Rating: 
Summary: NOT TOO SHABBY
Review: CATALINA'S RIDDLE WAS AN INTRIGUING BOOK. THE CHARACTERS WERE DYNAMIC AND THE IMAGERY WAS IMPRESSIVE. I CAN ACTUALLY PICTURE THE ROMAN FORUM NOW WITH THE CROWDS AND POLITIONS. THE BOOK WAS A BIT LONG, SOME SCENES SEEMED UNNECESSARY, BUT OVERALL I WASN'T DISAPPOINTED. SOME CHARACTERS I LIKED WERE GORDIANNUS--HE IS SMART, YET TOO DUMB TO STAY OUT OF POLITICS (UNLESS HE TRULY WANTS TO BE THERE...) BETHESDA--SHE IS THE MATRIARCH OF THE HOUSEHOLD, NO MATTER WHAT GORDIANNUS THINKS. DIANA- IS AN INNOCENT LITTLE GIRL, NO DOUBT SHE WISENED UP TO CONSPIRCAY AFTER HER NIGHT WITH THE LEMURES, THOUGH. METO--IS HONORABLE. ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS GROW UP, YET HE KEEPS ACTING LIKE A BOY WITH ALL THE RUNNING AWAY AND STUFF. CATALINA- INTRIGUING. I NEVER KNEW IF HE WAS TELLING THE REAL STORY OR IF HE WAS TRULY BEING HIMSELF WHEN HE CONFIDED IN GORDIANNUS OVERALL, GOOD BOOK. GLAD I READ IT, I LEARNED TONS ABOUT JUST HOW CORRUPTED ROME WAS. **NOTE TO "JIMBO" LETS READ SOME MORE, I LEARN MORE IN YOUR CLASS THAN IN ANY ENGLISH OR THEOLOGY DISCUSSION, THANKS
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and So Unique!
Review: While reading this book, I am transported back in time to circa 80 BC. It's great to have such vivid imagery of what life must have been like back then. The writing is brilliant and the story is fascinating. Gordianus' letters to Meto brought tears to my eyes. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end of the book which explained other viewpoints and interpretations that other authors had who wrote about this time period in history and that the speeches in the forum in Catalina's Riddle were authentic. I couldn't recommend this book more highly and can't wait for the next. I think that these books are best appreciated in order written - Roman Blood, Arm of Nemesis, and Catalina's Riddle. I liked them all but think this one is the best.
Rating:
Summary: Great addition to the series
Review: Gordianus is back in Steven Saylor third installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series. This book has a little of everything from poltical intrigue to mystery. Gordianus who inherits a farm in the Etruscan courtyside is leaving the corruption of Rome for the quietness of living in a different atmosphere. No matter where Gordianus lives, trouble always follows him. In this story there is a new character by the name of Marcus Caelius who is a protege of Cicero. He is there to ask Gordianus for help to keep an eye on Catilina who is trying to bring the Roman Republic to choas and revolution. As the story unfolds, there is a headless body discovered in his estate that makes it hard for him to find the culprit. As Catilina makes his presence, the story takes off in his attiude towards Cicero who seems to be at his decruction in the political area. Meto who is Gordianus adopted son who has sympathy for Catlina's views and becomes close to him, as he see's Cicero as a demigod. Gordianus is caught in the middle between two ambitions politican who believes in there views are the only way of saving the Roman Republic. I like this story for it's well develop characters and good drama.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavily padded but rather interesting
Review: Well, I had to read this for Latin II, so maybe I'm biased. I honestly do not think I would have finished it if it wasn't an assignment. It had some interesting history, but I'll be honest and say that the history was not well woven into the story like Harry Turtledove's excellent Civil War books. It seemed like Saylor threw in tidbits of history here and there just to demonstrate his knowledge and make readers feel like they're reading something "classical." I am no mystery fan, but I think I know a mystery when I see one, and this was not a real mystery. I won't give away the ending, but even the most skilled mystery solvers could not figure this one out until Gordianus gets the culprit by the throat. I mean, sure, the real solution was the best guess based on the clues given, but I can see other possible solutions. It seems like he just got to the end and started floundering. The story was padded just to please the publisher, who of course wanted to charge eight bucks for a 460 page book. He could have told this story in 350 pages and it would have been much crisper. By the way--about that battle at the end--it's pretty unbelieveable that only two men out of tens of thousands would survive a battle. These days 10% casualties is an absolute bloodbath. The Civil War is well known for its horrific battles in which lines of troops would just march up to each other and pull their triggers in unison, but those battles rarely had greater than 30% casualties. Think about it. Not one man was knocked out and fell on the ground to wake up when the battle was over? Not one gave up and saved his life? I don't care how fanatical these guys were, it is simply not plausible. Still, it had its good moments. I liked that Gordianus was not a standard hero-type character. He had at least some depth.
Rating:
Summary: A different look at the Cataline Conspiracy...
