An Entertaining Read

books:


	• Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome) Steven Saylor St. Martin's Griffin, 2008 - 592 pages average customer review:based on 62 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Lacking deepness

Steven Saylor's Roma is a fast read, but while trying to cover a too long period of time it misses profoundness; a series of short stories related to key moments in the history of the city explained through shallow characters and situations

Great Book

If you like the Sarum or London books by Edward Rutherford, then you ought to like this one as well. Saylor's in-depth knowledge of ancient Rome is impressive, and though the book starts slowly, jumping forward in time with large gaps, the stories eventually grow closer together and the pace quickens.

The conclusion Saylor draws about the fascinum at the end was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

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An Entertaining Read

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Roma. It's largely a series of connected short stories about colorful characters - real and imagined - that lived and ruled Rome through Augustus.

This was quite entertaining, and although over 500 pages in length, it was easy to read quickly. Don't let the size of the book dissuade you in the least.

I did have some disappointments, however. Saylor repeatedly used a technique of characters reciting recent events or political situations to each other that would have been perfectly obvious to everyone in the story. This grew tiresome to me, as such dialogue was quite stilted, lengthy, and completely unnatural. After a while, it became an annoying habit and interrupted the flow of the book for me.

Obviously, this was done to bring the reader up-to-date or to provide historical background, however I think this way of doing so was greatly overused. It was disruptive enough to me to have a significant impact in my immersion in the stories themselves, and providing the necessary information through a variety of other means would have been welcome.

Secondly, I would have greatly enjoyed additional character development, even if that meant reducing the scope of the work itself. I think the project may have been far more effective split into two or more parts to allow for such development. I found myself truly engaged with the lot of Pinaria, for example, yet her life after giving birth was told only as a sketch. Understandably, this detail was relatively unimportant to the rest of the history being told, yet as a pleasure reader, I felt cut off.

Even with these criticisms, I recommend the book to others. Overall, it was an interesting book full of clever plots, historical fancy, and dramatic people. A solid 3-stars.

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Awesome Book

I could not put this book down. Great historical fiction that takes place right in Rome from when it was a trade route to Caesar Augustus. If you are looking for battles and war this is not the book for you. This is about the families and politics of Rome. It follows certain family members of a bloodline through 1000 years.

Well written and well told story.

I will re-read this book again easily.

A good light read.

I'm a big fan of Steven Saylor's mystery novels set in ancient Rome. So I picked up this book. I found it a very enjoyable read, although it's a bit different than his other writing.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people.
     Weaving history, legend, and new archaeological discoveries into a spellbinding narrative, critically acclaimed novelist Steven Saylor gives new life to the drama of the city?s first thousand years ? from the founding of the city by the ill-fated twins Romulus and Remus, through Rome?s astonishing ascent to become the capitol of the most powerful empire in history. Roma recounts the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture of the city by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter political struggles of the patricians and plebeians, and the ultimate death of Rome?s republic with the triumph, and assassination, of Julius Caesar.
     Witnessing this history, and sometimes playing key roles, are the descendents of two of Rome?s first families, the Potitius and Pinarius clans: One is the confidant of Romulus. One is born a slave and tempts a Vestal virgin to break her vows. One becomes a mass murderer. And one becomes the heir of Julius Caesar. Linking the generations is a
mysterious talisman as ancient as the city itself.
     Epic in every sense of the word, Roma is a panoramic historical saga and Saylor?s finest achievement to date.

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