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Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Rome #1)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 2,858 ratings · 339 reviews

Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people.

Weaving history, legend, and new archaeological discoveries into a spellbinding narrative, critically acclaimed novelist Steven Saylor gives new life to the drama of the city’s first thousand years — from the founding of th

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Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 689 pages

Published April 1st 2010 by St. Martin's Press (first published January 1st 2007)

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May 12, 2010 Dioskoroi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

seluruh sejarah mengandung satu elemen fiksi

Adalah kebiasaan saya untuk mengintip catatan pengarang di halaman akhir terlebih dulu sebelum mulai membaca sebuah fiksi sejarah. Karena di situlah (biasanya) terletak penjelasan sang penulis mengenai aspek historis dan sisi fantasi dari ceritanya.

Saya tersentak saat menemukan beberapa pernyataan yang dikutip penulis:

..pengamatannya bahwa para sejarawan kuno, sebagaimana berlawanan dengan rekan sejarawan modern mereka, dengan terang-terangan memprakte...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Ensiform rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, fiction

An epic biography of the city, spanning a thousand years from the first meeting of traders across the as-yet unnamed hills to the rise of Augustus Caesar. Legendary figures such as Romulus and Remus are made historical, and Saylor even gives one possible source for the birth of the legends of Hercules and his vanquishing of the monster Cacus. Obviously, with a tome this vast, the narrative skips staccato-like over decades and centuries, but Saylor makes stops at all the high and low points: the...more An epic biography of the city, spanning a thousand years from the first meeting of traders across the as-yet unnamed hills to the rise of Augustus Caesar. Legendary figures such as Romulus and Remus are made historical, and Saylor even gives one possible source for the birth of the legends of Hercules and his vanquishing of the monster Cacus. Obviously, with a tome this vast, the narrative skips staccato-like over decades and centuries, but Saylor makes stops at all the high and low points: the rise and fall of the hero-turned traitor Coriolanus; the sack of Rome by the Gauls; the invasion of Hannibal; the attempt of the Gracchi to reform the class system and their subsequent assassination; the rise and death of Julius Caesar.

I was mostly disappointed in this book. In many ways it reminded me of Edward Rutherfurd’s Sarum, also the epic biography of a city that follows the rise and fall in fortunes of very old families in the city. This book has some of Sarum’s flaws, as well, especially its didactic, lecturing tone. I’m a fan of Saylor’s Sub Rosa series, and sadly, I didn’t get that feel of being totally immersed in a time and culture that I do in the Gordianus books. For the most part, these characters don’t visit the baths or watch gladiators or visit slave markets or play ancient dice games or walk dusty streets shoulder to shoulder with slaves, soldiers, and philosophers; they sit around and explain their surroundings. It’s understandable that Saylor wants to keep the readers abreast of the years of history he must perforce glide over, but the result is a book that is often dry and extremely exposition-heavy, particularly between eras. I found myself wondering how it would sound if in a novel set during, say, World War II, a character were to say to another, “You know, of course, how Germany’s dictator, Hitler, has invaded Poland, and that our current leader, Churchill, advocates nothing but total war, in stark contrast to his predecessor Chamberlain, who is popularly regarded as an appeaser.” It would sound forced and wholly artificial, just as Saylor’s quite similar explanations do. Even worse, his exposition is not limited to historical forces. Saylor has characters saying such things as “My son, Gaius, and my two daughters…” to people who are their close friends. Given the length of the book and the number of personages in it, this is understandable and perhaps the most efficient way to introduce new concepts and characters, but, again, it has an artificial ring. For these reasons, I enjoyed the book best when Saylor was sticking to history that was educated guesses (the very early days shrouded in legend), or the later, Augustian, years when everything had been established.(less)

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Nov 01, 2010 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Titus Livy

