Customer Reviews

Arms of Nemesis: A Novel of Ancient Rome (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only reason why I gave this one 4 stars is because I didn't like it as much as I liked Roman Blood, the first book in the series. But this book is a great read. Saylor keeps you guessing right up until the end. The addition of a sidekick(although he is much more than that) for Gordianus in his adopted son Eco is welcome. This relationship is special and has a sweet turn at the end. I love how Saylor titillates the reader with the stories of Mummius and Olympias and their surprise love interests. The author's exhaustive research is apparent in the intriguing details of classical food, potions, funerals, and other aspects of daily life of different classes of ancient people. The plight of slaves was conveyed with profound sympathy. Having experienced two suspenseful and beautifully written books so far, I will be sure to finish the Roman Sub Rosa series with enthusiam.

This second entry in the ROMA SUB ROSA series opens as Gordianus is woken in the middle of the night by a mysterious summons to an undisclosed location to solve a crime and save scores of innocent people. Despite the apprehensions of his slave (and lover) Bethesda, Gordianus and his adopted son Eco, are soon on their way. Gordianus of course quickly surmises their destination as Baiae, a wealthy town on the present day Bay of Naples.

Once he arrives he discovers that the crime is, as he had surmised, murder and murder of a wealthy man. The chief suspects are two missing slaves which is why scores of lives are in danger. According to ancient Roman law if a master is killed by a slave all the slaves in the household, in this case 99, are deemed dangerous and sentenced to death. This law is not often enforced but in the present day (72 BC), there is a slave revolt, led by Spartacus, in progress that is threatening the Empire. Is it just fear of the slaves joining the rebellion that is causing this harsh measure to be used or is it something else?

Gordianus and Eco are quickly immersed in the victim's household and find that there are many things that are not quite what they seem. The trail to solve the crime leads the two to the Sybil, into the sea and to the very Gates of Hades. Old scandals and illicit love affairs are uncovered. Ultimately Gordianus of course triumphs but not without many interesting twists and turns along the way.

As with ROMAN BLOOD, Saylor immerses the reader into the world of ancient Rome. The reader is made to see how uncertain live in the ancient world was, for example, Gordianus travels just a short way from his home but to his family he may as well have fallen off the face of the earth. We also see into the lives of the slaves, from the quasi equal status of Bethesda to the brutal existence of the galley slaves. Even among the upper classes live is very much a matter of chance and must be conducted within very proscribed limits. This series of novels breaths live into Roman life in a more effective manner than a score of serious scholarly works could.

The mystery is compeling, well plotted with the clues fairly laid out for the reader to follow. The only problem I had with this one is that some of the characters were rather sketchily drawn and there were so many characters and subplots that it was challenging to keep everything straight.

Steven Saylor succeeds where many writers of historical fiction fail, largely because of strong character development and the ability to make ancient society seem natural -not just a picturesque backdrop. While the murder mystery is entertaining and keeps your attention, it is the little details; political intrigues, conflicting philosophies, and secondary events such as the Spartacan slave revolt, which bring this novel to life. Gordianus is a true Roman, with the sensibilities of a Roman citizen. He does not come accross as a 21st century sleuth transported into a different age.
I was delighted that many actual figures from Roman history are featured in Saylor's novels; Cicero, Marcus Crassus, Pompey, etc.
Highly recommended -and certainly consider Saylor's other Roman novels as well.

Wanting to be transported back to Rome, I found this author through Amazon reviewers and I was not disappointed. While this is a few years earlier than the series, and a few miles south of Rome, it did the trick.

The mystery held my attention, but, the characters and the decriptions of the various settings make the book.

I will read more Saylor.

PS - one month later. I've read more Saylor. This one stands out for its perspective on slavery in ancient Rome and the very wealthy Crassus and his life style. For more on the justice system and the Clodii Family read "The Venus Throw". "Rubicon" gives a plausible description of Rome right after of Caesar's crossing and Pompey's flight from Italy.

It appears that each Saylor mystery weaves a good story around people or themes of Rome.

Arms of Nemesis is a very good historical mystery novel. The history and mystery aspects flow together very well. There is also plenty of suspense.

More importantly, there is real suspense in this novel. Additionally, the detective finds the clues in a consistently realistic manner. No fakey revelations here.

This is important because this is the very first novel by Steven Saylor that I've found that lived up to the reputation that he has had as an excellent writer of historical mystery novels. The other novels by Saylor that I've read thus far have either been middling quality works such as Murder on the Appian Way or really dreadful expositions such as his most recent novel, The Judgment of Caesar.

Arms of Nemesis is an excellent historical, mystery and suspense novel. If you have a need for some good escape reading, this is a novel that you should seriously consider.

