Reviews

Arms of Nemesis by Steven Saylor

mandapanda's review against another edition

4.0

I really like all of Saylor, Steven books. This one has some awesome Gordianus as a father scenes and the mystery is twisty and complex.

jamiebarrows's review against another edition

3.0

A good solid mystery set in the late Roman republic. Enjoyed both he mystery and the attention to detail the author put into researching the customs and political figures of the late republic.

djrmelvin's review against another edition

3.0

The second of Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa novels featuring Gordianus the Finder as ancient Rome's favorite Private Eye. This time his abilities are requested by the widow of Marcus Crassus' cousin. Widow tells you what the mystery is that needs to be solved and if you're familar with the First Triumverate you'll know that Crassus will be mixed up in it and probably not in a good way. In this fiction, he's invoked a out of fashion punishment of killing all the slaves in a household if the one guilty of a crime against the master does not accept responsiblity. The plot of this book is secondary to Saylor's attempt to humanize slaves and show his Gordianus as way ahead of his time morally. It's all a little forced and if it weren't for the great sense of place I would have abandoned the book fifty pages in. There are better historical novels that address slavery, but there aren't a lot of better light reading historical novels about Rome before Julius Caesar came to power.

writerlibrarian's review against another edition

4.0

I zipped through this one in 3 days. It kept me interested, I learn quite a bit and the historical parts were not keeping the mystery parts down. It was a good mix of the two.

Better for me then the first book in the series. I also like that it's years later from the first book. It's a period I like to read about, learn about (Rome Republic Civil wars era). This story was what I needed to kick my reading drought to the curb.