Shelves: ancient-hist, 2009

Steven Saylor definitely took on a huge task when he chose to write a novelized history of Rome from the viewpoint of one of the oldest patrician families, but least-known in modern times --- the Pinarii, and their cousins the Potitii. The novel touches on the important turning-points of Rome's history, when members of the Pinarii or the Potitii are constantly being caught up in momentous events --- the sack of Rome by Gauls, the Carthaginian wars, the campaign of Scipio, the dictatorship of Sul...more Steven Saylor definitely took on a huge task when he chose to write a novelized history of Rome from the viewpoint of one of the oldest patrician families, but least-known in modern times --- the Pinarii, and their cousins the Potitii. The novel touches on the important turning-points of Rome's history, when members of the Pinarii or the Potitii are constantly being caught up in momentous events --- the sack of Rome by Gauls, the Carthaginian wars, the campaign of Scipio, the dictatorship of Sulla, and so on --- and actually living the events, with the uncertainty and awe of a person caught up in the middle of something with no idea how it will end. The Pinarius or Potitius central to each episode of the book is our main character but not history's main character, and as the family descends through time and is influenced by past character's actions, so are we as readers. This is half-story, half-history, in the Livian vein and a great homage to Livy's history of Rome. The facts are mostly solid, and if two "facts" were available, well we are writing a novel here, not a textbook, and we (the writer) are allowed to pick whichever one fits the story we want to tell the best. I feel compelled now to check a few of Saylor's facts, like was Julius Caesar's sister Julia really married to a Pinarius, or has Saylor made that up out of whole cloth; because if all these occurrences of Pinarii and Potitii were Saylor has them occurring are documentable fact, then Saylor's masterful filling-in-of-the-blanks is even more refined and elegant than I thought.

The source material Saylor lists in the book's Afterword is also excellent, including his use of T.P. Wiseman's Remus A Roman Myth as source material on the pre-foundation history of Rome and the various foundation myths. I cannot praise enough this decision on Saylor's part. Saylor's Remus was not a carbon copy of Wiseman's Remus, but many of Wiseman's observations seem to have influenced Saylor's character creation, and his imagination of the earliest layout of the city. Whereas Wiseman deals academically with the Romulus & Remus story, Saylor says to himself "How can I make this plausible in the real world, not the world of myth?" and then he goes and does so. I can't say enough, even in the review of a different book, about the value of Wiseman's work on Remus to classical scholars; and if you are going to take on the task of tackling Saylor's Roma, then Wiseman's Remus: A Roman Myth will subsequently be no trouble at all and might help the reader flesh out the pre-historic Roman world as presented by Saylor. The one is so clearly, and well, informed by the other.

The omniscient narration of Roma does not have the same voice as the character-centric narration of Saylor's Gordianus the Finder mystery series, for which I am truly grateful. The writing style employed for mysteries would not suit a larger work such as Roma. Different genres require different approaches, and it is not every writer who can go from one to another easily and successfully. The tone and style of Roma is suitable to a long fiction work with many characters and a complex plot full of details. The book has been broken up into historical episodes, loosely based on a single generation of characters, but of course the common thread running through all the episodes is the family being focussed on (usually the Pinarii). You only need to worry about one Lucius Pinarius at a time, which is a relief, as Romans were not very creative namers and you tended to get two or three of every name in a single generation. When one Lucius Pinarius thinks back to the actions of another Lucius Pinarius, Saylor says something like "Lucius remembered that his great-great-grandfather, also named Lucius Pinarius, did such-and-such or knew so-and-so," and that is enough to jog the reader's memory: "Oh yeah, I remember that," or "Oh my gosh kid, you are so misinformed!" But as misinformation (or lies?) from a previous generation become enshrined in popular memory, they become historical fact, and it seems to me that in the book itself Saylor has found a way to comment on the veracity (or not) of the historical "facts" we're operating with today. Did it really happen the way we think it did? Or is there a historical truth there that will never come to light? And how does knowing that is a possibility change the way we view history itself?

In short: This may be a bit overwhelming for the Roman history novice, who isn't vaguely familiar with the people and places Saylor employs in his narrative. There's a lot in this book to soak up. If you aren't daunted by that, all the better for you. For the reader fairly familiar with Roman history, especially the the early books of Livy and the half-forgotten period of the Kings and the early Republic, my recommendation is "have at with abandon, you will love this."(less)

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Oct 05, 2008 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my first Steven Saylor book. It had a tough feat because it attempted to follow the first 1000 years of the city of Rome. Given the task and the ever-changing characters, I think he did a good job. It was a great idea to trace everyone through a family heirloom that got passed down from generation to generation. He seemed to get his facts mostly right, so as a Classics person I was not annoyed. It was a good escape and helped rekindle my love affair with the ancient world :) Let me know...more

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Nov 17, 2007 Claudia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rome

What a book! So interesting and fascinating. From 1 B.C, to the rituals of Gods and goddess(a highly developed system of rituals, priestly colleges, and pantheons adopted from the Greeks in the later part of the Roman Republic). The incredible Hannibal, the assassination of the Gracchus brothers - Tiberius and Gaius - often considered the first major step towards the fall of the Roman Republic. Julius Caesar. In 44 B.C - Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian, later Augustus: The first Roman e...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Smcleish rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally published on my blog here in February 2009.

