∎ Read Gratis Roman Blood A Novel of Ancient Rome Novels of Ancient Rome Steven Saylor 9780312972967 Books

Roman Blood A Novel of Ancient Rome Novels of Ancient Rome Steven Saylor 9780312972967 Books

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Roman Blood A Novel of Ancient Rome Novels of Ancient Rome Steven Saylor 9780312972967 Books

This title began my recent reading foray into Steven Saylor’s books. My first observation is that Saylor writes exquisitely. He is clearly a master of prose and storytelling. His words melt like butter over a reader’s appetite. Pages turn easily in his work, and the book is hard to put down.
The genius of this particular book and the series involving Gordianus the finder is in the juxtaposition of modern concepts of murder mystery, trial and private detective work alongside perhaps the most captivating ancient culture known to man. A murder mystery in ancient Rome could easily suffer from modern bleed, but Saylor weaves in Roman culture and law seamlessly. It is at once a suspenseful drama and a history lesson that leaves one doubly fascinated. I intend to read the entire series, and I highly recommend this book to any reader who appreciates outstanding writing, mystery and a convincing historical/cultural setting that takes a murder drama out of the typical (and in my opinion trite) “who shot john” formula.


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Roman Blood A Novel of Ancient Rome Novels of Ancient Rome Steven Saylor 9780312972967 Books Reviews

My first read of Saylor. His writing reminds me of another writer who sets stories in history, Patrick O'Brian (Audrey-Maturin series). Mr Saylor does an excellent job of placing us in ancient Rome, it's streets, cultural life and the intrigue of Rome. His environment and knowledge of antiquity and the people is spot on; and I say this as a past student of Latin (along with all the Roman history that went with it)
I give Mr Saylor high marks for making characters that are believable, and behave as we'd expect most mortal humans to react in key situations, yet he never loses the ability to make his characters speak in a distinctly non-modern tongue and syntax.
As a stand-alone murder mystery novel, that just happens to be set in ancient Rome, ROMAN BLOOD is a good, quick and easy read. It moves along at a brisk pace from the first chapter, where right away the author captures reader attention to the crime and the interesting characters who are drawn into the mystery. I absolutely love Gordianus the Finder; who is neither presented as "all knowing", or overly heroic or macho. His demeanor, buffered by Roman custom and life, matches up with any of the great novel detectives. Gordianus is made of the same, determined stuff, ready to get dirt under the finger nails, yet with the integrity of a square player.
It was a fun beach read. I will immediately order Novel #2 in the series. I'm hooked. Great job, Mr Saylor.
I picked this up at a used book sale after Goodreads had been recommending it based on my reading the Falco series. I am not sure what to expect from the series based on this book. There can't be a great deal of detail laying about dealing with actual crimes and trials from 2000 years ago. I liked Gordianus and Bethesda, but am not entirely sure that the mystery is solved in a real way. It seems to me that most of the big reveal was a matter of hand waving by the author which I am not a fan of in mysteries. I think I will try the second book, but am not an immediate devotee of the series. I like the characters so that may be enough to keep me reading.
I enjoyed the SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts and also read Robert Harris’s Cicero trilogy, so I was attracted to the time period and subject matter- and who doesn’t enjoy a good mystery? His other books Roma and Empire are also worth reading. This may have been the first novel featuring Gordianus the Finder but he’s written newer books that precede this one in chronology. So, start with The Seven Wonders and Raiders of the Nile before you eventually get to this one. All of Mr Saylor’s books are historical fiction and have some basis in fact. The time period certainly comes alive. My favorite books are told in the first person and Gordianus is a good guy but no saint and sometimes he perceives things we the reader don’t and sometimes vice versa...Roman Blood is linked to the Robert Harris Cicero series by featuring one of his first famous cases. Cicero’s slave and secretary Tiro gets an education in life shadowing Gordianus in his pursuit of evidence.
This title began my recent reading foray into Steven Saylor’s books. My first observation is that Saylor writes exquisitely. He is clearly a master of prose and storytelling. His words melt like butter over a reader’s appetite. Pages turn easily in his work, and the book is hard to put down.
The genius of this particular book and the series involving Gordianus the finder is in the juxtaposition of modern concepts of murder mystery, trial and private detective work alongside perhaps the most captivating ancient culture known to man. A murder mystery in ancient Rome could easily suffer from modern bleed, but Saylor weaves in Roman culture and law seamlessly. It is at once a suspenseful drama and a history lesson that leaves one doubly fascinated. I intend to read the entire series, and I highly recommend this book to any reader who appreciates outstanding writing, mystery and a convincing historical/cultural setting that takes a murder drama out of the typical (and in my opinion trite) “who shot john” formula.