Rating: 
Summary: Big Suprise
Review: I love Steven Saylor and his books. I was extremely suprised by the ending in this one... I was caught totally off guard. But it is an excellent book. I recommend reading the whole Roma Sub Rosa Series
Rating:
Summary: Mysteries getting lost in the political intrigue
Review: I still like this series because of how well it devels into the interpersonal relationships of the time and how the times can personally affect and change people. However, this is suppose to be a mystery series, yes? Well, the mystery is being far overshadowed by the political and personal intrigues in these last few books of the series. I fear it shall be even worse in the next book "The Road to Massalia". There isn't anything wrong innately about focusing on these intrigues but if a book is marked as a mystery, then it should involve a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Mysteries getting lost in the political intrigue
Review: I still like this series because of how well it devels into the interpersonal relationships of the time and how the times can personally affect and change people. However, this is suppose to be a mystery series, yes? Well, the mystery is being far overshadowed by the political and personal intrigues in these last few books of the series. I fear it shall be even worse in the next book "The Road to Massalia". There isn't anything wrong innately about focusing on these intrigues but if a book is marked as a mystery, then it should involve a mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Rubicon: The Past Comes Alive!
Review: I've been following the SubRosa Series featuring Gordianus the Finder since Mr. Saylor's "Roman Blood." Just reading the more articulate reviews is proof positive, that all of the books in the series are excellent portraits of ancient Rome. Not only are all the novels an excellent window of roman history, but you can clearly see the eye opening parallels with the politics and intrigues of today. In Rubicon, we see an older Gordianus searching for his son who is a close companion to Julius Ceasar. The deft, thoughtful prose and the historic detail make this novel thought provoking. A story worth remembering. Thank you Mr. Saylor.
Rating:
Summary: Rubicon: The Past Comes Alive!
Review: I've been following the SubRosa Series featuring Gordianus the Finder since Mr. Saylor's "Roman Blood." Just reading the more articulate reviews is proof positive, that all of the books in the series are excellent portraits of ancient Rome. Not only are all the novels an excellent window of roman history, but you can clearly see the eye opening parallels with the politics and intrigues of today. In Rubicon, we see an older Gordianus searching for his son who is a close companion to Julius Ceasar. The deft, thoughtful prose and the historic detail make this novel thought provoking. A story worth remembering. Thank you Mr. Saylor.
Rating:
Summary: This One's a Wowser!
Review: I've been reading the Roma sub Rosa series in order, and loved them all. But this blew me away! I don't have much to add to what others have said. Unless a reader just doesn't care for this *type* of book and picked it up by accident, I can't imagine why anyone would give it less than five stars.A stray observation: As poor Gordianus gets older, his adventures seem to get more strenuous rather than less! And an afterthought, on rereading: This definitely won't make me give the book less than five stars, but I have a quibble. A major plot point (not involving the identity of the killer) depends on...a "play on words." In modern English. Think about that.
Rating:
Summary: Saylor in fine form ... again
Review: If you haven't read any of Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa novels then stop reading this review and proceed to reading reviews on the first novel in the series, Roman Blood, or better yet simply buy the book and read it. Saylor's novels are best read in sequence. As for Rubicon, we have Gordianus caught up in a power struggle between Pompey and Caesar. He is pulled from Rome with Pompey's entourage and soon finds himself at a mighty battle at the harbour of what is now Brindisi. The battles scenes are enthralling. Better still, Rubicon has a surprise ending - no spoilers here! And he does a nice job in providing a lead-in into the next book the in the series, Last Seen in Massilia. Bottom line: amongst the best in the Roma Sub Rosa series. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Saylor skillfully brings history to life
Review: In RUBICON, Steven Saylor plunges the reader into the chaos and intrigue of the Roman Republic's last civil war. Less a whodunnit than a vivid, panoramic historical novel with mystery elements, RUBICON nonetheless features all the trademarks of Saylor's "Roma Sub Rosa" series -- vivid characters, polished writing, and brilliantly unexpected plot twists. The siege of the Italian port city of Brundisium is masterfully rendered, as are the terrors of traveling through a countryside ravaged by war and poisoned by suspicion and fear. Fast-paced, well researched, and exciting, RUBICON offers all that any reader of historical fiction could ask for. It's one of Saylor's best.
Rating:
Summary: Saylor is a great writer
Review: No matter how clever the words he conveyed to people, most individuals believed that Caesar wanted to rule Gaul as well as Rome. Once he led an army across the Rubicon, Civil War between the followers of Pompey and those of Caesar was imminent. On the eve of the war, Numerious Pompeius visits Gordianus the Finder, renowned for exposing threats to the government. Gordianus leaves Numerius in his garden for a few minutes, but when he returns he finds his guest dead. Gordianus notices that the deceased holds a dossier that questions the Finder's loyalties. Pompey arrives, sees the corpse of his cousin, and orders Gordianus to ferret out the identity of the killer. To insure a proper investigation, Pompey holds the son-in-law of Gordianus hostage. He follows the threads to their original sources. However, Gordianus realizes that his reputation as "the most honest man in Rome" is an illusion as the fallible human is trapped by the same Civil war currents engulfing everyone else. Using the eve of a critical historical event as its setting, RUBICON provides readers with a believable look at the world's greatest ancient power. Steven Saylor shows the desperate scramble to join the winning side as everyone understands that to the winners goes the spoils. Gordianus is an extremely complex protagonist. His efforts to remain honest during the upcoming fray show how difficult it is for even the most moral of beings. He struggles with his principles when the survival of loved ones are at stake. The secondary players, punctuated with real persona from Ancient Rome, turn the early Caesar era into a vivid display that alone hooks readers. The clever who-done-it is the final icing on what is a spectacular historical mystery. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Whose Rubicon Is It Anyway?
Review: Once again Steven Saylor breathes life and msytery into the world of late Republican Rome, and honor and ethic into ours. Gordianus and his family share the stage with Pompey, Caesar, Cicero and the Senate and People of Rome in a way which impels the reader to enter Gordianus' world - and examine his own in its context. While the historical backdrop makes the novel available, perhaps enjoyable, to readers who have not explored the full Roma sub Rosa series, the development of Gordianus and his family through the series is a rich reward for the reader who will explore the whole. One does nor turn back after crossing the Rubicon, whether en route to Rome or on a journey of the soul. Saylor invites one to cross the Rubicon with Gordianus, and to examine oneself in the crucible of the Soul. Caesar risked his honor and his life to cross that river. Caught like all of Rome between Pompey and Caesar, with his son in Caesar's tent and his son-in-law in Pompey's power, Gordianus comes to the bank of that dreadful river and stares into the unknown. Gordianus makes crossing the Rubicon personal, and Saylor brings the crossing forward to your soul. You cannot come away from Saylor's novel without knowing when and what you can and will risk when you stand on the far bank and stare into the mystery across your Rubicon. Cross it.
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