Steven Saylor is best known for his series of ancient Roman detective novels featuring Gordianus the Finder, and his other works have also been crime fiction until now. Roma takes him out of the genre confort zone, being an ambitious attempt to contain the history of Rome from its earliest origins to the end of the Republic, a period of about a thousand years, within a single novel. Saylor makes his task more manageable by structuring the his...more Originally published on my blog here in February 2009.

Steven Saylor is best known for his series of ancient Roman detective novels featuring Gordianus the Finder, and his other works have also been crime fiction until now. Roma takes him out of the genre confort zone, being an ambitious attempt to contain the history of Rome from its earliest origins to the end of the Republic, a period of about a thousand years, within a single novel. Saylor makes his task more manageable by structuring the history as a series of episodes around the best known stories, and linking them by a simple device. The central character in each story, who is never the focus from the historical point of view, is the current owner of an amulet passed from generation to generation.

Writing a novel about the development of a great city is not a new idea. Peter Ackroyd's London comes to mind, though it's not a useful comparison for me as I haven't read it, but it shows that Saylor was not the only writer with this idea. But for there's one really important precedent for Roma: the histories of Livy. While not a novel in the modern sense, it is a highly dramatic version of the events covered in Saylor's book (and what went on in between). Livy added pro-Augustan spin to the disregard for evidence and acceptance of the supernatural common to most ancient historians, but makes up for this by the quality of his writing and the interest of his tales. In his acknowledgment of his debt to Livy in the afterword, Saylor describes his histories as "one of the great reading experiences of a lifetime", which is perhaps overdoing it a bit, but suggests just how difficult it would be for Saylor to live up to his source material. And that isn't even mentioning the other writers who have taken stories from Livy over the last two millennia, including Shakespeare, whose play Coriolanus and poem The Rape of Lucrece describe two of the same stories used by Saylor. (Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra take place off stage from two of the last tales).

The first stories are set before the city existed, and tell of the origin of the amulet. They juxtapose modern ideas of the reasons for the foundation of the settlement (on salt trading routes) with myths associated with the area of the seven hills (a fight between Hercules and the monster Cacus). As with other supernatural events throughout Roma, the latter is rationalised by Saylor, in line with modern sensibilities outside the fantasy genre about magic, monsters and demigods. Then each tale skips a couple of generations to end a millennium later in the reign of Augustus.

There's plenty of action, and the stories are good. Accuracy is another issue, but obviously problems in this area are more due to the sources than to distortion by Saylor, and he actually uses the form of Roma to show how oral history becomes altered within only a few generations, as people in later stories discuss the events that have already been covered more directly, and the timespan between the stories about Romulus and the lifetime of Livy is a lot greater than a century.

While the inspirational quality of Livy's materlel cannot be doubted, Saylor's versions do suffer from the episodic structure he has adopted. He doesn't really succeed in making the reader feel that this is one story, that of the city, rather than a collection of short stories about individual moments which happen to be arranged by their internal chronology, though he does his best with numerous back references and through the device of the inherited amulet. Perhaps reading Roma is best followed by finding a good translation of Livy, who didn't need to fit his work into a pre-existing form; for the restrictions of the novel - particularly those imposed by the length requirements made to fit in a single volume - have led Saylor to produce a gallant failure.(less)

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Dec 30, 2012 Iceman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Steven Saylor, especialista da civilização romana e autor da célebre série “Roma sub-rosa”, tem com este épico o seu maior desafio e o resultado é simplesmente portentoso.

A intenção, segundo o próprio autor, era simples: construir um romance onde a principal figura seria a cidade de Roma e o império que deu origem. Como fio condutor, duas famílias e um estranho talismã que irá ser o elo de ligação dos primeiros mil anos da História da cidade e, principalmente, da sua fundação ao estabelecimento...more Steven Saylor, especialista da civilização romana e autor da célebre série “Roma sub-rosa”, tem com este épico o seu maior desafio e o resultado é simplesmente portentoso.

A intenção, segundo o próprio autor, era simples: construir um romance onde a principal figura seria a cidade de Roma e o império que deu origem. Como fio condutor, duas famílias e um estranho talismã que irá ser o elo de ligação dos primeiros mil anos da História da cidade e, principalmente, da sua fundação ao estabelecimento enquanto potência dominadora.

A esta história, eis que toma parte duas famílias ligadas por laços familiares: os clãs Potício e Pinário.

