Roma

Rome #1

by Steven Saylor, John Lee (Narrator)

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 1,000 years - from the founding of the city by the ill-fated twins Romulus and Remus, through Rome's astonishing ascent to become the capital of the most powerful empire in history.

Roma recounts the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture of the city by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter political struggles of the patricians and plebeians, and the ultimate death of Rome's Republic with the triumph, and assassination, of Julius Caesar.

Witnessing this history, and sometimes playing key roles, are the descendents of two of Rome's first families: the Potitius and Pinarius clans. One is the confidant of Romulus. One is born a slave and tempts a Vestal virgin to break her vows. One becomes a mass murderer. And one becomes the heir of Julius Caesar. Linking the generations is a mysterious talisman as ancient as the city itself.

Epic in every sense of the word, Roma is a panoramic historical saga and Saylor's finest achievement to date.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Italy, Roman, Mystery, Ancient History

23 pages, Audiobook

First published March 6, 2007

About the author

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 classics. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.

Reviews

[Mr. Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roma is the story of Rome over a massive arc of time - from the mists of prehistory to the supremacy of Augustus and the establishment of Empire. The story is told from the perspective of two families - the Potitii and Pinarii. The story follows these two families as they pass through time as witnesses (and frequently) victims to great events.

I'm not sure that this book will be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it immensely. I read a lot of historical fiction set in the Roman era. I always felt as if I lacked a certain amount of context and understanding of some of the background. I knew that there were Roman Kings that had been replaced by a republic. I knew vaguely about Romulus and Remus. I knew about Sulla and Marius. But I really didn't have a feel for these great events and people. Roma brings these people and events to life. Reading Roma I had a front seat view into the growth and evolution of that great city. Having read Roma I feel as if I will better appreciate other historical fiction set in the Roman period.

The weakness of the book is at the same time its strength. The book is really broken up into a series of short stories and these are mixed. Some are spectacular. The story of the vestal virgin who breaks her vows was moving and heartbreaking. Other stories are weaker. My own sense is that the stories of the earlier period were better than the later period as the mists of time allow the author a little more freedom to work his magic.

Despite the unevenness of the stories, I enjoyed the book. The book left me with a sense of the city and how it changed. In particular, it sharpened my sense of the role of religion in the state. Roman religious ritual and practice was intimately bound up with the state itself. Knowing that a powerufl new religion lurks just over the horizon I wonder how much of that awareness was the author's work versus my own impression. Regardless, I can smell the danger to the Roman state just around the corner and am eager to read the next book, Empire. (Empire starts at roughly the death or Augustus and continues through about 500 years).

I enjoyed the book. IV out of V stars.

[Al Akfar · Rating 1 out of 5]

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. This book was to Steven Saylor as sailing around the world solo would be to anyone likely to forget their lunch.

Rather than break my will to live flailing against the towering precipice that is this book's awfulness, I shall focus merely on the one aspect that, for me, made it astonishingly bad, rather than just plain, commonal garden bad: exposition. I have never encountered a book in which plot exposition was handled this poorly. I know a guy who writes stories for fun, and his plots are exposed about this badly, but he'll never get published, god willing. To cover off roughly a millenia of history in a (barely) reasonable length Saylor has to skip decades (sometimes centuries) at a time between the little vignettes that make up this novel. As such, anything that you'd learned from the previous story about what was going on in Rome is out of date, as the political scene has changed out of sight. Happily (or not) it's Saylor to the rescue with a clumsily arranged history lesson. Often, in the form of an actual history lesson being given or received by one of the main characters. After 10 or 20 of these, I was ready to give in. But I was on an aeroplane, and I was morbidly fascinated to know if it could get any worse. It did. Don't read this book unless you're a close friend of Steven Saylor's, in which case it would be rude not to, or unless you want a lesson in how not to do plot exposition.

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rome Though the Ages Or Fascinating Etymology of Fascinate

Yes, yes, you're right -- there is a typo in this title. Please bear with me, and eventually the reason why this review just couldn't have through in its title will be revealed.

