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A review by jlynnelseauthor
The Seven Wonders by Steven Saylor
3.0
The story follows a young Roman, Gordianus, and his Greek tutor traveling incognito as the story builds from their travelogue of the ancient world. The stars of book, however, are the wonders themselves Today, of course, only one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" remains standing, the Great Pyramid. The others have been lost to natural disasters or human neglect. In Gordianus' day, most of them dominate the landscape of their cities. The Colossus of Rhodes has already fallen from earthquakes, but even partially submerged it's magnificent, and the Hanging Gardens, though largely a pile of rubble, are a very impressive pile of rubble protected by the staggeringly beautiful Ishtar Gate.
Gordianus' visits in each city has been timed to coincide with special events: The Olympics for instance. And in each city/chapter, Gordianus encounters a mystery that he invariably solves. But the novel is more enjoyable for the setting than the actual mysteries, since most of the time the reader is kept clueless until Gordianus reveals what he's been noticing without letting the reader know. Albeit, the mysteries are not that hard for the reader to and subsequently pieces together. The only mystery that was mildly exciting was the about the cave/Pan's pipes. Had the work been longer, the mysteries might have been more enticing, and 300 pages is rather brief considering the scope of the travels. The Seven Wonders is enjoyable enough, though nothing on the order of Roma or Empire.
I am beginning to get sick of reading about all the skirt & toga conquests in Saylor's novels, especially the obsessions some of his male characters have with young boys. Its beginning to get disturbing! I have no doubt that these escapades happened, but its not why I explore the ancient worlds via fiction and non. Saylor is always very good about bringing these worlds to life, which is why I read his novels. And frankly, the Ises/Gordianus coupling piece made me roll my eyes and wonder what the point of the scene was??? I'm still not sure. This novel is also rather dismissive of the women characters other than for sex scenes of dubious value, which seems to be their role in almost every Saylor novel that I have read so far.
I loved the novel's concept, and it was a lot of fun to read when the characters explored the wonders. Loved how well these historical pieces of wonder came vividly to life. I also very much enjoyed the explanation of how the list of 7 originated. I found the short stories lacking though. In fact, I found the discussions of how the wonders came to be built and their importance to society more enticing than the chapter mysteries. Who knew that fact (as we know it) could be more exciting than fiction?
Gordianus' visits in each city has been timed to coincide with special events: The Olympics for instance. And in each city/chapter, Gordianus encounters a mystery that he invariably solves. But the novel is more enjoyable for the setting than the actual mysteries, since most of the time the reader is kept clueless until Gordianus reveals what he's been noticing without letting the reader know. Albeit, the mysteries are not that hard for the reader to and subsequently pieces together. The only mystery that was mildly exciting was the about the cave/Pan's pipes. Had the work been longer, the mysteries might have been more enticing, and 300 pages is rather brief considering the scope of the travels. The Seven Wonders is enjoyable enough, though nothing on the order of Roma or Empire.
I am beginning to get sick of reading about all the skirt & toga conquests in Saylor's novels, especially the obsessions some of his male characters have with young boys. Its beginning to get disturbing! I have no doubt that these escapades happened, but its not why I explore the ancient worlds via fiction and non. Saylor is always very good about bringing these worlds to life, which is why I read his novels. And frankly, the Ises/Gordianus coupling piece made me roll my eyes and wonder what the point of the scene was??? I'm still not sure. This novel is also rather dismissive of the women characters other than for sex scenes of dubious value, which seems to be their role in almost every Saylor novel that I have read so far.
I loved the novel's concept, and it was a lot of fun to read when the characters explored the wonders. Loved how well these historical pieces of wonder came vividly to life. I also very much enjoyed the explanation of how the list of 7 originated. I found the short stories lacking though. In fact, I found the discussions of how the wonders came to be built and their importance to society more enticing than the chapter mysteries. Who knew that fact (as we know it) could be more exciting than fiction?