Desde a Rota do Sal (1.000 a.C.) é-nos narrado as suas aventuras e desventuras que, obviamente, coincidem com os acontecimentos que originaram mitos, alguns deles que ainda hoje fazem parte da tradição ocidental, muitos transportados para a religião originados festas e festejos.

Rómulo e Remo, que são descritos como simples rapazes órfãos e que, face à sua condição, sobem a pulso destacando-se dos outros pela sua visão chegando de facto a reis de Roma, e é de facto a partir deles que Roma começa a crescer enquanto cidade.

Os conceitos por detrás da República, as primeiras conquistas, os ditadores, os enredos pelo poder, a glória de uns e a aniquilação de muitos, fazem deste épico um romance histórico muito para além do mero romance, pois Saylor ressuscitando e dando voz a personagens reais, consegue transportar até nós não só esses conturbados tempos como também demonstrar a importância desses personagens e dos seus actos.

Pessoalmente nunca fui um grande simpatizante do Império Romano. Sempre o vi como um Império importante, sem dúvida, mas mesquinho, cheio de jogos políticos, lutas pelo poder, interesses pessoais e traições.

Enquanto leitor de romances históricos, agradam-se aqueles que dão mais ênfase ao lado bélico e à descrição das sociedade e ao seu modo de vida e o que havia lido até à data, no que respeita ao império romano, praticamente todos se debruçaram pelos jogos políticos e pelas tricas no seu seio colocando sempre em plano inferior, por vezes até nem falando dele, as questões militares e as suas conquistas.

Este “Roma” também não se aventura muito nessas questões, no entanto conta-nos como nasceu o império, a sua essência e é precisamente esse essência que nos assombra pois constatamos que uns meros mercadores de sal deram origem ao maior império de sempre cuja influência é patente na actual civilização ocidental.(less)

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Sep 24, 2012 Martin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, fiction, roman

Through this massive book we learn not only about the lives and lineage of two Roman families, we learn about the history and making of Rome itself. Many subtle misunderstandings we have as to how the empire was formed are corrected and many other things we suspected were confirmed. History is truly shown to repeat itself chapter by chapter as we follow families and citizens struggle for safety and power.

Is this a novel, a blueprint for a television series on the History Channel, or a craftily w...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Philip Steiner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saylor employs the time-worn but effective vehicle of two family's fortunes to carry the load of a millennium of Roman history. From its founding myths to the end of the Republic, Roma provides a vast, broad, but shallow view of the city and the world it came to dominate. Choosing to focus on the lives of individual members of the fictional Pinarii and Potitii families as the generations pass in and around the city, Saylor denies us a front-row seat at the events that shaped Rome's rise to domi...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Gabrielle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, historical

This book is almost all talk, and after a while it started to grate on me. Steven Saylor spent too much time telling the story and not enough showing. This happened more and more as the novel progressed. The various protagonists would give long speeches, or give their children a history lesson regarding everything that happened in the previous decade(s).

And sure while I know a lot of some of the major events, because I love history, I hated the way the book skipped passed certain major events o...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to read this book because I love Roman history and culture, and have for many years. I'm also a fan of such works as "I, Claudius" (both the two books by Robert Graves and the miniseries), and the HBO series "Rome." Still, when I first started reading "Roma," I was a little skeptical. To put it bluntly, I found it incredibly, um ... phallocentric. Is that a word? But I let myself become immersed in the story, in which over many generations, the city of Rome emerges as the most vibrant c...more I wanted to read this book because I love Roman history and culture, and have for many years. I'm also a fan of such works as "I, Claudius" (both the two books by Robert Graves and the miniseries), and the HBO series "Rome." Still, when I first started reading "Roma," I was a little skeptical. To put it bluntly, I found it incredibly, um ... phallocentric. Is that a word? But I let myself become immersed in the story, in which over many generations, the city of Rome emerges as the most vibrant character in the novel. It was wonderful and exciting to read about the origins and evolutions of places such as the forum, the Circus Maximus, and the Fields of Mars, and even to see the way the landscape played a role in the way the city grew and changed. The characters were also interesting, and I became invested in each generation of the Potitii and Pinarii families. I initially worried that such a large time-span (1,000 years) would prevent me from becoming immersed in any individual characters, but Saylor's able storytelling had me invested in each character almost immediately after he or she was introduced. Some of the stories were exciting, some clever, some quite moving and sad. I found myself reluctant to put the book down to go to work or eat. So why only four and not five stars? These are small quibbles, but in the interest of fairness I should add them. Occasionally, Saylor fills in large gaps in time with a long summary, usually spoken rather awkwardly by one of the characters, of intervening historical events. These passages had the feel of reading a history text book (of which I've read and enjoyed plenty, but they felt a bit out of place in a novel). The other quibble - the last section of the book, covering the period from Julius Caesar's final days to the rise of Augustus, felt a little flat to me in comparison with the other fantastic stories that had come before it. Maybe that's because this ground has been so well covered in other books, films, tv shows, even Shakespeare, whereas the era of the kings, for example, leaves far more scope for the imagination. Nevertheless, I *loved* this book and it's made me want to go back to Rome immediately and revisit all the places Saylor so delightfully includes as part of his story. And even more immediately, it has made me pick up the sequel, "Empire," which I hope to review very soon. Highly recommended! (less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Sue rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-history