"Roma" was recommended to me by a friend, who lent me her 651 pages paperback edition, and on whom I happily dumped a few thousands pages of my hastily dusted off favorite historical novels in return. I'm ashamed to admit that "Roma" has been lingering about the house for months, until I finally procured an ebook and started reading in earnest.

"Roma", the first in Steven Saylor's "Rome" trilogy, begins way before the Romulus and Remus foundation myths and ends with the end of the Roman republic. Covering a thousand of years of history in a novel is never easy, and there's always a price to pay. Inevitably, you end up with a horde of characters and a pile of events and have to balance between scope and depth.

Steven Saylor uses the fictionalized intertwining stories of two ancient Roman families, Pinarii and Potitii, as a scaffolding, upon which he constructs a sprawling labyrinth of Roman history, with each new legend or historical event cast as one of its building blocks. And there is also a rather original keystone holding this construction together: fascinus, the mysterious phallic amulet with divine protective powers, which supposedly has been passed from one member of Pinarii family to another from the dawn of time, until being adopted as an ultimate anti-evil-eye effigy by Vestal Virgins.


Phallic gallo-roman amulets found in Reims. Museum Saint-Remi in Reims.(Image credit: Vassil, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

By the way, English owes its fascinate to Latin fascinum via the related verb fascinare, "to use the power of the fascinus" meaning to use the power of magic aka enchant and bewitch.

In its giant scope and purpose "Roma" reminds thick volumes of similar epic intent by James A. Michener and Edward Rutherfurd. All in all, it does deliver an entertaining fictional overview of all the pivotal moments of Roman history, up until the end of the republic.

So what's not to like? Well, I've got two pet peeves:

1. Annoyingly many instances of primitive info-dump, even an info-avalanche -- all these pages upon pages where characters engage in long unnatural conversations solely for the purpose of informing the reader about historical events.

2. An enigmatic proliferation of weird typos, and here we finally arrive at the unraveling of the Rome though the ages conundrum: something is rotten on the pages of "Roma" -- a mysterious r-eating plague, which turns through into though, rages all over the book!

The first time I noticed this, I blamed the e-book version, but after this happened a few more times, I checked my printed copy -- and lo and behold, it contained the same typo. I neither set out to look for typos on purpose, nor devoted any special attention to searching for them as I continued reading, but eventually I began to mark some of those that jumped at me. So, my lazily marked and by no means all-encompassing Kindle Notes contain 24 places marked "typo", 9 of which are for "though". But those are only my favorite examples of thoughness, gems like His cry of anguish reverberated though the woods. and Cousin, you always see though me!

Perhaps fascinus put under the copy editor's car, the same way Vestals used to put it under the chariot of a general celebrating a triumph to protect him from envy of gods and men alike, would have come handy in protecting the manuscript from all these pesky typos.;)

Read in 2024.

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roma by Saylor is a very fun read. I enjoyed it quite a bit and would have given it 5 stars, save for the last part dealing with Caesar. But we will get to that.

Roma is a historical fiction novel that weaves in mythology and history to tell the tale of Rome. Starting in 1000 BC, it tells the story of Rome through the vehicle of the Potitus and Pinari clans.
The tale covers the foundation of Rome and heads into the stories of Romulus and Remus, continuing through major events of Roman history. I especially enjoyed the maps showing the growth of the city and where the important monuments were located. As someone who travels a lot, I always appreciate knowing about the cities I wander around in-it gives a wonderful context for the sights I see.

While 80% of the book is superb, it is Saylor's attempt to involve the Pinarius clan in the events of Caesar and Octavian where it misses a beat. His interpretation of Julius Caesar is a bit off and not consistent with actual history- from the story about the pirates who had kidnapped JC (no they weren't caught partying, Caesar was able to find their hidden base by counting the number of coves that lead to their hideout), to the relationship between Antony and Caesar (Saylor neglects to point out Antony was somewhat involved with the conspirators)..there are some odd takes on the actual history. Perhaps artistic license? The same could be said of the small part devoted to Octavian. I'm not sure where he got the idea that Octavian wasn't a handsome individual. All the art, as well as busts of the young Octavian (which I saw in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence) show the reverse. Also, Octavian NEVER called himself "Emperor", he preferred the title "First Man in Rome". Just saying.

