Customer Reviews

The Prophet from Ephesus (The Roman Mysteries)

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I have given high ratings to the earlier books in the Roman Mysteries series, but sorry to say, I can only give The Prophet from Ephesus 3 stars. To explain why I need to relate more of the plot than usual so if you want to be surprised by reading the book you should probably read only the final two paragraphs of this review.

The Prophet of Ephesus picks up where the Scribes from Alexandria left off with Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus under the threat of arrest. Aristo arrives having tracked his students after notices were posted in Ostia for their arrest. From Aristo they learn that the kidnapping of children has resumed in full force and that Flavia's cousin Popo (one of twins Miriam gave birth to) has been kidnapped along with his nurse. Presumably, Popo is being taken to the so-called Big Buyer, whom we first learned about in The Colossus of Rhodes. We learn that Flavia's father has been in pursuit of Popo's captors and is currently at Rhodes. Flavia and company, with Aristo, head off for Halicarnassus where the Big Buyer (who is revealed to be a Romanized Jew named Mindius) has an operation

The four children are pretty miserable in this book. Flavia has an encounter with Flaccus in Halicarnassus and discovers he has been betrothed, Jonathan is hearing voices that keep him from sleeping and suggest he killing himself for starting the fire in Rome, Nubia is in love with Aristo and is tortured by his presence and Lupus desperately seeks to be healed and have a tongue.

There is an attempt by magistrate Bato to capture Mindius and the mute giant Ursus but they elude everyone and the Big Buyer is seen riding off with a woman who is clutching a baby. Flavia and company go in pursuit as Bato goes by sea to Ephesus where Mindius has a huge villa. Along the way, our heroes encounter a prophet named Tychicus who is healing people and preaching "the good news." Lupus becomes obsessed with visiting the prophet so he can be healed and given a tongue to speak with but he is thwarted as they must continue the pursuit of Mindius. Eventually, everyone arrives at Ephesus when more children are freed from the bondage of Mindius. Flavia and Jonathan take off in pursuit with Bato and his soldiers and Nubia remains in Ephesus with the freed children and Aristo. Lupus goes off alone to find Tychicus who baptizes him but does not heal him. To mollify Lupus Tychicus sends him to the Fisherman, who is John the Evangelist. In this, Lupus is aided by Ursus who has been baptized and healed so he can speak after a fashion. Ursus has given up his former evil ways and takes Lupus to be healed by the Fisherman.

Eventually, Mindius is caught and we discover that he was not running away at all but trying to get to some famous mineral baths to cure his baby (not Popo after all) of some skin disease. Flavia and company return to Ephesus to find the Fisherman has visited Nubia and Aristo and they have all been healed of their problems. Flavia is the only one who remains troubled and goes to the Temple of Artemis where she is surprised to find that the goddess here is nothing like the huntress she worships and is more depressed than before.

Caroline Lawrence has a nice word depiction of the temple of Artemis but I think there is a missed opportunity to have Artemis explained to Flavia instead of having her stalk away disillusioned. The cult of Artemis was highly popular and regarded with deep respect, more so than Christianity during this time. I thought that Ms. Lawrence could have played off Artemis Ephesia as a manifestation of a Mother Goddess, a goddess of fertility and protection, to better effect. Flavia could have applied the difference between the Diana of mythology to Artemis the Mother Goddess and possibly come away more comforted rather than disillusioned.

I found (as my wife also did) that the story has an overly sentimental treatment of Christianity. Everyone who has problems or is evil is miraculously changed and forgets their former troubles as if brainwashed. The baptism scene between Tychicus and Lupus is beautifully written but I wondered if Lupus has any idea what Christianity entails. The Fisherman dispenses the Holy Spirit like a kind of drug and succeeds in curing everyone's problems but have they come to terms with their problems? I had to ask the question: do Lupus, Atisto and Nubia have any conception of Christianity? The evil Mindius is redeemed for all of his past evil and because he has decided to give away his possessions and Bato will not punish him. I found the lack of a villain in Mindius a weak point in the story and after such a desperate pursuit it was not a good resolution to the story.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. As always, Lawrence has seamlessly woven into her work a wealth of historical details, and in this particular book, biblical allusions. Instead of being intrusive, these details only add to the depth and fullness of the novel. Everything is very accurate, and even the most casual reader is sure to pick up some historical knowledge (though he or she may not realize it at the time!). The Prophet from Ephesus offers the reader an intriguing glimpse into early Christianity as well. Without being preachy or cheesy, Lawrence addresses issues of Jonathan's faith that have needed to be resolved.

