Rating: 
Summary: Zelig in Egypt
Review: Saylor has written some superb Gordianus mysteries, but The Judgment of Caesar is not among his best. Though certainly enjoyable at times, the "mystery" is weak: in fact, it barely exists. And there was, for me, the uncomfortable sensation that my old friend Gordianus the Finder was turning into Zelig, popping up at every significant historical event of the last years of the Roman republic. The odds were really being stretched when Gordianus could be at Pompey's beheading as well as at the presentation of his head to Caesar. And the unexpected resolution of Bethesda's illness seemed unlikely in the extreme, especially from an author who never shirked from the reality of the more tragic sides of life in the ancient world. Gordianus himself was often strongly buffeted by the fickle winds of fate in earlier books; he now seems to be having an almost unseemly run of good luck, including having his wife come back from the dead. I hope Steven Saylor returns to the more rigorous style and plots of earlier works.
Rating: 
Summary: Gordianus' weary view on that meeting
Review: Saylor's latest Sub Rosa is as effortlessly spun as the previous novels as he focuses us on the climatic moments of 48BC as Pompey is murdered by Ptolemy and Caesar arrives in Alexandria to find himself imperator of the whole world and under the bewitchment of Cleopatra. As a first hand witness to all these legendary events, Gordianus is able to allow the reader a somewhat cynical and realistic interpretation of events as the political dancing weaves with his own struggle as paterfamilias in a city that is very unlike Rome.
The novel opens and finds our somewhat cantankerous and stubborn sleuth heading across the Mare Nostrum to the fabled city of Alexandria to find the cure for his ailing wife, Bethseda. Accompanied by Cassandra's brother, the mute Rupu, and Androcles and Mospus we quickly find the idyllic voyage rudely interrupted by the fleeing fleet of Pompey. Having taken leave of Pompey via a high dive at Brundisium, it is with dismay Gordianus finds himself back in the clutches of the mighty Magnus who spends some time delighting in how he will end our sleuth's life before fortunately getting assassinated on the Egyptian beach.
After travelling down the Nile and losing Bethseda to the waters of the fabled river Gordianus and the rest of his family are arrested by the Ptolomaic troops and end up becoming welcomed by the son of Auletes, King Ptolmey.
After meeting Cleopatra's spy, the beautiful Merianis, together with her personal bodyguard, Apollodorus, and dealing with Ptolemy's insidious righthand man, Pothinus, Gordianus forces his way through politics and personal troubles.
The arrival of Caesar allows us a snapshot into Saylor's version of this famous meeting as Gordianus is present when the rug is unfurled and present again when opening Pompey's Falernian results in the death of Cleopatra's taster. The accusation immediately falls on Meto - with whom Gordianus is have trouble reconciling post-Massilia - whom Gordianus is compelled to defend. Coming two thirds of the way through the novel, as it does, the murder here is not central at all to the story, rather an aside for Saylor's greater effort to retell a fateful month in Mediterranean history. Gordianus carelessly unravels the truth and reconciles to Meto before watching through the fight for Alexandria that erupts between the Romans and Ptolemy until we get a third-hand report of the final accession of Cleopatra.
The weariness that has embodied Gordanius over the past few novels strengthens as he bades farewell to his family and joins Bethseda in the Nile though it is not entirely clear if he will return. Surely Saylor can't pass up the chance to have Gordianus investigate something as the date for one of history's most famous murders looms on the Roman horizon? For one, this reader hopes he does...
Rating: 
Summary: Another winner!!
Review: Steven Saylor has done it again! I waited anxiously for this book to come out and it was worth the wait!
I've been a fan of this series since it began with "Roman Blood", and devour each new installment in the series as soon as they become available. The main character, Gordianus, is now in his later years and taking his wife home to Alexandria in hopes of curing an unnamed and mysterious illness that is wasting her away. Things take a turn when they become embroiled in the politics and battles of Pompey and Julius Caesar (for whom Gordianus' adopted & disowned son Meto is a close companion). To me, all this is a backdrop for an event I have been hoping for - the reunion of Gordianus & Meto. If you don't tear up a little when they finally reunite, you're heartless. The only part that left me wondering was the ending. I won't spoil it here for anyone that didn't read it, but something happens at the very end (the last few pages) that had me scratching my head. I'm sincerely hoping the author will resolve it in the next installment.
Regardless of the headscratcher at the end, I can't recommend this book and the entire series enough. Run, don't walk, to a bookstore, library, or anywhere you can find them all.
Rating:
Summary: The Judgement of Caesar Made History
Review: The Judgement of Caesar, by Steven Saylor is the latest wonderful addition to the Roma Sub Rosa Series. Judgement, is the continuation of the Finder's tale from A Mist of Prophecies. Gordianus and family are enroute to Alexandria to find a cure for his ailing wife Bethesda. Additionally, Gordianus also has to disperse Cassandra's ashes in the Nile river (his former lover). Whereupon, our hero comes into contact with a desperate Pompey wishing to kill Gordianus and put his head on a pole! The historicity crackles as we meet Cleopatra, her little known brother Ptolemy and of course, Caeser. I look forward to more of this series from Steven Saylor. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: The judment of Caesar
Review: The sparcle of the earlier Sub Rosa novels is missing. The histories of Caesar and Cleopatra are told so many times that they are worn out. As an European I cannot swallow without hilarity the ideal all American family life of the 1950s movies set in ancient Alexandria
Rating: 
Summary: Very Tired
Review: Unfortunately, Steven Saylot's series seems to have run out of steam and is very tired. The entire thing-the plot, the characters and yes, the historical accuracy, are very tired. Frankly, I quit reading about half way (no mystery introduced and I was tired of wading through labored prose) and just glanced at the ending, which was pretty silly and far fetched.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical thriller
Review: When a storm blows his ship off course, Roman investigator Gordianus is captured by the one man who most hopes to see him dead--Pompey the Great. Before he can carry out his threats, however, Pompey himself is killed by the Egyptian king, Ptolemy and Gordianus makes his way to Alexandria just in time to see Julius Caesar taking control. Caesar intends to secure Egypt as a base, ensure that Pompey's allies cannot use it agaisnt him, and then move on but the conflict between Ptolemy and his sister/wife/rival, Cleopatra threatens Caesar's peace. Cleopatra and Ptolemy both use every persuasion possible to encourage Caesar to chose them as the singular ruler of Egypt. In the course of this persuasion, Gordianus's estranged son, Meto, is accused as an attempted assassin and Gordianus realizes that he will lose his son forever if he doesn't do his best detecting ever. Unfortunately, if Meto isn't the poisoner, either Ptolemy or Cleopatra probably is--and Caesar is unwilling to allow either of them to be accused. Author Steven Saylor spins a convincing and gripping tale of Egypt in the dying days of the Roman Republic. Egypt's wealth makes it a treasure that Rome must have, but its mysterious religions and its concepts of god-king make it anathema to republican Romans like Gordianus. Saylor deepens the mystery and the reader's emotional involvement in the story by making Gordianus a fascinating and complex character. His love for his wife (despite an affair), his torn feelings for Meto, and his wish for the republican virtues of a vanishing Rome engaged my sympathies and increased my investment in the story and in Gordianus finding a solution to what seemed an insolvable problem. Indeed, the actual Judgment of Caesar comes down to solving the unsolvable. Saylor's strong writing and fascinating insights into history add to the book's appeal. THE JUDGMENT OF CAESAR is a winner.
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