But do not let a very small part of a large tale keep you from enjoying this wonderful book. I truly thought the blending of myth and history in the first parts to be superb. If you are looking for a wonderful read about the foundations and early history of Rome-then this historical fiction is great for you. It does not give a great deal of historical detail, and should not be considered a history book, it is a great historical fiction work set in ancient Rome.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Should Read as 4.5 Stars!**

This great historical novel is set between 1000 BC until around the time of Julius Caesar's assassination.

Two families will figure dominantly in this wonderful novel, and they are the Potitius and the Pinarius clans.

One is confidant of Romulus, one the founding twins of Rome besides Remus, the other is borne a slave and who will tempt a Vestal Virgin to break her vows.

Important events happening during these centuries will be seen from their prospective, and these families fortunes and tragedies will be highlighted in this story within this legendary place called Rome.

From the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture by the Gauls, Hannibal's invasion and the assassination of Julius Caesar within the political struggles of Rome as a Republic.

What is to follow is a wonderful tale about Rome, from the founding by Romulus and Remus towards a Rome at the end of being a Republic, and all this is brought to us by the author in a most inspiring and delightful fashion.

Very much recommended, for this is a superb begin of a masterly Roma series, and that's why I like to call this first episode: "An Excellent Roma!"

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent fiction. If I were to recommend a book to a child in order for them to learn more about Romans, this would be it.

For the more experienced reader, Livy would suffice.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was a very engaging, interesting and fun to read. Spaning about 1000 years of ancient Rome's history following two family's through time this was much better then I expected. Thought it would be hard to connect with the story with all the time jumping but it was much more engaging and entertaining then I thought and I highly recommend it

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-En novela, independientemente de los resultados, los experimentos siempre se agradecen. Al menos la intención-.

Género. Novela Histórica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Mil años de Historia (ni de Roma exactamente, si nos ponemos estrictos, ni todos ellos, en realidad) en clave de ficción, retratados desde la perspectiva de supuestos testigos de excepción pero secundarios en el devenir de los acontecimientos.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvellous sweeping saga by the author of the Gordianus the Finder books.

There are two families, cousins, this is their story interwined with that of Rome. From pre-history to the end of the Republic, the story of these families moves with that of Rome.

I love Steven Saylor's reasoning behind some of the more arcane rituals of Roman religiosity.

Saylor has a lively imagination and has created a thoroughly believable background to the city-state that was Rome.

Well written and impeccably researched, "Roma" is an excellent read.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but not as fun as Saylor's Gordianus the Finder novels/stories.

I think my problem here is the same that I have with lots of historical fiction -- or at least that branch of historical fiction which tries to cover decades & centuries in the course of one novel: you don't get to stay with any one character long enough to really care about them.

The only author I've read who dealt with this satisfactorily is Edward Rutherfurd (I can't recommend his book Sarum enough). Every family member he focused on across the scope of British history was strangely similar to his ancestors, so much so that in my head, they all looked like the same person, even though they were separated by centuries. :-)

But I digress. The book is well-written & full of interesting tidbits about Roman history. Just what it says on the tin. If that's what you're looking for, you'll be well-served here.

[Inês Beato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma autêntica saga épica! Através de sucessivas gerações de duas das famílias mais antigas de Roma, Pinário e Potício, o autor Steven Saylor transportou-me magistralmente pelos primeiros 1000 anos da história da capital de um dos maiores impérios de todos os tempos, Roma.
Desde a sua criação pelos irmãos Rómulo e Remo até à morte de Júlio César, a obra passa por alguns dos mais marcantes momentos do Império Romano, numa impressionante lição de história romanceada.

Apesar de apreciar mais a série Roma Sub Rosa de Saylor, li este livro com o maior deleite, absorvida pelas personagens e pela forma como o autor conseguiu interligar ficção, lenda e factos históricos, que mostram um trabalho de pesquisa digno de registo.
Espero ler em breve o segundo, Império, tendo ficado a saber recentemente que o autor está a preparar um terceiro livro que dê continuidade aos dois que já existem.

