Rating: 
Summary: among Saylor's better efforts..
Review: If you haven't read any Roman historical fiction from Steven Saylor then I suggest you look immediately at the amazon.com reviews for 'Roman Blood', the first book in the series. 'A Mist of Prophecies' is best enjoyed only after reading Saylor's preceding novels. For those who have had the pleasure of doing so please read on.'A Mist of Prophecies' is a somewhat contrivedstory of an enigmatic soothsayer, aptly name Cassandra. She enters the life of our Roman sleuth Gordianus (..actually, she and Gordy develop a "special" relationship). In the start of the book we understand Cassandra gets poisoned. During the rest of the book Saylor makes clever use of flashbacks to understand what actually happened. Saylor deliciously re-introduces all the evil ladies of Rome we got to know from previous books. These ladies obviously took a shine to the fortune telling Cassandra. Did one of them kill her too? Read the book to find out. Bottom line: slightly fluffy but extremely enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: as much a historical novel as it is a mystery
Review: In 48 BC Rome is engaged in a great civil war with both sides led by a powerful warrior. Though the battles take place in the outer province of Thessaly, Rome is being drained by the war as inflation is running rampant and people are going into debt with barely enough money to eat.
Gordianus the Finder finds himself besieged at every turn. He is worried about the debt to his banker, deeply concerned with his wife's mysterious and lingering illness, and frets over the end of his relationship with his adopted son Meto. When Cassandra, a mysterious woman who appear in Rome one day sprouting prophecy, dies in the Finder's arms saying she was poisoned, he takes it upon himself to bury her and find her killer. His quest takes him into some of the richest and most influential homes in Rome.
A MIST OF PROPHECIES takes us into the heart of Rome during a civil war that makes the inhabitants of the city wary, fearful, and uncertain of the future for themselves and for their glorious Empire. Stephen Saylor descriptions of the times are so detailed that the audience can picture the city in the mind's eye. Experience grants the hero the wisdom to search out the killer using his brains while not relying on brawn as he did in his youth. This is a fascinating work, as much a historical novel as it is a mystery. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A superior blend of history and imagination.
Review: In the hotbed of intrigue that is Rome in 48 BC, Caesar is away chasing Pompey in their struggle for Empire, the populous is divided in their allegiances and life goes on. The wives, daughters, lovers and family members of the power brokers of Rome are all caught up in this most recent tale of Gordianus the Finder. It is a departure from the last two books in the Roma Sub Rosa series that concentrated on political maneuverings and military operations, now returning to a more "human" centered tale involving the women of Rome; giving a face to historical figures that went without more than casual mention in the histories written by men, for men, about men. This is probably Steven Saylor's most non-linear novel to date. It weaves back and forth through the events surrounding the murder of his latest case, who also happens to be his mistress. The story telling has been taken to a new level in this novel, and Steven Saylor deserves the highest accolades for his work here. Am I being too enthusiastic? I think not. A truly wonderful tale that is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Mist of Prophecies
Review: Like her ill-fated namesake who prophesied the fall of Troy and her own death, the Roman seer who called herself Cassandra profited little from her gift of second sight, reflects Gordianus the Finder as the meager funeral procession he's organized approaches her cremation site. Four days earlier, as the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey raged throughout the city, Cassandra had stumbled into his arms in a local market, gasping that she'd been poisoned, but died before she could identify the woman who killed her. Now, at the site of her virtually anonymous last rites, Gordianus suddenly sees some wholly unexpected mourners: the wives of Caesar, Marc Antony, and Gordianus' old mentor Cicero; Antony's actress lover Cytheris; Fausta, daughter of the late dictator Sulla and wife of the fugitive killer Milo; Fulvia, widow of Clodius, the rival Milo murdered; and Clodius' sister Clodia. It would be impossible to imagine a more stellar lineup of suspects in all imperial Rome. Urged on by his daughter Diana's threat to investigate in his stead and by his own hidden relationship with Cassandra, Gordianus intersperses interviews with each of the seven mourners with flashbacks to his meetings with the prophet until her pivotal role in the crisis threatening the empire becomes clear. Though it certainly is worth waiting for the payoff, Gordianus' ninth case packs more than its share of unassimilated history that's hard for a mere novelist to top. Newcomers to the series are advised to start, for example, with Last Seen in Massilia
Rating:
Summary: RomanWomen Center Stage