This was a very good read - an epic beginning before the founding of Rome and ending just in the last century BC. Saylor's "short stories" of each significant period reminded me of Michener's epic historical novels, but they didn't capture my interest in quite the same way as Michener did. If I could rate the book 3.5 or something just short of 4, I would. Although enjoyable, the book didn't quite make the number 4 grade.

Sayer follows a pair of families through the history of Rome, and I think t...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Edy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku ini bermula dengan mengisahkan kehidupan tahun 1000 sebelum Masehi dimana Larth dan putrinya yang bernama Lara, yang merupakan penduduk daerah sungai Tyber (yang menjadi cikal bakal berdirinya kota Roma) menjadi tokoh sentralnya. Larth merupakan pedagang garam, yang saat itu merupakan produk dagang utama dari sukunya. Dalam perjalanan menjual garam, mereka bertemu dengan suku lain yang dipimpin Tarketios. Tarketios merupakan penjual logam. Perjumpaan tersebut kemudian dibumbui roman percint...more Buku ini bermula dengan mengisahkan kehidupan tahun 1000 sebelum Masehi dimana Larth dan putrinya yang bernama Lara, yang merupakan penduduk daerah sungai Tyber (yang menjadi cikal bakal berdirinya kota Roma) menjadi tokoh sentralnya. Larth merupakan pedagang garam, yang saat itu merupakan produk dagang utama dari sukunya. Dalam perjalanan menjual garam, mereka bertemu dengan suku lain yang dipimpin Tarketios. Tarketios merupakan penjual logam. Perjumpaan tersebut kemudian dibumbui roman percintaan antara Tarketios dengan Lara. Tarketios kemudian memberikan sebuah kalung sebagai jimat kenangan untuk Lara. Tarketios sendiri kemudian mati terbunuh oleh Potitius anak buah Larth yang cemburu terhadap Tarketios yang berhasil mendapatkan cinta Lara.

Potitius kemudian menyunting Lara dan punya anak perempuan Potitia. Potitia kemudian menikah dengan seorang pemuda setengah dewa bernama Hercules yang membantu suku Potitius dalam membunuh Cacus (seorang manusia monster). Garis keturunan Potitius bersama sepupunya Ponarius kemudian menjadi salah satu keluarga patricia (bangsawan) di suku itu.

Suku itu kemudian memilih dipimpin seorang raja Romulus. Banyak intrik politik bermain dari satu generasi ke generasi lain. Raja yang otoriter dengan didukung kaum patricia mendominasi kehidupan suku Roma tersebut. Namun kehidupan terus bergulir sehingga muncul kebijakan perlunya Raja didampingi oleh perwakilan bangsawan dalam wadah Senat. Kaum masyarakat awam (plebeia) kemdian membentuk Tribune untuk mengimbangi Senat tersebut. Tarik menarik terus terjadi sampai muncul gaya pemerintahan dengan kepemimpinan kolektif, disusul pemerintahan Republik hingga muncul pemerintahan Kekaisaran Romawi. Roma sendiri melakukan berbagai ekspansi hingga Chartago, Spanyol, mesir dan Persia untuk membangun kejayaannya.

Meskipun di luar negeri militer Romawi disegani, namun kondisi pemerintahan dalam negeri sendiri sering terombang-ambing karena konspirasi licik dalam menjatuhkan lawan politik. Fitnah, kesewenang-wenangan hingga pembunuhan merupakan salah satu bentuk perebutan kekuasaan yang jamak terjadi di jaman itu. Generasi keluarga Potitius dan Pinarius pun sempat terlibat dalam aksi saling menjatuhkan, walau secara tidak disadari anak cucu mereka nanti akan terlibat dalam jalinan cinta kasih. Keluarga inilah yang kemudian melahirkan Julius Caesar, yang menjadi salah satu tonggak penting dalam menegakan kejayaan Kekaisaran Roma.