[Ram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book about ancient Rome. A series of episodes from Rome's history. Starting before Rome even existed and ending just after Caesar was assassinated. Most of the stories were quite good and some even better. I found it interesting because the main emphasis is on the earlier periods of Rome, before it became an empire, and I have not really read much about those times and events. Well written and well researched.

[Javier Casado · Rating 3 out of 5]

He dudado entre 3 y 4 estrellas. La verdad es que el esfuerzo del autor merecería 4, por la extensión, por la buena documentación, etc. Pero de cara al lector, al libro le falta garra. De ahí el 3 final.
La verdad es que escribir un libro, por largo que sea (que lo es) que resuma 1000 años de historia, no es tarea fácil. Que además intente hacerlo de forma novelada y amena, menos aún. Así que el hecho de que el resultado sea de interés, moderadamente ameno, y que de paso se aprenda algo, pues es muy valorable.
En el lado negativo, pues lo que era de esperar: que es complicado mantener un hilo narrativo y mantener en vilo al lector en una historia por fuerza inconexa, la historia de una civilización a lo largo de mil años. Lo otro que era de esperar, es que es imposible resumir toda esa historia en unas pocas páginas: hay que elegir momentos, escenas, episodios, a los que se dedica algo más de detalle, mientras que el resto se resume en pocos párrafos. Y nuestro interés particular por fuerza no siempre coincide con la selección del autor. Personalmente, me ha sobrado algo de historietas "aldeanas", de rivalidades entre personajes y demás, y me ha faltado bastante de visión global, de conquistas en el exterior, de campañas militares... Por poner un ejemplo, resumir la vida de Julio César en que de joven estuvieron a punto de matarlo, y luego ya saltar a cuando es viejo y lo matan... obviando sus campañas en la Galia, la guerra civil con Pompeyo y Craso, etc, que se resume todo en un párrafo... pues es una selección un tanto "rara".
En fin, por resumir: Roma es una forma ligera y amena de tener una visión más o menos generalista de lo que fue el nacimiento de la civilización romana y la época republicana. La novela termina justamente con el final de esta época y el comienzo de la época imperial, lo cual la deja bastante coja, aunque hay una continuación ("Imperio") que continúa donde termina ésta (al parecer, tampoco este volumen lo cubre todo, pues la caída del imperio queda aún sin cubrir en ese segundo volumen). Se trata, pues, de una lectura que agradará a quienes sientan interés por la historia en general, o la historia de Roma en particular, especialmente a quienes previamente no tengan grandes conocimientos sobre este periodo histórico. Si por el contrario eres alguien que ya ha leído mucho sobre esta época, todavía encontrarás algún episodio o alguna anécdota que probablemente no conocías... pero por lo demás, el libro no aportará mucha información nueva.

[Erin (Historical Fiction Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

Most family sagas tell the story a family against the backdrop of history, but Saylor took Roma in the opposite direction, telling the story of Rome through several generations of two ancient households. Under Saylor's pen, Rome becomes a character in and of herself, more so than any of the individuals through which her story is told. It is an approach I'd never before encountered and one I found I greatly enjoyed.

I have never studied the history of Rome so many of the historic event and mythic legends Saylor incorporates into his work were entirely new to me. Not being well-versed in the the majority of the material, I found in every chapter something new and fascinating from the rape of Lucretia to the building of the Appian Way, from the founding of the Ara Maxima to the sacking of Rome by the Gallic Chieftain Brennus. Thoroughly captivating. There is just no other way to describe it.

Despite my appreciation for Roma, I wouldn't recommend it to the casual reader. This isn't character driven historic fiction. If that is your interest, look to Kate Quinn's Empress of the Seven Hills. No, the beauty of Saylor's work in his recreation of the social and political intricacies of the ancient city as well as the life he breathes into the events that shaped it. One need not be an authority to enjoy this book, but all the same, I think it best suited to those with a deep interest in the city's history and ancient culture.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covering 1044 years of history in 550 pages is quite a feat. Saylor does it by following two families down through the ages from when Rome was a stop on a salt trading route to the ascension of Octavius to be the first Emperor, Caesar Augustus.