Review: Mist continues to illustrate Saylor's sure touch as a novelist and firm command of the historical sources and details that he weaves into his plots and settings. The earliest novel, Roman Blood, centered on Cicero and his defense of Roscius under the dictator Sulla. This latest takes place in 48 BC and culminates, historically at least, in Caesar's defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus. Saylor speaks in his author's note about the fact that the words of many of the men from this period have survived, but that none of the words of the women survive directly. So, part of his purpose, and certainly a large part of his technique, in Mist is to present a series of important women. The central woman of the story, already dead by page 1, is Cassandra, a beautiful young, mad (?) prophetess who, in the flashback of chapter 2, falls dead in Gordianus' arms, in the forum, gasping out "Poison. She's poisoned me." We don't know the exact relationship of Cassandra to Gordianus from what we discover in chapter 1, but we know it was sufficient for him, even though in serious debt himself, to pay for her funeral and celebrate it, virtually alone, right up to the funeral pyre. However, at that point some others appear to watch the burning, and these are among the most powerful and remarkable women in Rome. The two questions that arise for Gordianus are: who killed Cassandra and why did these women come to see her burn. This presents a challenge to Gordianus, a tease to the reader, and a structure for Saylor. In fact, the first 16 chapters alternate between present action, including interviews with each of these women and flashbacks to Gordianus' meetings with Cassandra, so that the even numbered chapters, 2 through 16, all start with a variation on "The first time I saw Cassandra..." and most of these flashbacks are dated in Gordianus' mind by something Marcus Caelius was doing that day. Thus Saylor weaves the private story of Gordianus and Cassandra (if it is a private story) with the public story of the (off-stage) conflict of Pompey and Caesar and the in-Rome machinations of Caelius, who is setting himself up as a demagogic opponent of both the major men, relying on raising the hopes and expectations of the poor and debt-ridden in Rome. On the fringes of the story (for most of the novel) are the comparable machinations of T. Annius Milo, who is trying to raise the country-side after escaping from his exile in Massilia (where he was last seen in the previous novel). Each of the women who attended the funeral pyre gets a chapter worth's of investigation (the even-numbered chapters), and each emerges as distinctly different in personality. Saylor is very good here at making them all fascinating characters, each in different ways. Terentia tells about her marital troubles; Fulvia tells how Cassandra's prophecy of Curio's death was detailed and correct, 2 days before it was reported at Rome; Antonia, who got a very negative prophecy from Cassandra, asserts she was a fraud and in league with Antony's mistress, Cytheris; Cytheris admits she put Cassandra up to the prophecy about her rival Antonia, but says she doesn't know whether, otherwise, Cassandra was truly possessed or acting, which she was trained to do; Fausta says what Cassandra prophesied for her didn't make sense to her, because she needed much plainer speech, and no, she wouldn't divorce Milo, because Rome would look negatively on the daughter of Sulla if she divorced twice, and Gordianus notices that Fausta looks a bit beaten up and her doorkeeper, an ex-gladiator, seems to dominate her; Clodia is still the Clodia of old, with a lustful eye for Gordianus' handsome son-in-law, Davus, and harsh words for her old lover, Caelius, but nothing to say about Cassandra, other than that she can tell from Gordianus' demeanor that he and the seeress were lovers; Calpurnia, the only one to summon Gordianus, knows much about Cassandra, since Calpurnia runs Caesar's spy network in Rome, and surprises Gordianus with her revelations. One of Calpurnia's other revelations involves a relationship between two other major characters that neither Gordianus nor we had guessed, and that points Gordianus to his prime suspect. We are sure now who the killer was and why, but the why changes as Gordianus interrogates his suspect, and then she explains her relationship differently than Gordianus had surmised and Gordianus sees the murderer cannot be her. A bit of reflection shows Gordianus who the killer must be and why. Saylor, as always, writes and plots well. His historical detail is full and accurate and his accounts of historical events correct. Of course, he inserts Gordianus into all of these and also attributes motives to characters that are not historically attested, but they are not dissonant with what we know or would guess. One slight literary cavil would be that Gordianus explains a lot of the detail to us, the reader , (e.g., about lictors), but it is not clear who his audience that he is narrating to is and why, if they are Romans, they would need to be told details that any of his contemporaries would already know. It might have been better if the character Gordianus had been explaining some of this to another character who was a foreigner or otherwise had some reason not to know. I recommend Mist of prophecies to any reader who likes a good novel or an interesting interpretation of events in late Republican Rome. I'm eager to see the sequel, to find out whether Bethesda recovers, whether Gordianus and Meto are reconciled, and who the murdered person will be. One of the royal family of the Ptolemies or their retainers, such as Pothinus? One of Caesar's staff?
