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Summary: Catillina's Riddle Review
Review: This is the first Steven Saylor novel I have read. Fans of Steven Saylor will recognize the main character Gordianus from previous novels. Gordianus is peacefully settled on an Etruscan farm which he has inheirited from Lucius Claudius. Gordianus has left Rome and retired from his dangerous work. Gordianus reliniquishes his title of Gordianus the Finder to Gordianus the Farmer. His peaceful farm life is soon disrupted as he is drawn into the Catiline conspiracy by Cicero. One of the most interesting elements of the book is how Saylor analyzes the Catiline conspiracy. Catillina is not portrayed as the destroyer of Rome. However Saylor lets the reader draw their own conclusion on the character of Catilina. I found this a very entertaining novel, and it is a must read for any Saylor Fan. 3 stars
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Summary: Another excellent novel from Steven Saylor
Review: "Catilina's Riddle" is packed with intrigue, information and excitement. As usual, Steven Saylor makes a first class job of marrying history to mystery, and the result is a challenging and informative book. Tantalisingly, Gordianus continues to refer to previous cases which are not represented by books, but there is apparently a collection of short stories to explain all these to his followers - I look forward to receiving my copy. I heartily recommend this book to all who are interested in Roman history and archaeology, as well as to mystery fans.
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Summary: Artistry of words and intellectual scholarship
Review: 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.
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Summary: Another excellent novel from Steven Saylor
Review: "Catilina's Riddle" is packed with intrigue, information and excitement. As usual, Steven Saylor makes a first class job of marrying history to mystery, and the result is a challenging and informative book. Tantalisingly, Gordianus continues to refer to previous cases which are not represented by books, but there is apparently a collection of short stories to explain all these to his followers - I look forward to receiving my copy. I heartily recommend this book to all who are interested in Roman history and archaeology, as well as to mystery fans.
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Summary: Gordianus goes gay!
Review: I'm enjoying this series a lot. They make great airplane books. There were many aspects of CATALINA'S RIDDLE that I really enjoyed, like the details of Roman life and the rather titillating scene wherein our hero is seduced by another man. The characters of Gordianus and his family became much deeper in this volume. However, the parts that dealt with the Cataline conspiracy were dull, dull, dull in comparison to the parts dealing with Gordianus, his family, and his neighbors. There was too much history and not enough mystery. The Cataline background overwhelmed this installment of Saylor's Sub Rosa series. I enjoyed this book's humor and irony, but it was not as consistently entertaining as the previous volumes.
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Summary: A Supplement to the Catilinarian Conspiracy
Review: This is the second year I have used Catilina's Riddle in my Latin III class. As we translate Cicero and Sallust, this book adds a little levity. Although it's a bit longer than I would like, it's an easy read. Saylor sheds some personality on Cicero, Catiline, and other historical characters in a way that Sallust could not. He pulls translations almost verbatim out of Cicero's "In Catilinam." Students are able to relate more closely to the plight of Catiline. The work even lends itself to some lessons in historiography (i.e., since historians base their perceptions of Catiline primarily on the works of Cicero and Sallust, how do we know what the "real" Catiline was like?). The plot of Gordianus and his misgivings about his inherited farm are secondary, but they keep the story moving along.
I find Saylor's work to lack the passion and insight that some other historical fiction writers seem to conjure. Mary Renault's works, for instance, stand alone. However, I had several students who simply could not put the book down. Anything that inspires a 15-year old to read like that deserves applaud.
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Summary: This IS It !
Review: This is the book that got me hooked on Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. After only one chapter I ordered Roman Blood so I could catch up. It was hard waiting to read this book in order ( 3 ), but it was worth it. On to The Venus Throw. Great fast reads that have mystery, good solid characters and Roman political and cultural history interwoven throughout.
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Summary: Very good, although not a mystery strictu sensu.
Review: Marxist theorethician Ernest Mandel, who loved detective novels, and wrote a study on them (Delightful Murder) said that the detective novel, dealing as it does with the question of justice between individuals, could be conceived of only in a bourgeois society and, as he died before Steven Saylor had his say, I believe he would have found Gordianus' adventures impossible in advance. But then one has to marvel at the ability with which Saylor has found a way around this problem. In a pre-bourgeois society like late Republican Rome, no one seems very concerned about what Gordianus the Finder has to "find" or has actually "found": what they want from him is only a confirmation of their Ex Ante ideas about any issue. That leaves Gordianus himself with the task of pondering what is his place in a world he finds, as he grows old, incrasingly more uncongenial, brutish and corrupt and leaves a smaller room for mystery and more for historical speculation. But then that's the best solution that could be found for this book. Very good, highly recommended.
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Summary: One of my favorites
Review: Steven Saylor is currently one of my favorite authors and Catilina's Riddle is, I think, the best of the whole Sub Rosa series. Saylor really captures the charisma that such characters as Ceasar and Catilina must have had and Gordianus provides us with the "behind the scenes" view of some of these most famous characters in history. The Mystery is solid, although somewhat incidental to the history, and the descriptions of life on an ancient farm are unique in my reading experience. If you like Rome and/or Mysteries it doesn't get any better than this.One down side: This is good enough to buy the hardback, its a keeper, but I made the mistake of getting the paperback. This is the Ballantine Publishing Group paperback with the headless statue on the cover. The leaves were already falling out of the book before I'd gotten 10 pages in. If you are like me, part of the enjoyment of a book is the feel (I like paperbacks) and the feel of a book with pages falling out is down right depressing.
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Summary: Drags more than some others in the series
Review: 17 years have passed between the story in this novel and "Roman Blood". Gordianus again is involved with Cicero and yet very little interaction occurs between the great orator and the "Finder". In fact, this novel is far more a "life in Gordianus' house" than a mystery of any sort. Sure, Saylor does a good job of making everyday life realistic but I was expecting more of a mystery, more intrigue, and more insights from Gordianus who seems highly out of place both in plots around him and in his own family at times. Yet, it is much better than the Falco series.
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