This is a book about character mostly. Saylor has written one of the most impressive novels I have read lately. Period. Forget that it is a mystery; forget that it is an impressive, thoroughly researched, history treatise. Reader beware for this is a true masterpiece.

Even though there are passages where you'll feel you are suffering yourself, you won't want to put it down. The backdrop of this particular story is the revolt of Spartacus, which makes the issue of slavery the central point of the book. Although it is not moralizing, there are passages in the book that will bring you, the reader, close to tears. Gordianus is summoned to investigate the brutal murder of one of Crassus's administrators at one of his many villas at the countryside. He is taken there by ship; and here is when one of the many gory descriptions of ancient slavery takes place: with the rowers at the bottom of the "Fury" - the actual name of an imposing ship.

Throughout the story Gordianus takes almost a frantic approach to save the lives of many slaves, although, being a roman citizen himself, he doesn't understand really why. The story is so trascendental, one can understand why Gordianus, in the next book, his own family established with Bethesda, decides to retire to the country. He could hardly imagine what Saylor had in store for him in future adventures!

Gordianus is back in Steven Saylor's second book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of Ancient Rome. I found the character Marcus Crassus well pleasing in his no nonsense and heavy handed way that he portarys himself. The other characters are well thouht out to add to the story. I like character Gordianus all the more because of his nature, His adopted son Eco adds to the story by helping his father in his investigation. The story moves very well and keeps you guessing as to how Gordianus will solve the mystery, even the ending has Gordianus thinking he has the answer to the murder.

Saylor has a surer footing than he did in his first book, though it's still not a "tight" novel. Gordianius plays Batman to Eco's Robin but at a leisurely pace.
Saylor is at his best in describing the unforgettable horrors of slavery which underlie the plot. True, it's viewed through 20th/21st century eyes, but we're talking a novel and not a treatise.
Saylor's gay message tends to intrude in his novels. His male-male relationships are complex, but each novel has one canned male-female scene repeated virtually verbatim from his first book. Bethesda, though, is a wonderful character.
I admire the research put into the books. While the books aren't yet full literary strength compared to Ellis Peters, I suspect Saylor puts in months of research for any given novel.
Keep them coming, Steven.

I have enjoyed several of Saylor's previous novels centered around Gordianus the Finder. Each of the novels is essentially a criminal procedural set in Rome in the century before the birth of Christ. The protagonist is a detective for hire, Gordianus the Finder (delicious name). Usually employed by a Roman personality whose name has carried through the ages to our day, Gordianus steadily unravels the facts as each of the novels builds towards a relatively satisfying conclusion. The challenges faced and facts to be uncovered are set up competently, but the true pleasure in the reading is the skill with which the author places them in a historical universe that rings true, and in the manner in which that universe impacts the situation.

In this novel, Gordianus is roused in the middle of the night by a mysterious stranger with a military air who bids him to come perform a service outside of Rome for a monumental sum. Our protagonist, ever stuck in a middle class purgatory when it comes to his expenses versus his income, and piqued by curiosity, accepts, and from there the story moves forward steadily.

Part of the pleasure of the novel is the multi-layered mystery - who hired him, what happened, why what happened is of such consequence, and so on. The actual doer of the deed is much less important than the impact and consequences of that deed, and Saylor sets up his storyline with aplomb along these lines. Thus, much as I'd like to further reveal the plot, it would be cheating the reader of the review to do so, and so I'll refrain.

Further pleasure is derived from the verisimilitude of the lives of the Romans in those days - the food, the behavior, the social hierarchies, etc.. The story moves along steadily but without undo haste, and will appeal more to those who enjoy description and implication rather than speed of plot. If I have any real criticism, it is that, given that the identity of the evil doer is so secondary to the impact of his deeds, the author makes short shrift of the ultimate revelation, and in fact (as far as I could tell) there isn't much out there for the reader to proactively discern the antagonist, nor, frankly, to care much about the fact that it was the particular person named. While this is a valid criticism, it is clear that this was exactly the author's intent, which somewhat mitigates things.

An enjoyable period piece, rife with interesting insights on Roman society, and one of the author's better efforts.

Gordianus the Finder is hired by the richest man in Rome, Marcus Crassus, to find the murderer of his cousin, Lucius Licinius. Most clues point towards the two runaway slaves. Therefore, Crassus is instituting the ancient Roman law of killing all of the rest of the household slaves. Will Gordianus solve the murder in time?

Steven Saylor did an excellent job maintaining historical authenticity throughout his work while still keeping it extremely interesting. The cultural descriptions were flawless while he simultaneously supplied varying points of view from the separate classes of people. The one flaw that I found however was the minimalistic references to the Spartacus rebellion occurring simultaneously.