Membaca buku yang merupakan kisah epik historis ini, membuatku seolah membaca novel politik juga. Banyak hal yang bisa direfleksikan dan mirip kondisi Indonesia saat ini seperti kekacauan politik akibat kurangnya jiwa kepemimpinan, egoisme, otoritarianisme, konspirasi atau persekongkolan, saling sikut, wakil rakyat yang tidak amanah, penggunaan justifikasi dari agama dan lain-lain. Pertanyaannya adalah, kalau kekaisaran Romawi kemudian bisa berdiri tegak dan berjaya, mampukah kita juga melakukan hal yang sama untuk Indonesia?
(less)

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Jul 03, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I'm glad that I read it, but it was a bit of work for me to get through. I like picking books that inform vacations abroad with a historic context, but more often they work better after-the-fact, since the place comes alive in the story AFTER I've seen it myself, not before. In this case, I was looking for a book relating to the "trip of a lifetime" Candy & I took with the kids last January. Just about every book I could find for Munich was necessarily related to the ugly events leadin...more Well, I'm glad that I read it, but it was a bit of work for me to get through. I like picking books that inform vacations abroad with a historic context, but more often they work better after-the-fact, since the place comes alive in the story AFTER I've seen it myself, not before. In this case, I was looking for a book relating to the "trip of a lifetime" Candy & I took with the kids last January. Just about every book I could find for Munich was necessarily related to the ugly events leading up to WW2, but I had more choices in Italy for Venice, Florence, or Rome. I ended up with this sprawling tale of Rome's history from it's legendary founding (a trade crossroads even before the Romulus & Remus story) up through the end of the Republic.

That's one thousand years and we only JUST got to the start of the Roman Empire and the far-off birth of Christ (which is not part of this book).

I've never read Michener, but I gather that the author of Roma, Steven Saylor, uses a similar historical fiction approach: focus on some common characters from a couple families, and let the events of history play out through their eyes. Only this time he has to go a significant step beyond, and follow two of Rome's ancient families through many, many generations (skipping several times) in order to span the thousand years in a reasonable number of pages (550, which was a lot for me!).

I don't know what else he could've done with that task, so it's hard to fault him for it, but the net result was a lot of storybook sort of Roman episodes, described through characters that have similar family names but otherwise lack a real narrative thread that weaves through the whole book. That's part of why it took me so long to finish (six months). I kept going but wasn't usually compelled to learn what happened next.

Still, it put some meat on the bare bones of history, giving me vivid accounts of Rome's ancient king (and why they never had another one, at least in name), the Punic Wars, the sack of Rome, the Vestal Virgins, the rise & assassination of Julius Caesar, and much more. (less)

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Jun 28, 2011 D.w. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, fiction

First there was Michener, then came Rutherfurd, and now Saylor tells a multi generational story to give us a feel for a place from distant time and far off lands. He though while excellent is not quite as good as the other two I mentioned. Gordianus the Finder is slightly better and possibly because instead of spanning such a long timeline, we are much more focused in those works of Saylor.

One problem always with a generational tale is that just as you find you like a character of the vignette,...more First there was Michener, then came Rutherfurd, and now Saylor tells a multi generational story to give us a feel for a place from distant time and far off lands. He though while excellent is not quite as good as the other two I mentioned. Gordianus the Finder is slightly better and possibly because instead of spanning such a long timeline, we are much more focused in those works of Saylor.

One problem always with a generational tale is that just as you find you like a character of the vignette, the period closes and the child (and in this tale it is usually two or three generations later) now becomes the lead. Saylor tries to focus on rich periods to give us protagonists, but when we have had McCullough's Masters of Rome series before this, it is hard to see his holding up to the profusion we had there of Caesar and Marius and Sulla. Or even the television series of Rome with Ciaran Hinds as Caesar.

The tale though is carefully woven and as we watch the generations come one after the other we see the way that each builds upon the previous. Tales, such as Coriolanus are brought forth in a detail with background that make a legend humanized. And brings all of the Republic of Rome and the need for it to fall, in clear perspective.

Indeed, part of the telling seems to be a commentary on that of America, or other democracies that have become long in the tooth. That as these governments age, they do not keep pace and represent what is right for the people, but need to fall since so much power has been grasped by so few. So much wealth taken by handful. There seems to be an agenda to the writing almost crying out from Saylor saying that there is a comparison here. And that we too are in search of those, like the Dictator Cincinnatus who would be altruistic, but that we probably will end up with men who will want to do the right thing, but will also want to be enriched for it as well, and will be pulled down by men who have their own agendas professing that they too want to do right, but will be further enriching their own selves.