A distinctive characteristic that sets her books apart from other historical fiction is her knack for describing settings. Lawrence does not simply rely on visual details--she paints a multisensory masterpiece of scent, sight, and sound that swiftly draws the reader into the novel. When reading her descriptions of places, one receives the impression that Lawrence has been there before (and she has). All of her books have this remarkable quality, but The Prophet from Ephesus is beyond exceptional in this regard.

As far as the plot goes, the series is clearly arcing towards an imminent climax. Romance, excitement and tension climb higher and higher, and at the end of the book, the reader is left hanging off a cliff. Personally, I am torn between longing for the next book to come out, and not wanting the series to ever end!

The Roman Mysteries may be children's books, but in no way does Caroline Lawrence dumb them down for her audience. C. S. Lewis once said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." By that criterion, The Prophet from Ephesus is a definite success.

The sixteenth book in "The Roman Mysteries" series picks up almost directly after its predecessor left off (in fact, the final four books in the series are probably best read in quick succession due to the overarching plot of Emperor Titus that stretches throughout them). The four young detectives: Roman Flavia, Jewish Jonathan, African Nubia and Greek Lupus, are stranded in Alexandria, wanted by Roman officials for a crime they didn't commit and believed dead by their friends and families back in Ostia.

But then news reaches them that the slave-trading operation in their hometown is back in business, kidnapping freeborn children and selling them into slavery - and among them is one of Miriam's twins (Jonathan's nephew and Flavia's cousin). With their tutor Aristo, they decide to avoid the authorities by escaping to Asia in the search for the missing children. With Helicarnassus as their goal, the four young people (they can't really be described as children anymore!) are carrying plenty of emotional baggage as they traverse Asia. Flavia has found that the man she loves is betrothed to another woman, and Nubia is grappling with the intensity of her feelings at being reunited with Aristo. Jonathan is haunted by the memory of the great fire that he started in Rome that took thousands of lives, and Lupus is caught by desperate hope when he hears of prophets on the road that can heal the sick - perhaps one of them can restore his severed tongue to him.

As the second-to-last book in the series, there's really no point in beginning to read the Roman Mysteries this late in the series (you'll have to backtrack to The Thieves of Ostia). "The Prophet of Ephesus" draws extensively on characters and situations introduced in earlier books, as far back as the third book. Anyone who doesn't read these books in order will most likely be lost, or at least miss out on the full reading experience by skipping parts of the story arc and each character's personal growth.

In terms of story, the pacing flies along as the children and their guardians go in pursuit of the mastermind of the slaving trade, getting split up along the way as various other responsibilities and temptations cross their paths. There are several characters from previous books, such as Gaius Flaccus and Magistrate Bato, and plenty of new ones too, particularly the titular prophet Tychicus, one of the earliest preachers of Christianity. As the penultimate book, it ends on an open-ended conclusion that strongly hints as to the content of the finale: The Man from Pomegranate Street.

As always, Lawrence vividly brings to life the ancient world in a swirl of colors, scents, sounds and sensory experiences. As you read, you feel you're right there with the characters, feeling cold rains or warm sunshine, tasting exotic foods and riding horses through open countryside, the thrilling terror of capture and the warm comfort of a safe place. Likewise, her research into the customs, locations and history of the past is impeccable, and everyone should finish the book with some new insight into the way humanity used to exist, and what remains of that heritage.

Throughout the series there has always been Christian underpinnings to the proceedings, but it is here (and in The Slave-Girl from Jerusalem) that it really becomes overt. More than anything, this is a story of healing and growth, as each of the main characters grapple with their past sins and current predicaments. With an exploration into the early onset of Christianity, Lawrence ensures that three of her four protagonists reach some semblance of peace in their lives, as well as new understanding and direction for the future. The spiritual aspect of the final few chapters and its effect on many characters may strike some as too heavy-handed, too abrupt, or to simplistic. As has been said in another review, the sudden lack of a villain for the heroes to defeat, one who has been lurking in the pages since The Colossus of Rhodes, is something of an anti-climax, especially after all the trouble and effort put into catching him.

Only time will tell whether there's pay-off to the children's rather sudden conversion to Christianity (not that that's a bad thing of course, just not quite as deftly handled as I would have expected), and I'm currently looking at my library copy of The Man from Pomegranate Street with a mix of excitement, longing and dread. As much as I dearly want to know what happens to the characters I've come to know and love, the knowledge that it will be the last time I get to tag along on Flavia, Lupus, Nubia and Jonathan's adventures mean that I want to put off reading it for as long as possible. One more book, and the journey ends for good.