A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder [Kindle Edition]

Steven Saylor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As in The House of the Vestals (1997), Saylor's previous collection featuring Gordianus the Finder, these nine carefully researched stories cover the early phase of the ancient Roman sleuth's career, affording fans the chance to witness the growth of some important personal and political relationships, including Gordianus's connection with the legendary orator Cicero. Though Saylor's novels in this acclaimed series allow him more scope to describe settings and develop his secret Roman history, he still manages, especially in the book's highlights, "The Cherries of Lucullus" and "The White Fawn," to suspend disbelief and make all his characters feel real. Some story mysteries prove to have a noncriminal resolution, but the twisty fair-play plotting that marks Saylor's best novels (Catilina's Riddle; A Murder on the Appian Way; etc.) is very much in evidence, especially in "Archimedes's Tomb" and "Death by Eros." A partial chronology and historical notes round out this excellent volume.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gordianus the Finder, one of several toga-clad sleuths in the mystery genre, operates by way of giving advice to the likes of consuls and senators in the final decades of the Roman Republic. Gordianus has picked apart political intrigues, murders, and money scams against a rich background of ancient Rome, including the Spartacus slave revolt, the siege of Massilia, and the love triangle of Caesar, Antony, and Cleopatra. All this action has taken place in the eight novels of the Roma Sub Rosa series and in a single collection of short stories. This is the second collection of stories, containing nine gems from Gordianus' early career. The nine stories all present intriguing puzzles, but, more impressive, they shine a revealing light on daily life in ancient Rome (e.g., the Romans' love of a fish-pickle paste called garnum, how they bet at chariot races, and how they use handkerchiefs to signal that a gladiator should live). In "The Consul's Wife," an item in the society section of the Daily Acts, the Roman newspaper, leaves Decimus Brutus convinced he is about to be murdered at the Circus Maximus. In "Something Fishy in Pompeii," Gordianus investigates the theft of his client's famed garnum recipe from a neighboring manufactory on the slopes of Etna. The title story centers on an excruciatingly vivid depiction of three gladiatorial contests that Gordianus attends with a squeamish Cicero following a funeral outside Rome. The stories are admirably varied--some are extensive mysteries; others offer short, sharp slices of life. All are marvelous reads in themselves and marvelous reflections of ancient Rome. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2279 KB
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (May 12, 2005)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000PY4O44
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,356 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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.

The next book in the Roma Sub Rosa series will be a prequel that follows the 18-year-old Gordianus on his journey to the Seven Wonders of the World; publication of THE SEVEN WONDERS is scheduled for June 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

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch Historical Mystery Fiction, June 27, 2005

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Hardcover)

I am definitely a fan of Steven Saylor's "Gordianus the Finder" tales, set in the First Century BCE, during the last decades of the Roman Republic. The present volume is a collection of short stories set fairly early in Goridanus's career, some decades before the more recent novels in the series. But like the novels, these short stories are filled with strong, memorable characters and genuine historial incident.

I rate Saylor as quite probably the best "historical mystery" working today; his books always provide new insights into Ancient Roman life and society. The stories in this volume wwuld be a good introduction to the more complex and subtle novels in Saylor's "Roma Sub Rosa" series, enjoyable in themselves but also illuminating the characters inhabiting the novels.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a collection, July 15, 2005

By 

ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Hardcover)

Saylor's second release of Gordianus short stories are as delightful as those in the `House of Vestals'. In chronological order he opens with The Consul's wife, a quick story of newspaper cryptic messages and a paranoid consul with a beautiful and independent young wife who's not adverse to backing a quick sesterce at the races. Swiftly narrated and demonstrative of Gordianus' quick eye and intelligent lateral thinking our super sleuth solves this case carelessly in a matter of hours and takes his fee. The second `If a Cyclops Could Vanish in the Blink of an Eye' is the shortest of the nine and is Bethseda's only real mention during this feline crime. `The White Fawn' has Gordianus scampering west to Spain to meet up with the renegade general Sertorius in order to chase down Mamercus Claudius, a hot-headed youth who has joined up with him against his grandfather's wishes. Gordianus gets dragged into a search for a white fawn that is acting as Sertorius' soothsayer. This story has a darker ending with our first murder of an innocent.

`Something Fishy in Pompeii' appeals to our palatable readers with its focus on industrial espionage over a missing batch of finest garum whilst `Archimedes Tomb' neatly combines the pomposity of Cicero in Syracuse with the infamous `Eureka' and the bath. Here, Gordianus is called upon to solve another murder after a Trimalchio-esque dinner between the merchant men Agathinus and Dorotheus with their pet poet, Margero. Here we find a reference to Tiro and Eco is also along for the ride.

`Death by Eros' deals with unrequited love in a gymnasium as the overly beautiful Cleon is found at the bottom of the pool and his sister Cleio and tutor Mulciber are dragged in. In what I feel is the best story of the lot, `A Gladiator Dies Only Once' Gordianus sits through a munera with Cicero, witnessing the brutality of gladiatorial combat, and is then by recruited by the Nubian, Zuleika, who is searching for her brother Zanzibar whose death isn't quite what it seems. In `Poppy and the poisoned cake' we find Lucius Gellius Poplicola, a somewhat stuffy censor, allowing Gordianus to rapidly solve the mystery of his cyanide cake with his wife Palla, and son Lucius but finds himself a pawn in a greater political game which echoes many of the fuller novels. We conclude with a visit to the oppulent table of Lucullus and his cherries for a mystery that skips murder entirely and offers Syalor's own conclusion to Lucullus' fading from history.

This is a delightful set of small additions to the Sub Rosa series and serve well to fill in the gaps of the thirty odd years that we have followed our Finder. I sincerely hope more Gordianus come from the pen of Saylor but this may mean he has to move away from creating mysteries based on histroical events as those events are fast running out, though having Gordianus involved in the most famous murder of all in 44B.C must surely lure Saylor's pen.

If you're an ancient history murder mystery fan then Saylor's one of the best. Buy it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine anthology, May 25, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Hardcover)

These nine tales all written in the past decade take place in Ancient Rome in the middle of the first century BC and star Gordianus the finder whose clients provides him with plenty of work (payment is a different story). The cases vary and those "hiring" Gordianus are as wild a group as any detective (make that a finder) might imagine working for. The stories are fun mostly because they provide a deep look at Ancient Rome and the eccentricity of the support characters. Gordianus is his usual witty self, matching and trumping opponents with his intelligence and humor especially the asides. Though not quite as strong as the novels (see THE JUDGMENT OF CAESAR), readers will find each contribution is well written and fun to read.

Harriet Klausner