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richvar's review against another edition
4.0
Kellemes meglepetés volt, mivel korábban nem olvastam a Gordianus sorozatból egyet sem. Ez egy fajta előzmény ahhoz a sorozathoz, azt a történetet meséli el hogyan kereste fel a fiatal Gordianus az ókori világ hét csodáját görög tanítómesterével. Mivel elég keveset tudtam eddig ezekről a helyszínekről, nagyon sok újdonság volt benne. A Róma illetve a Birodalom című korábbi Saylor regényekből megszokott lebilincselő leírások miatt érdemes elolvasni. A nyomozgatós része kicsit erőltetett néha, de mivel ez ennek a sorozatnak a lényege, értem miért volt rá szükség.
Korabeli útikönyvnek sem utolsó, kár, hogy a piramisokon kívül már egyik csoda sem létezik.
Korabeli útikönyvnek sem utolsó, kár, hogy a piramisokon kívül már egyik csoda sem létezik.
marystevens's review against another edition
3.0
I always read Saylor because he's so interesting although his style is pretty pedestrian. But you feel like you're really there! I got pix of the 7 wonders on the Internet and that helped to visualize them.
wellington299's review against another edition
3.0
For a collection of short stories, this is a great collection. This is a preqel following the eighteen year old Gordianus, the Finder, who would later star in a book series "Roma Sub Rosa".
Antipater of Sidon, a real historical figure, takes young Gordianus on a tour to see the Seven Wonders (of the Ancient World). I thoroughly enjoyed the magical descriptions of the Seven Wonders of which only one of them exists in our time (the Pyramids).
At each Wonder (and a couple interludes), Gordianus gets involved in mystery which he solves.
Still I found the stories on the simplistic side. With the mysteries just short stories, the true culprit was difficult to hide. The writing on the simplistic side. It felt more like a young adult book (which I would have loved when I was in junior high).
bob_muller's review against another edition
4.0
The loose collection of short stories written around the seven, or is it eight, wonders of the ancient world almost works but doesn't, quite. Most of the stories are not particularly well done, with superficial characters and plot. The last couple of stories almost redeems the book, and you can see the outlines of the novel this could have been but wasn't. Still, it's good to have the story of the youth of Gordianus, and I hope there is a novel 0.5 that takes place in Alexandria. I don't want to be too negative, so I'll end by saying I read it straight through and enjoyed it all immensely--Saylor's writing is as always highly entertaining and keeps things moving.
archytas's review
3.0
Like Saylor's other short story collections, this falls short for sheer entertainment of his novels, but it is easily the most enjoyable of the short story collections. Having a strong theme to pull it together - the seven wonders - allows Saylor to showcase his understanding of how the Ancient World fits together, and his meticulous research about the marvels pays off. The book is worth reading simly for the description of these constructions, and Saylor gives us what we need to understand how awe-inspiring they seemed to the Ancient peoples who lived among them, given the resources, technology and social organisation of the time.
The weakest point of the novel is probably the characters. With the exception of the teenage Gordianus, none really come to life as much more than tropes, including his travelling companion. Even Gordianus, teen detective, seems to spend all his time sleuthing puzzles and little giving us much insight into how a young Roman might change cultural beliefs and worldview by such a far flung journey.The early Gordianus books imply a somewhat callow youth, and I guess I was disappointed that this Gordianus seemed more lacklustre that had been hinted at.
The weakest point of the novel is probably the characters. With the exception of the teenage Gordianus, none really come to life as much more than tropes, including his travelling companion. Even Gordianus, teen detective, seems to spend all his time sleuthing puzzles and little giving us much insight into how a young Roman might change cultural beliefs and worldview by such a far flung journey.The early Gordianus books imply a somewhat callow youth, and I guess I was disappointed that this Gordianus seemed more lacklustre that had been hinted at.
bb70's review
2.0
Set in the ancient Greco-Roman world, this story of a young man traveling to see the Seven World Wonders flows easily from one scene into the next. But the tension is never high, and after a couple of chapters it becomes quite predictable. It does have a lot of background information, so if you're interested in the ancient world, but unaware of many of the facts, I guess it's an okay read.
traveller1's review
4.0
If there is one thing I have learnt from reading Saylor's Gordianus adventures it is—stay away from the "Finder", because death alway finds those near him. In this novel the young Gordianus sets off from Rome with his father's blessing, in the company of the noted poet Antipater of Sidon, who is in disguise, to see the Seven Wonders of the (Ancient) World. Cool. Lucky guy.
Needless to say far more is seen that simply each Wonder. Along the way mystery, intrigue, greed, and, resultantly, death is to be found. Gordianus demonstrates that he is his father's son, solving perceptively each murder and mystery. The final puzzle is the most complex and shocking, and solved at great personal anguish. Gordianus discovers that his tutor is an agent of King Mithradates, enemy of Rome, and that he is using the travels to communicate and plan with fellow agents.
Each of the seven Wonders (which at that time included the gates of Babylon, but not the Lighthouse of Alexandria) are visited. Each visit reads as a short story, and stands near independently from its brethren. A brief account of each Wonder is given. There is not much discussion of how one travels from A to B in the ancient world. Our two travellers seem to near magically arrive in Babylon. Then again, long accounts of walking across deserts, or sitting on a ship are not that exciting.
The novel is set in the years 92-91 BCE. The background is the Italian Civil War of Rome against some of its Italian allies, the dissatisfaction of much of the east with Roman rule, and the military expansionism of Mithradates.
Needless to say far more is seen that simply each Wonder. Along the way mystery, intrigue, greed, and, resultantly, death is to be found. Gordianus demonstrates that he is his father's son, solving perceptively each murder and mystery. The final puzzle is the most complex and shocking, and solved at great personal anguish. Gordianus discovers that his tutor is an agent of King Mithradates, enemy of Rome, and that he is using the travels to communicate and plan with fellow agents.
Each of the seven Wonders (which at that time included the gates of Babylon, but not the Lighthouse of Alexandria) are visited. Each visit reads as a short story, and stands near independently from its brethren. A brief account of each Wonder is given. There is not much discussion of how one travels from A to B in the ancient world. Our two travellers seem to near magically arrive in Babylon. Then again, long accounts of walking across deserts, or sitting on a ship are not that exciting.
The novel is set in the years 92-91 BCE. The background is the Italian Civil War of Rome against some of its Italian allies, the dissatisfaction of much of the east with Roman rule, and the military expansionism of Mithradates.