Each chapter is a vignette that might even stand alone but is tied to the previous story and the succeeding story by family ties and the passing down of a gold amulet, in the shape of a winged phallus, from generation to generation.

By so doing Saylor is able to highlight many of the major events in the history of Rome through the eyes of one of the descendants of either the Potitius family or the Pinarius family.

My favorite is the tale covering the occupation of Rome by the Gauls in 393-92 BC and the subsequent romance between the Vestal Pinaria and the slave Titus atop the Capitoline hill, the only part of Rome to hold out against the invaders.

I've read a number of Roman Historical Novels and aside from Colleen McCullough's 7 book series, this is as fine a job as any were able to do. The characters are believable. The behavior of the Romans were drawn most realistically. His research must have been very thorough. I had the book club edition with an interview of the author in the back. I was impressed with his list of sources.

I had a difficult time putting the book down.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saylor copies Edward Rutherfurd's idea of telling the history of a city or a nation by tracing one family. The problem is, he isn't as good as Rutherfurd is. Most of the characters, especially the women, are one dimensional. In addition, he makes Cleopatra boring. That's hard.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, that final "Ben-Hur"-esque paragraph probably cost this book a full star in my view. So unnecessary!

OK, here goes...

I really enjoyed the opening segments of this generations-spanning opus , probably because (as a huge "Masters of Rome" and "I, Claudius" fan) they cleverly told prehistoric tales of the earliest inhabitants of the area that would become the City of Rome, giving a foundation to the myths and legends the later Romans would come to believe. The depredations of the monster "Cacus", for example, was a great detour into a proper Horror story. The heady days of the early city and the time of the Kings was a lot of fun, as well, and keep the POV character anchored to one of two early families (eventually and confusingly intermingled) was a worthy enough conceit.

I guess my issues really started in the later Republic stories, when the author just couldn't resist the temptation to keep his narrative close to the intrigues of High Politics, requiring endless exposition and mouthpiece characters giving younger protagonists history lessons to fill the reader in on what had been happening the intervening decades. One could almost feel Saylor's vexation at having to skip some particularly juicy historical incidents, and wanting to cram them in by hook or by crook.

I really would have preferred if the author had took a less "Roman History 101" approach and had simply left the reader to try and figure out why the social conditions and culture of Rome had shifted generation by generation, maybe taking the opportunity to tell stories taking place within that larger world without the burden of having to explain it all.

Still, the fellow clearly knows his stuff, and, full disclosure, he accomplished a narrative task I once upon a time dreamed of undertaking myself. As an undergrad my dream novel was to be called "Seven Hills and Seven Families", with an even loftier ambition of tracing 7 Patrician clans from the founding of the city all the way to the deposition of the Western Emperor in 476AD. I'm glad I didn't pursue it, ultimately, as just reading that description makes me feel unspeakably pretentious. So due credit to the author, and I'm glad he mixed genres and worked counter to expectations numerous times. If you liked Colleen McCullough's series this would be a fun return to the Republic, just don't have too high expectations.

[Dust_and_Air · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma obra fantástica sobre o nascimento de Roma, desde os seus dias como um pequeno assentamento até à sua ascensão como capital de um Império.

A história de Roma é contada através dos descendentes de uma família, que testemunham em primeira mão vários acontecimentos cruciais para a cidade. Este método contribui muito para humanizar a história, não sendo apenas um narrador a narrar factos, mas sim personagens a vivê-los.

Uma das minhas partes preferidas deste livro foram as mapas que mudavam constantemente em cada capítulo, à medida que a cidade crescia e se transformava. O leitor não lê apenas histórias sobre a família, também consegue ver o mundo em que eles vivem em desenvolvimento de geração em geração. Outro aspeto que também gostei bastante foi a forma como o autor representa a criação do mito, que não vou entrar em detalhes para não dar spoiler.

Um livro brilhante para quem gosta de romances históricos.