Review: I am a fan of Saylor's other books in this series, but this oneis truly monumental. Anyone with a smidgen of knowledge about the later Roman Republic knows of the sinister Catalina the Conspirator, and his plot to destroy the Republic. Saylor takes a look at what was really going on, and asks who was really conspiring: fans of certain Roman politicians much beloved by American conservatives will not like Saylor's take on this. Saylor states in his afterword that he is not trying to rehabilitate Catalina the way some authors have rehabilitated Richard III, but he does a good job of it nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Holes in the Earth Abound, yet Corpses Lay Unburied
Review: "Catilina's Riddle" follows "Arms of Nemesis" in the Sub Rosa Series by Steven Saylor. Yet the two books show numerous differences. "Arms of Nemesis" featured a son that would not speak, while "Catilina's Riddle" has a son that will not stop talking. "Arms of Nemesis" deals with arms; of war and of squids and of young lovers, while "Catilina's Riddle" deals with the heads of... well that is the mystery. In "Arms of Nemesis" women seduce men with beauty, in "Catilina's Riddle" men seduce other men with power. (This fact might catch unaware those not knowing that Saylor also writes gay erotica under the name of Aaron Travis.) Still 'Catilina's Riddle" is a good book. Saylor has a veritable silver mine of a series, one that hopefully will keep producing for many more books. Though the rapid aging of the main character from book to book is worrisome, hopefully Saylor will go back and tell us of other adventures of The Finder. Or perhaps one of the sons is going to take over... we await.
Rating:
Summary: A good read...
Review: "According to Cato..." This historical allusion begins Steven Saylor's most ambitious novel, Catilina's Riddle, focused around the Catiline conspiracy of 63 B.C. and involving once again the hero of the Roma Sub Rosa series, Gordianus the Finder. Catilina's Riddle finds Gordianus in the beautiful Etruscan countryside, having recently acquired a lavish farm from the will of his friend Lucius Claudius. Gordianus has fled the dangerous mysteries of the city with his wife, Bethesda, and two of his children, Meto and Diana, but soon finds that even in the countryside there is chaos and murder to be dealt with. When Marcus Caelius, a young protégé of now-consul Cicero, comes to ask him for a favor on behalf of Cicero, the Finder can only guess that something is up. For Marcus Tullius Cicero, a clever and brilliant orator and lawyer, never fails to involve himself in political intrigue, even though he has already captured the highest elected office in Rome. This time, however, Gordianus has no concept of the mess that he is getting himself involved in when he halfheartedly assents to having the radical populist senator Lucius Sergius Catilina reside at his lovely farm. Cicero suspects Catilina of conspiring against the state-in other words, threatening to usurp his own power. The Novus Homo (New Man) wants Gordianus to be a pawn in his scheme to discover the conspiracy and then to suppress it. Little does Cicero know that Catilina will be able to gain the sympathy of young Meto and later, even Gordianus. Gordianus must decide where his true allegiance lies-with the power of the Republic or the enemy forces that come to overthrow it. Meanwhile, he must solve the mystery of the corpses without heads that somehow keep appearing on his farm. Someone wants him off of the land; the question is, who? Gordianus suspects one of the Claudii, the neighboring family whose land surrounds his own and who feel that the land ought to stay in the family, not parceled out to strangers. In Saylor's third book, Gordianus again finds himself in the midst of deception and mystery, fighting to keep his family safe and the peace of the Roman state intact. As always, Steven Saylor's style of writing is engaging and lively, keeping the reader interested as Gordianus finds himself traveling from the countryside to Rome and back. The Catiline conspiracy is definitely the most adventurous undertaking for Saylor so far, and he handles the politics masterfully, incorporating famous speeches and events smoothly like any historical novelist. For instance, the election scene is depicted on the Campus Martius and both Cicero and Catilina are seen giving speeches and debating against each other. Saylor's real strength, however, comes in his ability to flesh out historical figures such as Cicero and Catilina. From the point of view of our protagonist, Gordianus, these are real men with real troubles. Each one wants what is best for the Roman Republic; the problem comes in that each one feels that he alone is essential to the state. Both men are powerful figures; one possessed with pure political genius, the other a charming representative of the people. Saylor manages to make them both likable men, so that Catilina even in his devious schemes remains a nice guy who only desires to gain power.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and informative!
Review: I've always enjoyed historical novels, particularly those which managed to teach me about a particular period in depth while still telling me a good story. Because of the "dumbing down" of mass market publishing, it's more difficult nowadays to find really top tier historical novels. In this instance, Saylor's historical novel almost obscures the mystery. But readers who love accurate historical fiction can't miss with this one.
Rating:
Summary: NOT SAYLOR'S BEST...
Review: Although I'm a big fan of Steven Saylor, this book seemed too slow for me. The "mistery part" of the plot is weak and predictable. Nonetheless, the scene in which Catilina tries to seduce Gordianus in his sauna, while Meto is hiding nearby is absolutely remarkable. I enjoyed every single word of the dialogue. Gordianus' response will remain in my memories for a long long time...
Rating:
Summary: A Roman Feast!
Review: This is the first of Saylor's Gordianus books I have read, and I intend to read all of them. Saylor's description of the Roman political milieu was superb (politicians haven't changed much!). And the sexy, charismatic Catilina...Wow! I was in tears at the end. This book has inspired me to read more about the Roman Republic.
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