Now I come to it. I recommend this to be read. You will get a lot of history, though sometimes told with device and a little heavy handed exposition. I may even reread it one day. It won't be a classic, but it will fill a hole in a library of books about the Republic of Rome.(less)

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Jun 14, 2011 Elaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1000 years of the history of Rome.

Romulus and Remus (757BC)--legend that they were suckled by a she-wolf comes from the swineherd who found them after a flood. His wife was a prostitute. Ancient name for a prostitute was "she-wolf"
Lupercalia- festival to celebrate the day Romulus and Remus and a friend ran through Roma naked except for wolf pelts over them.

Haruspex- a diviner. From Etruscans.
Asylaeus-patron god of vagabonds. Asylum derived fom this word.

Quiranal-northern most of the seven hills....more

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Apr 06, 2011 Jack Sheppard rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sheer graphomania

It seems that the epic undertaking of “Roma” to Saylor is just a convenient disguise to publicize his idiosyncrasies, at times clearly transgressing the borders of obscenity into the realms of depravity. Regrettably, such authors find their audience, however the genre of their books should be unequivocally revealed in order not to fool wider audiences, seeking a historic narrative, into dissolute stories.
The phallic cult was not a solely Roman invention, nor was it the first an...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Tom Spisak rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Forty-odd years ago, the citizens of Boston bestowed (or inflicted) a classical education on me, which included reading Caesar, Cicero, Livy and Virgil in the original.
While Virgil mostly crops up in memory because the opening line of the Aeneid fits a Sousa tune and Caesar and Cicero creep into my writing style, that long ago reading of Livy applies here.
Titus Livius probably began his only surviving work soon after Octavian Caesar defeated Marc Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium and became emper...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Aron rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good:

Easy to read. Saylor knows all the tricks of the trade to keep the suspense going, to keep the story line moving and to make his characters interesting. He also brings to life many of the "heroes" of Roman history and humanizes their motivations. He gives the reader a good feel for the day to day life of Rome at all levels of it's society. Finally he brings to life all the themes that led Rome to become a great empire along with the internal conflicts that eventually led to it's collapse: i...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Faith Justice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: given-away

This is an abbreviated version of a much longer review posted on my blog.

Over three thousand years ago, a murder takes place on an island in a river flowing through the hilly region of Italy later known as the ruma. This bloody act presages the rise of one of the ancient world’s most ruthless empires. In Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes us on a thousand-year journey from Rome’s mythical beginnings as a trading post for salt sellers through its evolution into an empire, in a s...more

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Aug 02, 2009 Al Akfar rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an astonishingly bad book. It ranks among the worst historical fictions I have ever had the misfortune of encountering.

I'll give Saylor points for concept - an historical novel covering the history of Rome from its founding to the end of the republic is a formidable and praiseworthy undertaking. However, sailing solo around the world is also a formidable praiseworthy undertaking, but if you forget to pack your lunch that just makes you a twat with an inflated view of your capabilities....more

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Jan 13, 2013 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-challenge-books, historic-fiction-ancient-history

Find the enhanced version of this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....

I had no expectations whatsoever going into Steven Saylor's Roma. I only stumbled on it by accident, deciding to read it on a whim more than anything else. I had no comprehension of what I was getting myself into, nor any real grasp of the extensive scope of material covered within these pages. This being the case you might understand what a pleasant surprise my ultimate enjoyment of the piece was.

Mo...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Tarkabarka rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I had very high expectations for this book. I have read some of Saylor's Roman mystery novels and they were reasonably entertaining - when it comes to Rome, this guy knows his stuff. I was looking forward to reading this monumental project of Roman history.
It could have been better.
I have to note tow things up front:
1. I am a Roman archaeologist my profession, and
2. I measure this particular niche of historical fiction (many generations through the ages in one particular place) to Edward Ruthe...more

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Jul 24, 2011 NJMetal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is the very embodiment of the phrase, "bringing history to life." Stephen Saylor's Roma walks the line between historical fact and historical fiction. Where the lines of fiction are blurred who is to say there isn't a dallop of truth to it anyway. Wonderfully researched and brilliantly imagined, ROMA is a must read for anyone who enjoys history and/or adventure and/or biography.

