Catilina's Riddle [Mass Market Paperback]

Steven Saylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 1994

"A sweeping and marvelously evocative story . . ." Booklist.
A mystery of ancient Rome by the author of "Arms Of Nemesis."
When Gordianus the Finder deserts the fierce intrigues of Rome for domesticity on an Etruscan farm, his brilliant patron, the orator Cicero, draws him back with a curious proposal: keep Catilina, Cicero's radical rival, under a watchful eye.
Reluctantly, Gordianus complies -- and soon, despite himself, becomes intrigued by the notorious populist politician. Could Catilina really be conspiring against the Republic? Or are Cicero's accusation no more than vicious lies? Questioning his loyalty to his own patron, Gordianus comes to question even more when he discovers a headless corpse in his stables and is suddenly swept into a mystery more dangerous than any he has ever known.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Saylor ( Arms of Nemesis ) has written another gripping and entertaining historical whodunit. Narrator Gordianus, disillusioned by the corruption of Rome circa 63 B.C., has fled the city with his family to live on a farm in the Etruscan countryside. But this bucolic life is disrupted by the machinations and murderous plots of two politicians: Roman consul Cicero, Gordianus's longtime patron; and populist senator Catalina, Cicero's political rival and a candidate to replace him in the annual elections for consul. Claiming that Catalina plans an uprising if he loses the race, Cicero asks Gordianus to keep a watchful eye on the radical. Although he distrusts both men, Gordianus is forced into the center of the power struggle when his six-year-old daughter Diana finds a headless corpse in their stable. Shrewdly depicting deadly political maneuverings, this addictive mystery also displays the author's firm grasp of history and human character.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gordianus the Finder, Saylor's world-weary sleuth, strives to keep aloof from the complex politics of republican Rome. After years of investigative work for Cicero, Crassus, and others, Gordianus has become a gentleman farmer in Etruria, where he contends with more commonplace problems like drought and conniving neighbors. Suddenly Gordianus finds himself pulled back into Roman politics, and headless bodies begin to turn up on his farm. Saylor ( Arms of Nemesis , St. Martin's, 1992) carefully plots this novel and accurately depicts Roman society; his attentive study of Roman history and culture is evident throughout. The characters are believable and well delineated. Some minor criticisms: Saylor does not always take care to present historical data naturally, and several overlong conversations on Roman politics interrupt the flow of the story and are in fact historical minilectures directed at the reader. Nevertheless, this is recommended for general collections.
- James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; later printing edition (August 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080411269X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804112697
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Saylor is the author of EMPIRE: THE NOVEL OF IMPERIAL ROME, a follow-up to the international bestseller ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME. These two epic novels comprise a multi-generational saga that spans the first 1200 years of the city, from Iron Age trading post to the height of empire under Hadrian.

Steven is also the author of the ROMA SUB ROSA series of historical mysteries featuring Gordianus the Finder, set in the ancient Rome of Cicero, Caesar, and Cleopatra. To read the series in chronological order, begin with ROMAN BLOOD, then THE HOUSE OF THE VESTALS (short stories), A GLADIATOR DIES ONLY ONCE (short stories), ARMS OF NEMESIS , CATILINA'S RIDDLE, THE VENUS THROW, A MURDER ON THE APPIAN WAY, RUBICON, LAST SEEN IN MASSILIA, A MIST OF PROPHECIES, THE JUDGMENT OF CAESAR, and THE TRIUMPH OF CAESAR.

Steven is currently at work on the next volume in the Roma Sub Rosa series, a prequel that follows the 18-year-old Gordianus on his journey to the Seven Wonders of the World; publication is scheduled for summer 2012.

Outside the Roman books are two novels set in Steven's native Texas. A TWIST AT THE END is based on America's first recorded serial murders, which terrorized Austin, Texas in 1885. The chief protagonist is young Will Porter, who later became famous as O. Henry. HAVE YOU SEEN DAWN? is a contemporary thriller set in a small Texas town not unlike the one where Steven grew up.

Steven's books have been published in 21 languages, and book tours have taken him across the United States, England, and Europe. He has appeared as an expert on Roman life on The History Channel, and has spoken at numerous college campuses, The Getty Villa, and the International Conference on the Ancient Novel.

