The Triumph of Caesar
Steven Saylor
St. Martin’s, May 2008, $24.95
ISBN: 9780312359836
He conquered Gaul, settled the civil war in Egypt by placing Cleopatra on the throne, and won decisive battles in all over Europe, Asia and Africa. For the first time in many years Caesar has come home where he is the Dictator for life.
Gordianus the Finder has recently returned from Egypt and looks forward to settling into retirement. However his rest is brief because Caesar’s wife Calpurnicus has a job for him. An Etruscan soothsayer who she has complete confidence in says her spouse’s life is in danger; she orders Gordianus to find the potential killer. There are four Triumphs (festivals) coming shortly, and those are the most likely moment for someone to strike as Caesar is an easy target during them. The person she had looking for Caesar’s enemy before Gordianus was Hieronymus, a friend of Gordianus, making this assignment personal.
Two of Steven Saylor’s greatest strengths as an author arehis ability to make character seem genuine including real historical persona and to give his audience a sense of time and place; readers will feel they are in first century BC Rome. Gordianus enables readers to see through his eyes the jubilation that exists in Rome now that the civil war is over. With a strong who will do it investigative story line, fans will relish the triumph of Saylor.
Harriet Klausner
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