rome! Specifically, Gordianus the Finder is an ancient investigator who helps solves crimes in the waning days of the Roman Republic (pre-Caesar). This series opens with Gordianus being recruited by a young lawyer (yes, THAT Cicero) who is defending a citizen accused of murdering his father.
The mystery twists and turns and, of course, none of the suspects are entirely More...
Roman Blood is the first in a series of historical mysteries, this time set in Ancient Rome! Specifically, Gordianus the Finder is an ancient investigator who helps solves crimes in the waning days of the Roman Republic (pre-Caesar). This series opens with Gordianus being recruited by a young lawyer (yes, THAT Cicero) who is defending a citizen accused of murdering his father.
The mystery twists and turns and, of course, none of the suspects are entirely More...
Jun 20, 2009
Julie
rated it:
"Romans have never worshiped animals as gods. Nor are they sentimental about household creatures. How could it be otherwise with a race that esteems human life so very little?"
This is a murder mystery, historical fiction, with some real historical characters (Cicero, Sulla) thrown in also. Our hero is Gordianus the Finder (i.e. detective), hired by a 26-year-old Cicero who has been hired to be the advocate in court for an accused parricide. The mystery is very good, and More...
This is a murder mystery, historical fiction, with some real historical characters (Cicero, Sulla) thrown in also. Our hero is Gordianus the Finder (i.e. detective), hired by a 26-year-old Cicero who has been hired to be the advocate in court for an accused parricide. The mystery is very good, and More...
Jun 04, 2011
After weeks of teaching Roman art and feeling somewhat too immersed in Roman life, I felt compelled to pull this off the shelf and take my Romans in a fictional form for a change rather than endlessly hunting for various emperor portraits, photos that showed intelligible scenes on the Column of Trajan, and good examples of the four styles of wall painting. Fortunately I still found the book engaging, although like many other readers my interest flagged during a long section about Sulla and Mariu
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Jul 21, 2011
Jan
rated it:
Velmi napínavý detektivní děj z období konce republiky v antickém Římě. Těžko hádat, jak se autor inspiroval současnou společností. Mladý ambiciózní právník, Cicero, si najme na pomoc s řešením obhajoby statkáře Sexta (podezřelého z otcovraždy), soukromého detektiva Gordiana. Děj začne nabírat na obrátkách, když dojde ke zjištění, že nejde až o tak jednoznačný případ... z vraždy se najednou stává spiknutí proti neprávem obviněnému, oponenti hledají špínu a zajdou až k několika pokusům o vraždu.
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Sep 16, 2009
Phair
rated it:
Read for f2f mystery group. This first of series was quite a slog through history- too much history- and it bogged down the mystery which wasn't all that great anyway. Gordianus does not jump out as a character as strongly as Falco, at least for me. Maybe it depends on who you read first. Think I read at least one other later Saylor but don't remember much about it except that I don't think it seemed as dense as this one.
Jun 08, 2010
Alex
rated it:
Saylor does an especially excellent job of evoking Rome the place, even if he does indulge in a bit of historical info-dumping that, while interesting and useful in filling in the reader's knowledge gaps, doesn't really make sense for his character to be delivering. It would be like me stopping to give a 5 minute mini-definition about Obama in a conversation with another American when his name came up.
Nov 04, 2010
Lizzie
rated it:
A mystery set in ancient Rome. I took three years of Latin in high school so the stuff about daily life was familiar, but I didn't know much about the politics, which were interesting. The narrator/detective's life is part of the story but not obtrusive (I hate mysteries that are all about the detective's failing marriage) and the mystery itself is compelling and believable. I'll be looking for the rest of the books in this series.
Dec 14, 2008
Virginia
rated it:
Read this book during sophomore year of college. I remember it was assigned as extra credit and at first I was not thrilled about adding another book to my stack of required reading, but I was soon sucked into the mystery. Perhaps it was just out of comparison to a lot of dry non-fiction I was reading at the time, but I enjoyed it quite a bit!
May 13, 2008
Amy
rated it:
I enjoyed this book enough to buy more--I really appreciate the history and research involved. The only reason I didn't give this a higher rating was that every once in a while, Saylor would stop and give you a history lesson about a Roman emperor or political situation. Now, that's okay, but the problem was, he's do this couple of pages of this as if the main character was thinking it, and then Saylor would have the character say something to the effect of: now, to get back to the point...
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Aug 07, 2011
Karolina
rated it:
I must say, this book was really good. I liked the fact that the characters are true to the historical figures. Granted, I know very little of Cicero, Sulla etc, but Saylor's knowledge I do not doubt. And his way of capturing the readers' interest is exceptionally good. This was most definitely not the last book of his I'll read.
Jan 01, 2009
David
rated it:
1st book This is the first book in the series by Saylor. I like Historical fiction and Mystery. One reviewer I read suggested they did not mix well. I didn’t find that to be the case. The mystery is good and I certainly got a feel for what it was like to live in Rome, what it was like to see and have and interact with slaves.
I look forward to reading more.
I look forward to reading more.
Mar 18, 2011
Ross
rated it:
First in a long series of books about Gordianus the Finder. Here he is employed by Cicero to find the truth regarding a suspected "parricide". Based on a real case and a real man defended by Cicero. Third book I've read by Saylor - all were very good. If you enjoy Roman history or a good mystery, you'll like it.
Jan 17, 2009
Alex
rated it:
This is the 1st of the "Gordianus" series...and i really love the whole series. Easy reading, bit of murder/mystery, but he really puts you "there". It gets contrived sometimes, to put our hero in a position to observe key events, but get past that, and it is enjoyable. Educational too, but mostly enjoyable.