Steven was born in Texas in 1956 and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics. He divides his time between homes in Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas. When not using his brain, he likes to keep in shape running, swimming, and lifting weights.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Politics in Ancient Rome, May 5, 2001

By 

Karina A. Suarez "Karina A. Fogliani-Ahmed" (Walt Disney World, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Catilina's Riddle (Mass Market Paperback)

This new novel by Steven Saylor should really not be fitted under the umbrella of "mystery". It is, specifically, an extensively rich treatise about the politics of the late Roman Republic. There is no real mystery per se within the story, and the discourses of the diverse characters in it, though long, reel us into the vivid truth of roman politics. There's a lot of rhetoric, that science that roman politicians were so famous for, and lots of family life. Gordianus is getting on in years and, with the natural worries and sluggishness that come with being the head of a household, he takes a new dimension in the eyes of the reader. He is, after all, human and vulnerable.

Throughout the novel there is a lot of traveling - it bears mentioning that Gordianus is now a farmer and has retired, as such, to the Etruscan countryside. But just as he starts to settle in, quite a few headless bodies keep turning up in all sorts of places. Gordianus is also challenged when asked a favor from his old employer Cicero, now the Roman Consul. He has to play host to Lucius Sergius Catilina, a patrician of dubious reputation accused of conspiring against the Republic in order to establish himself as dictator absolute. But Gordianus cannot really quite convince himself that Catilina is such an impious character, being so charming, so full of life and, in some cases, of truth. But Catilina is also full of riddles. If only Gordianus could find out the truth...

Once again, the charming character of this ancient detective brings us into a world long gone but at the same time so full of the ideas that shaped our future as mankind. Delight yourself, once more, with a true, colorful story about Ancient Rome.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Artistry of words and intellectual scholarship, February 4, 2004

By 

Nathan Crabtree "singer" (Hickory, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Catilina's Riddle (Mass Market Paperback)

Saylor gives us another powerful novel in Catilina's Riddle. I took Latin in high school and we studied the Catilinarian conspiracy. I had to memorize the first part of one of the speeches in the book: "Quo usque tandem abutere Catilina patientia nostra..."! I love how Saylor brings these great historical figures to life with his descriptive writing. With each novel in the series we also learn more about and grow to like Gordianus and his family. This novel shows artistry of words and intellectual scholarship together. That combination would seem to be hard to pull off, but Saylor does it well. Like other reviewers, I got a little bogged down at times with the intellectual scholarship, but it's not difficult to plug through. It's worth it to experience the action and revelation at the end. I am an even greater fan now and can't wait to start The Venus Throw.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Genius, March 9, 2008

By 

W. Easley "Opa" (Colorado Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Catilina's Riddle: A Novel of Ancient Rome (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Catilina's Riddle is an excellent and very different historical novel. As a former history major and student of Latin who loves detective novels, I found Catilina's Riddle compelling.
This novel appears to be another investigation of Gordianus the Finder but it is so much more. The real inquiry in Catilina's Riddle is psychological rather than legal. It presents the historical, political and sociological tussle between the forces of Cicero, noted advocate and orator, and Catilina, a charismatic rebel who seeks control of the Roman republic. The struggles portrayed in the book are carefully researched and written. Saylor mined the speeches of Cicero and Catilina and analyzed many ancient writings of the period to uncover minute details of the events. Most of the activity takes place at or near Gordianus' rural estate, but the events transform the Roman state.

In this novel Gordianus grows in wisdom and self-awareness. His major mission is to function as a host for Catilina and a spy for Cicero. His primary task, however, is learning to understand the elusive Catilina, abide his contentious neighbors, and tolerate members of his own household. Gordianus grapples with his own inward anxieties.
He relocated to an Etruscan farm to escape the pressures and chaos of Rome only to have the struggles follow him. Having uprooted his family he confronts their difficulties adapting to a new culture. City breed, Gordianus anguishes with the administration of a farm.

For a lover of history this is one of the most researched and footnoted historical novels ever written. For those who enjoy mysteries Catilina's Riddle is subtle but engrossing. For anyone who likes studying people and personalities, Saylor's descriptions of characters is intriguing. For people who love puzzles this novel is full of baffling perplexities.