[Eliece · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed accounts of life in ancient Rome. One of my all-time favorite books is "I, Claudius". So I was excited when I heard about this one, especially since I had liked Saylor's "A Twist at the End" (featuring O. Henry that is set in Austin). But, I'm sorry to say that I was terribly disappointed. I think he tried to cover too long a time period. 1000 years in 500 pages ends up reading like a textbook in places. His characters are undeveloped and just seem a device to "explain" historical events to the reader. The first few chapters were okay, but I had to force myself to finish the book.
Books of a similar genre which I have enjoyed are by Edward Rutherford, particularly "Sarum".

[Steven Harbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this historical novel about the founding of Rome until the time of the end of the Roman Republic. Historical mystery novelist Steven Saylor has outpace even his usual high standards on this book, a sweeping grand epic in the style of James Michener's historical novels such as "The Source" and "Hawaii". I highly recommend to anyone interested in ancient Roman history.

[Shaitarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I don't know if I'd class it as a novel as such as it was a bunch of short stories tracing the history of Rome from before its founding to the reign of Augustus as the first emperor, through the eyes of various members of one family. While this is an interesting idea, it does mean that each story is short and we don't get to really know the characters in any depth.

It's decently enough written with solid, if rather plain, prose. I'm not planning to read the other books in this series, but I may check out the author's other novels set in Ancient Rome at some point.

[Isaac Clemente ríos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Infumable desde casi cualquier punto de vista: abandonado en página 100.

Defectos principales: aburre y los personajes son planos.

La idea tampoco es original, intenta hacer algo parecido a lo que hizo Rutherford con London y Rusos. Pero no le sale.

Me parece increíble que esto se haya publicado.

[Ramiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un viaje hermoso, que toma como columna vertebral la historia de la antigua Roma, pasando por sus distintas etapas. Es a través de sucesivas generaciones de personajes, con sus vivencias y problemáticas, que la historia nos irá contando las distintas fases de la civilización romana. Empezando por un pequeño pueblo de mercaderes y terminando por el imperio magistral que todos conocemos.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[C.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS REVIEW WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW:
Steven Saylor, the award-winning mystery writer of the Roma Sub Rosa series, undertakes the multigenerational historical saga in his latest novel ROMA. Pioneered by the late James Michener and current purview of novelist Edward Rutherford, Saylor’s entry into the genre is a noteworthy one. With his meticulous knowledge of ancient Rome, the subject matter seems a perfect match for someone of his impressive talent—a centuries-long journey from the founding of Rome to the rise and fall of the Republic and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Saylor frames his compelling, fast-moving narrative in elegant prose, using the device of a fictional family whose fates are closely interwoven with the vicissitudes and fortunes of the city. The cast is large and varied, beginning with a salt trader’s daughter in 1000 BC who receives a mysterious gold talisman that will become a family heirloom. Through the eyes of her descendants, the Potitius family, we witness the city’s founding by Romulus and Remus, the struggles and intrigues of plebeians and patricians, Hannibal’s invasion, a mass murderer’s scheme to wipe out a competing dynasty, a vestal virgin’s sacrifice, and the tragic attempt of two sibling politicians to revolutionize Roman society. Throughout we are regaled with the aspirations, delusions, brutal expediencies and hunger for immortality that permeated the struggle to build what arguably became history’s most powerful empire. Readers seeking a central character to identify with may be thwarted by the swift passage of years and events; those who persist will find themselves in awe of Saylor’s command of his sprawling storyline, his penchant for detail, as well as his evident passion for what is truly his book’s only central character—Rome herself, a city whose complex grandeur and enigmatic allure continue to entice our collective imagination.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 only to have a character speechify about how horrible those days were. If they were, show me! Don't have someone yapping about it. Perhaps I would have forgiven Saylor if then in favor of skipping the major historic events, he'd give us some of the lesser know ones. But we didn't get that either.

This book follows the fortunes of one family from the founding of Rome all the way to it's first Emperor. Unfortunately, I never got too attached to any of the characters and it wasn't cause we spent such a short time with each. But because much like the bits about Rome's history itself, it was all speeches, and short summaries of facts on the past.

