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A review by escan
The Throne of Caesar by Steven Saylor
4.0
The Throne of Caesar is, for me, a rather reflective read. It's very much the culmination of the entire Roma Sub Rosa series, and it does an excellent job at tying together all - or most - of the threads from the other books. From the very first scene, almost a mirror of the first scene of [b:Roman Blood|102720|Roman Blood (Roma Sub Rosa, #1)|Steven Saylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388555429l/102720._SY75_.jpg|2569207], in which Cicero's then-slave, now-freedman Tiro pays a visit to a severely hungover Gordianus, to the very last, in which Gordianus starts dictating that very scene for the start of his memoirs, readers are reminded of everything they've been through with Gordianus.
I think there are references made to most of the books in the series, from the obvious parallels with Roman Blood, to comparisons between the funeral of Caesar and that of Publius Clodius in [b:A Murder on the Appian Way|102724|A Murder on the Appian Way (Roma Sub Rosa, #5)|Steven Saylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339311368l/102724._SY75_.jpg|99041], to mentions of Gordianus' travels with Antipater of Sidon in the prequel book [b:The Seven Wonders|13167035|The Seven Wonders (Ancient World, #1)|Steven Saylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330919220l/13167035._SY75_.jpg|18346277], and this creates a wonderfully, sometimes painfully nostalgic atmosphere (even if I've only spent a little over a month reading this books, it feels like a lot longer!)
The story itself is very different to the earliest-written of Gordianus' exploits: rather than a whodunnit murder mystery, the primary plot here is built on the tension of readers already knowing who was responsible for Caesar's assassination, but watching helplessly as Gordianus fails to see it. There is, however, something of a secondary murder mystery plot which comes into play in the final quarter of the book, with a gruesome but somehow rather satisfying conclusion.
There are things that bother me about the book. I'd hoped for a grand family reunion, with not only Meto home from military service but also Eco, who's been conveniently away on Finder business pretty much ever since A Murder on the Appian Way, and his family present. Instead, we're informed that Eco has moved with his wife and kids to Neapolis, and taken with them the slave boys Androcles and Mopsus, and also Gordianus' most recently adopted son Rupa. I would also have appreciated a little more focus on Meto's emotional reaction to the death of Caesar, although I understand that there wasn't really time or space for it in the narrative - I'm also pretty stressed out by the assertion that Meto is now "Antony's man", considering the end that Antony met!
All in all, however, The Throne of Caesar is an excellent conclusion to an excellent series, and I think it's the final chapter that Gordianus deserved. Now I have to start petitioning Steven Saylor for some books about Gordianus' children!
I think there are references made to most of the books in the series, from the obvious parallels with Roman Blood, to comparisons between the funeral of Caesar and that of Publius Clodius in [b:A Murder on the Appian Way|102724|A Murder on the Appian Way (Roma Sub Rosa, #5)|Steven Saylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339311368l/102724._SY75_.jpg|99041], to mentions of Gordianus' travels with Antipater of Sidon in the prequel book [b:The Seven Wonders|13167035|The Seven Wonders (Ancient World, #1)|Steven Saylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330919220l/13167035._SY75_.jpg|18346277], and this creates a wonderfully, sometimes painfully nostalgic atmosphere (even if I've only spent a little over a month reading this books, it feels like a lot longer!)
The story itself is very different to the earliest-written of Gordianus' exploits: rather than a whodunnit murder mystery, the primary plot here is built on the tension of readers already knowing who was responsible for Caesar's assassination, but watching helplessly as Gordianus fails to see it. There is, however, something of a secondary murder mystery plot which comes into play in the final quarter of the book, with a gruesome but somehow rather satisfying conclusion.
There are things that bother me about the book. I'd hoped for a grand family reunion, with not only Meto home from military service but also Eco, who's been conveniently away on Finder business pretty much ever since A Murder on the Appian Way, and his family present. Instead, we're informed that Eco has moved with his wife and kids to Neapolis, and taken with them the slave boys Androcles and Mopsus, and also Gordianus' most recently adopted son Rupa. I would also have appreciated a little more focus on Meto's emotional reaction to the death of Caesar, although I understand that there wasn't really time or space for it in the narrative - I'm also pretty stressed out by the assertion that Meto is now "Antony's man", considering the end that Antony met!
All in all, however, The Throne of Caesar is an excellent conclusion to an excellent series, and I think it's the final chapter that Gordianus deserved. Now I have to start petitioning Steven Saylor for some books about Gordianus' children!