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Mr. Saylor once again creates a masterpiece that allows that individual not familiar with the history of Roman Empire to slip through time and experience a fascinating culture. Mr. Saylor's offering to his readers is not only on par with the excellent standards he established for himself in previous works in this genre but exceeds the expectations of his readers. One experiences the sights, the smells, the thrill of political intrigue, the desperation of a man advancing into years and trying to convince himself that he is, if not the man he once was, not the elderly individual he believes others see him. If I taught a course in this time period, I would want to use one of Saylor's novels for supplemental material. He is concise and historically accurate and a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: superior
Review: Mr. Saylor's series on the life of Gordianus in late Republican Rome is wonderfully well written and for the most part highly accurate in its depiction of the actual lives of everyday Romans. This latest book depicts the despair and chaos of the Roman Republic as it collapses into horrifying Civil War. The chaos is replicated in the home life of Gordianus. The lives of various Roman women are vey interesting as they are illuminated in the search for the truth of Cassandra's death.
I have not rated this EXCELLENT for several reasons. One, there are some odd inconsistencies which have been noted already by another reviewer. The absence of Davus and Diana's child, the difference in relationship between Bethesda and Eco's wife,bothered me in particular, as I am fascinated by Roman daily life.. These discrepencies are frustrating to us who like to read the series as a whole. Far more troubling to me, though, is Gordianus' treatment of his ailing wife, who is suffering, in addition to a physical illness, the emotional loss of her adopted son Meto. She had raised him all these years, and now he is lost to her due to Gordianus' decision.
Roman society is famous for its debaucheries, but what is less known is that there were many loving marriages, particularly between plebeians and freedwomen, as evidenced from many tombstone inscriptions around Rome. I would have liked to see this aspect of Roman life given greater emphasis.
In many ways, the figure of Cassandra seemed like a primal male fantasy- young, beautiful,and sexual while making no demands at all on her partner. I had already guessed what the solution was going to be to Gordianus' money problems, and felt this added to the male fantasy aspect.
In spite of these reservations, this book, as all of Mr. Saylor's books are, is well written and well worth reading. The history woven into the story is superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Mist of Prophecies
Review: Satisfying read, good set up for next book. Nice addition to, but not my favorite of, the series.
The flip-flopping of chapters from past to present took a while to get used to and while interesting is not a style I hope Mr. Saylor continues in the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Different to the rest
Review: Saylor's latest offering is remarkably different to the rest of the Sub Rosa series. The format, the prose-style, the characterisation and the historical basis move well away from the preceding set.
Indeed this is the first of the novels that doesn't directly use a 'mystery' set in actual fact. At the time of the novel Caesar was about to meet Pompey at Pharsalus in 48 and Saylor only uses the references to the relatively unstable calm to place a date for this mystery. There is some dragging of historical 'fact' of the praetor Caelius in this year before Caesar's dictatorship and in some respects the tired old man ambience that permeates the entire book could be seen as echoing the sudden death of the Republic.
The book takes the form of alternating chapters set in the present, as Gordianus investigates the poisoning of the ex-troupe artist/seer 'Cassandra' and the past with a series of snapshots of Gordianus' interactions with her. The denouement is reversed, actually taking place at the beginning of the novel with the mundus (Saylor actually gives some subtle direction as to where the guilty party lies) and then moves on to explain what happened.
As in most of Saylor's novels it is the motive that is of utmost importance, that and Gordianus' relationship to both deceased and affiliators. We see a man struggling to accept his age and he changing times he lives in. His relationships and his reality are laid open bare to see.
I suspect that Meto will make a 'return' to good graces in the future, Davus is broadly hinted at as possessing acute mental faculties and the continuance of Hieronymous is excellent. Bethseda's illness neatly places a sense of pathos into the proceedings.
So, the novel: very different, as excellent as ever. However, you can't help wondering what is going to happen to the Sub Rosa series as time continues to pass for Gordianus.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best but still one of the best available in genre
Review: Steven Saylor's "A Mist of Prophecies" gives us a glimspe into the political and social power of Roman women as the Republic was dying. Gordianus' prefered methods of discovering the truth, conversation and observation, are tested as he talks to seven very important women who showed up at the funeral of a young woman who seems to have been gifted with prophecies. While Saylor does a good job with the conversations and giving us a view of Roman life there are multiple threads here that aren't as well interwoven as I would have liked. For example, I have nothing against jumping around in time but since there was a consistant pattern of when this was going to happen, I got a bit lost every now and then. Also there are many things going on in Gordianus' house that we see briefly or which are mentioned briefly but that do not really seem to make the Finder as concerned or as thoughtful as a father or husband as we might expect given his character in earlier books. Are we to assume that this is a comment on all men, that even the best and most observant will stray?
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