Next the character would give us a sketch of the current situation, clearly building up to something happening. Unfortunately half the time we'd skip forward a few more decades, and how the situation actually unfolded gets mentioned briefly during another bloody speech. There were a few exceptions to this, and that's mainly what kept me reading.

I give this book 3 stars, but really it's more like 2.5. Not even remotely the best novel on Rome I've read.

[Renae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Saylor's Roma is well-researched and informative, a novel that emphasizes fact and history over story or character. In a very similar format to Edward Rutherford's novels, this book follows a single family over the course of 1000 years, a family who witnesses some of Rome's most important moments, pre-empire. Because of this format, the book could be considered a collection of deeply-linked individual stories, though Saylor occupies some grey area between novel and short story. Regardless, characterization is not the book's strong suit, and honestly, the author's prose itself often suffers due to the need for extensive explanations of historical who's-whos and what's-whats. These issues aside, however, I find that Roma was an excellent book with a strong basis in research, one that appealed very much to my interests and brought something a bit different to the table. I liked Roma very much.

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[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lot of these broad sweeping historical sagas with either overt or tacit connections to real-life events, there's a lot of exposition of the current political situation in Rome (whichever era we're in at any point in the novel) put into the characters' mouths. I suspect this is, in part, a hedge against ahistorical declarations by the narrator. By putting such summaries in the mouths of his characters ("Well, we all remember how..."; "Surely you know as well as I do that...," etc.), the author avoids some responsibility for misleading his readers on matters of historical fact or, at least, generally received supposition. As a result, we're able to skip over decades and into the next section of the book with only a few summations of what happened in Rome in the interim to bring us up to date. One of the fun aspects of this book is to see how Saylor has dreamed up a plausible explanation for what might otherwise be a cryptic or fantastical note in a Wikipedia entry and, as often as not, a rationale for why either a Potitii or Pinarii (each family has its own Wikipedia entries, in fact) or both would have been on the scene or behind the scenes or otherwise tied to the action, often as a first-hand witness.

One would need to be interested in Roman history, I expect, to really enjoy this book. As I am, I was able to enjoy even the expository monologues and put up with the chapters that felt like they were included more to explain developments in Roman history than provide any kind of real protagonist-antagonist "thwarted goal" episode that is otherwise essential to fiction. Taken as a whole, it's an enjoyable book and certainly steeped in more actual history than, say, Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series (if only because the royal/imperial characters in Saylor's series are often full characters in the action, whereas in Follett's work, the king and most of the country's leading figures are off-stage, if even mentioned).

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling all history lovers! I’ve just finished an epic journey through the history of Rome, Roma, written by Steven Saylor. He’s a new author to me and I truly believe we’d have more history lovers out there if this was required reading in school instead of dry history texts. Learning is easier when put in story form.

Saylor creates a fictional family, beginning with a salt trader’s daughter in 1000 B.C. who receives a gold talisman necklace that will become a family heirloom and follows their descendants on an epic journey through 1000 years. The centuries-long journey is broken into 11 chapters, set a few generations apart, which focus on major events in the city’s history, from the founding of Rome to the assassination of Julius Caesar.

You may think that at 555 pages, this is too long. I wasn’t. In fact, I immediately bought the second book in the series. Saylor has meticulous knowledge of ancient Rome and he brings to life the events, people and turning points in Rome’s history. Most of the historical fiction I’ve read focuses on a person(s) against a backdrop of a particular time in history. Saylor takes the opposite approach and I think this is where its success lies. He tells the story of Rome through the tragedies and triumphs of a family and their descendants.

I was captivated learning about the meaning behind the place names, the evolution of clothing, food, religious practices, celebrations, and politics. He brought to life the story of the founding twins, Romulus and Remus, the invasion by the Gauls, fighting Hannibal and Carthage, the building of the Appian Way and the Circus Maximus, and the sacking of Rome. I can’t wait to return to Rome and visit the monuments now that I have a clearer knowledge of what they symbolize.

This book isn’t for everyone! It’s not a character-driven historical fiction book. Saylor has humanized the events and people we read about in history books and crafted a captivating recreation of Rome’s transformation from a campsite along a trade route to its emergence as the center of a powerful empire.