Rating: 
Summary: my review
Review: A father travels to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to find his lost son. In 49 B.C. while Ceasar is trying to conquer the city.The book is very easy to read and very enjoyable. The author manages to describe to the reader all the many details of life in that period, while at the same time tell us about this father's despair of finding his son. All the characters are vey likable and the scenes very well described.
Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: A father travels to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to find his lost son. In 49 B.C. while Ceasar is trying to conquer the city. The book is very easy to read and very enjoyable. The author manages to describe to the reader all the many details of life in that period, while at the same time tell us about this father's despair of finding his son. All the characters are vey likable and the scenes very well described.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive as ever
Review: After reading this excellent continuation of the Sub Rosa series I cannot help feel that it was intended as a stop gap, a passing lengthy short story before the series gains a fresh approach. Not the least due to Gordianus' age now. The publishers have maintained their excellent covers but the print is larger, the text thinner and so I was able to read it in two hours.
What Saylor excels at is his dedication to take scenes and events from primary Roman sources and then fictionalise them. He doesn't, as continued in this latest installment, attempt to 'write around' Massilia and it takes a deal of contemplation at the end to realise that there are only eight or so settings. Given you put the book down with a complete sense of the city, this is no mean achievement.
As I said, you feel new beginnings are to come from the pen of Saylor now. The casting aside of Meto, Gordinanus' new view of Davus (he almost comes across as a sidekick) and the 'single moment in both actual history and the fictional series' all contribute to a nicely written murder mystery. The murder itself is secondary to the rest of the novel and it almost a careless solving by Gordianus whilst in the midst of so much emotional turmoil just to prove his genius.
I wouldn't be surprised if, after several more Sub Rosa novels, Last Seen In Massilia looks as as though it heralded the ending of an old generation and the beginning of another.
As ever, it is always highly recommended....though, this time, it only gets four stars because its pretty obvious where Meto is and who was pushed off the Sacrifice Rock.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Classical Mystery
Review: After reading this well-written mystery set in Massilia, I wanted to read Caesar's "The Civil War." Saylor has woven that much history and culture into his yarn, so any reader only craves more. My only criticisms of the book are that at a few times in the story, I do get ahead of the author. I guessed who actually went over the cliff earlier than Saylor probably wanted me to do. But for Ancient Roman buffs, there is a lot of meat here. You get to learn what a lemur is. (No, he's not talking about the animal.) And, you become quite acquainted with the cult of Artemis. The book's much fun and intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: Still too far from the mystery
Review: Again Saylor's latest book lets us into the character Gordianus and his father more but doesn't fit strongly into the mystery category. So if you haven't read the other books and are expecting a mystery you may be disappointed. There is less politics in this one and we meet some intriguing characters who may stick around in later books.
Rating:
Summary: Still too far from the mystery
Review: Again Saylor's latest book lets us into the character Gordianus and his father more but doesn't fit strongly into the mystery category. So if you haven't read the other books and are expecting a mystery you may be disappointed. There is less politics in this one and we meet some intriguing characters who may stick around in later books.
Rating:
Summary: Saylor does it again
Review: As the Gordanius series continues, mr. Saylor doesn't seem to lose grip on his characters. They are still as plausible as ever. The only small comment I have is that the historical context in this volume is less interesting than in earlier volumes. Consequently the mystery itself is more important. And in that respect mr. Saylor doens't disappoint his readers.
Rating:
Summary: Still enjoyable
Review: As the Roma Subrosa novels advance foward, the mix between actual historical events and bogus Ancient characters becomes incrasingly unmanageable. In this novel, that beegins to show off often too much, as the plot is contrived (specially the "mystery") and the characters increasingly stilted. Nonethless, Saylor, as always, did his homework, and has much to say about Roman siegeworks and siege warfare, government in a subject Greek city and its relations towards Rome, that he manages to keep the novel actually intersting and compelling.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Roman mystery series has gotten even better ...
Review: Frequently with series novels of any kind, although maybe it is most evident with mystery series, a clear pattern emerges: after an energetic and imaginative beginning with the first few volumes, the later books recycle characters, plots, and situations. They become, very simply, predictable -- perhaps comfortable for the reader in that predictability, but nonetheless they have lost the capacity for surprise and expansion. "Last Seen in Massilia", the seventh novel (plus a volume of short stories) in Saylor's "Roma Sub Rosa" series centering upon the amateur detective Gordianus the Finder in First Century BCE Rome, defies the familiar pattern. Not only has Saylor maintained a high level of creativity and historical atmosphere, the series is steadily gaining added depth and power. Perhaps this is because Saylor has wisely woven the most recent plots into the extraordinary events of the last decades of the Roman Republic, when ancient institutions crumbled and naked ambition propelled the likes of Julius Caesar to the heights. Murder, betrayal, intrigue ... the real-life history of the times has proven fertile ground for Saylor's novels. But it is not merely historical events which make "Last Seen in Massilia" such a strong and even disturbing novel -- that power derives from the characters Saylor has created and the evolving relationships between them. When I finished the last page of this newest novel and set the book aside, I felt genuinely moved by what Gordianus had experienced. Saylor's novels are not only about Roman history; they genuinely examine what lies within us all.
Rating:
Summary: Gordianus at Crossroads of History...and Murder...
Review: Friends, Romans, countrymen (and women)...it was with a heavy heart I began this (as of now) final volume of the delightful Roma Sub Rosa series featuring the "last honest man in Rome", Gordianus, the Finder (finder of truth, in case you're joining the party late). Heavy because I don't know how long I will have to wait until the silver pen of Steven Saylor yields another Gordianus gem. But enough of my whining. LAST SEEN IN MASSILIA, like many of the books in this incredible series, has an awesome backdrop - it is the final hours of the civil war, Pompey and Caesar's troops are vying for the strategically important town of Massilia as an ally. Massilia has cast its lot with Pompey, and is now besieged by Caesar's troops. The city is awaiting relief from Pompey, but in the meantime, Caesar's troops are determined to take the city. It is a credit to Saylor and his research (as much as literary license), that so many of the Gordianus tales take us to seminal moments in history, and place our beloved Finder squarely in the center of the action. Whose eyes could be better to watch the unfolding pageant of violence, political ambition, and personal machinations than Gordianus? This is a fine addition to the collection, though unlike many of the others, if you haven't read at least one or two of the other books, you might feel a little lost. The theme of lost children plays well, even as it takes a dizzying course, and the ending as far as Gordianus' ultimate choice felt unsettling, and therefore all the more human and real. My only beef? The novel feels slight compared to some of the others (254 pages never felt so thin), but then perhaps it is because the action is concentrated into a few short days where the fate of Rome, and Gordianus' family, hangs in the balance. My greatest pleasure? With an ending like this, you know there's going to be another Gordianus tale...can't wait!
|
