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Rubicon (Roma Sub Rosa Series #7) by Steven Saylor — book cover

Rubicon (Roma Sub Rosa Series #7)

by Steven Saylor
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Overview

As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey's favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets-to unearth the killer, or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompey's legions, and certain death. Amid the city's sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal.

     Rubicon, set in early days of the Roman Civil War, is a pivotal novel in Saylor's bestselling and critically acclaimed series of novels set in late Republican Rome.

Synopsis

As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey's favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets-to unearth the killer, or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompey's legions, and certain death. Amid the city's sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal.

     Rubicon, set in early days of the Roman Civil War, is a pivotal novel in Saylor's bestselling and critically acclaimed series of novels set in late Republican Rome.

Library Journal

In Saylors seventh novel set in ancient Rome (e.g., The House of the Vestals, St. Martins, 1997), the reader is once again caught up in a world of murder, intrigue, and history as Gordianus the Finder attempts to solve the murder of Pompeys cousin Numerius. The civilized world of 49 B.C.E. is in turmoil at the onset of the Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar has crossed the Rubicon River into Italy with his hand-picked troops. Pompey, his chief rival for control of Rome, has fled Rome with his followers from the Senate, and all is chaos as the people leave the city. Gordianuss task is made all the more difficult by his discovery that his son may be involved in a plot against Caesars life. This novel is an excellent blending of mystery and history. Although Rubicon will stand alone, be prepared for demand for Saylors other titles.Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK

About the Author, Steven Saylor

Steven Saylor is the author of fifteen books including the New York Times bestselling epic historical novel Roma.  He divides his time between Berkeley, California and Austin, Texas.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Bookseller ReviewsWhen Gordianus the Finder discovers the corpse of Pompey's favorite cousin in his own house, he is not pleased. Nor, to put it mildly, is Pompey. Steven Saylor, the master of classical whodunits, once again creeps through the back alleys of the Eternal City. (A new Saylor mystery, Last See in Massilia, is due next month in hardcover.) Apparently, the Romans have done more for us than just aqueducts.

Library Journal

In Saylors seventh novel set in ancient Rome (e.g., The House of the Vestals, St. Martins, 1997), the reader is once again caught up in a world of murder, intrigue, and history as Gordianus the Finder attempts to solve the murder of Pompeys cousin Numerius. The civilized world of 49 B.C.E. is in turmoil at the onset of the Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar has crossed the Rubicon River into Italy with his hand-picked troops. Pompey, his chief rival for control of Rome, has fled Rome with his followers from the Senate, and all is chaos as the people leave the city. Gordianuss task is made all the more difficult by his discovery that his son may be involved in a plot against Caesars life. This novel is an excellent blending of mystery and history. Although Rubicon will stand alone, be prepared for demand for Saylors other titles.Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK

Kirkus Reviews

The seventh in Saylor's Roma sub Rosa series veers again, like Catilina's Riddle (1993), from straight detection to a wider examination of Rome in the grip of civil war. The story starts off, though, like a classic whodunit. Just as news arrives that Julius Caesar, having conquered Gaul, has crossed the Rubicon in daring violation of his charter and has taken the city of Corfinium, Saylor's hero Gordianus the Finder encounters a corpse in his own home. The strangled victim is Numerius Pompeius, a cousin of the proconsul Pompey the Great, who—outraged that his relation has been murdered under the roof of a man not noted for his loyalty to Pompey, and suspicious that Gordianus' son Meto, Caesar's literary adjutant, may represent Gordianus' own allegiance to Caesar—demands that Gordianus discover the killer, and takes along Gordianus' son-in-law Davus with him to Brundisium, apparently Caesar's next target, to insure that Gordianus will stay on the job. Gordianus has no trouble establishing that Numerius was a blackmailing double-dealer, but his inquiries are stymied by the hysterical factionalism around him as all Rome waits breathlessly to see whether Pompey will succeed in holding off Caesar at Brundisium or drawing him into a trap, or whether Caesar will sweep over Pompey as easily as over Domitius Ahenobarbus, the pusillanimous defender of Corfinium. Saylor meticulously re-creates a chaotic world in which Romans endlessly calculate how much loyalty they can invest in a leader who may lose a crucial battle, branding his followers traitors overnight. And Gordianus' journey to Brundisium, together with the secretary of his wily former employer and adversary Cicero, bristleswith menace. What's most memorable, though, is the brilliantly simple solution to the question of who killed Numerius. Once again, Saylor (The House of the Vestals, 1997, etc.) resourcefully uses a single crime to focus the story of a civilization gone mad. (Author tour)

Book Details

Published
May 1, 2010
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pages
320
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780312582425

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