The novel does not follow any one human character. The main characters of this story are the city of Roma it...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Mirah W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Sweeping' would definitely be an accurate description of this novel...it covers 1,000 years! That said, I think it might have been a bit too sweeping. I think the idea is great to have a novel of the history of the Roman Empire, but the sheer volume of that is just too much. I thought the author did a good job of condensing where he could but the downfall was that I never really got to know most of the characters very well. I love getting to know the characters in a story, it's my favoirite par...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Jessi Hafeman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Who could say what might be occurring at that very moment somewhere in the world... where the birth of a man or movement might alter the world's destiny once again?"

The book jacket describes the book as a "panoramic historical saga," and I would agree! This is an excellent work. Such a great concept that the author chose to follow. Spanning 1000 years, the novel follows the shifting fortunes of two families through the ages. You experience the founding of a settlement along a riverbank to the a...more "Who could say what might be occurring at that very moment somewhere in the world... where the birth of a man or movement might alter the world's destiny once again?"

The book jacket describes the book as a "panoramic historical saga," and I would agree! This is an excellent work. Such a great concept that the author chose to follow. Spanning 1000 years, the novel follows the shifting fortunes of two families through the ages. You experience the founding of a settlement along a riverbank to the ascent of a city poised to become the capital of the world. Linking each generation is a taisman as ancient as Roma itself.

I think one of my favorite parts in this novel is the every-changing maps marking each chapter. Not only do you read stories of a family, but you can see the world they live in develop with each generation. I was truly in love with this journey through time. I think the best historical fiction is also rich in facts, and this book is no exception! Carefully crafted and brilliantly voice through the 549-page novel, I never lost interest! It seems that struggles for equality and political arguements and intrigue will remain uncannily familiar subjects throughout time. In Rome, these struggles permeated life through the city's growth.

I also learned so much about the society. Sometimes its hard to keep historical names straight, and that's because men would commonly change their names due to accomplishments in life. Even as fathers passed down their names to their sons, the book was never confusing. I could easily keep the different characters straight.

I think another favorite piece of this novel would be how events in one chapter would become legends and myths in the next. The development of the society based on character choices in each chapter was just mesmerizing and fascinating. I love exploring history, and this really took me through the development of a strong and proud people!

At the close of this family's story, I felt a sense of peace had finally graced their life. And of course, their family line did not end. This book illustrates that life and love will carry us to the end of time! There are no endings as long as love endures. Sappy? Yes, but the book was truly epic! Saylor is great at penning both strong men and women characters. Loved it! This book would be in my top 10 historical recommendations!

(less)

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Dec 19, 2010 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Steven Saylor has written two excellent historical fiction books describing the rise (Roma) and fall (Empire) of the Roman Empire. I was looking for a fresh view on the topic and these books were perfect for this interest. I actually thought I would read only Empire until I realized after just a few pages that for these books starting at the beginning is necessary. Now having finished Roma I can say that this epic retelling of the history of the fragile start of Rome is thorough and extremely en...more

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Jul 30, 2010 Leigh-ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is Saylor's version of the history of Roma, starting from when it was merely a campsite for traders along the salt routes, and ending in the days of the Caesars. I enjoyed the very old details and stories because I hadn't heard them before, but once we reached the time period of 100BC onward, most of the material was familiar and even some of the little characterization stories that Saylor uses were repeated from his "Roma Sub Rosa" series (or vice versa). This wouldn't be a problem for som...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Mark Mallett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, history, nook

Saylor sets his book in the city of Rome (and what will be the city of Rome, as the book starts well before the founding). While the writing is often somewhat plain (I say "often" because some chapters flow a lot better than some others), and occasional purple prose passages almost prudish in their choice of descriptive words, the story is captivating - especially if you are someone like me who is easily triggered by historical references to go look things up online. While it's historical fictio...more

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Oct 29, 2008 Summers rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a good read. The storyline got a little old, but it did wander in close enough to history to keep me listening, and went into some depth. I got a little tired of the pagan worship and arbitrary ruthlessness and injustice -- but, considering it was Rome before Christ, I guess that was the point!

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About Steven Saylor

Steven Saylor is the author of the long running Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel, Roma and its follow-up, Empire. He has appeared as an on-air expert on Roman history and life on The History Channel.

Saylor was born in Texas and graduated with high honors from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classi...more

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Books by Steven Saylor

A Murder on the Appian Way (Roma Sub Rosa, #5)

The House of the Vestals (Roma Sub Rosa, #6)

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“In politics, reality and appearance are of equal importance. You cannot attend to one and neglect the other. A man must determine both what he is, and what others believe him to be.” — 3 people liked it

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Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Rome #1)

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