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A review by traveller1
Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor
4.0
With this episode in the continuing saga of Gordianus the Finder, our hero leaves the mundane plane of every day existence and gains the rarified status of a super-hero. I say this as in this novel Gordianus survives several dangerous escapades, by rather incredulous means, escapades which would land any ordinary person (not a super-hero) in their urn.
The story: Gordianus, on hearing of the death of his son Meto, in the Greek colony of Massilia, travels to the city to see for himself just what is going on. He finds Massilia besieged by Caesar's troops, but he manages to enter the city (a tale in itself), and then meets an amazing variety of people, including the arch Roman exiles Verres and Milo. Adventures, death, gainful employment, and murder ensue. At novel's end father and son are reunited, but Gordianus disgusted by the intrigue and deception in his son's life as a follower of Caesar, renounces Meto.
As with every Saylor, a bright and detailed account of life in the ancient world is presented. Massilia itself is shown warts and all, and its customs revealed to our gaze, including that of the "scapegoat". One criticism, these later Gordianus novels suffer from being part of a series. They do not stand on their own as well as they should, however, this is the inevitable effect of a long running series.
The story: Gordianus, on hearing of the death of his son Meto, in the Greek colony of Massilia, travels to the city to see for himself just what is going on. He finds Massilia besieged by Caesar's troops, but he manages to enter the city (a tale in itself), and then meets an amazing variety of people, including the arch Roman exiles Verres and Milo. Adventures, death, gainful employment, and murder ensue. At novel's end father and son are reunited, but Gordianus disgusted by the intrigue and deception in his son's life as a follower of Caesar, renounces Meto.
As with every Saylor, a bright and detailed account of life in the ancient world is presented. Massilia itself is shown warts and all, and its customs revealed to our gaze, including that of the "scapegoat". One criticism, these later Gordianus novels suffer from being part of a series. They do not stand on their own as well as they should, however, this is the inevitable effect of a long running series.