This is the latest of Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa series, a collection
of mystery novels set in ancient Rome in the waning days of the Roman
republic. The current installment is set in the period after
Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon; Pompey, Caesar’s chief rival, has fled
to Greece, and Caesar and his legions have gone after him. Meanwhile,
things are chaotic in Rome itself; some support Pompey, some support
Caesar, prices have gone through the roof, and only the bankers and big
landlords are doing well. If Caesar defeats Pompey–or, alternatively,
if Pompey defeats Caesar–it’s clear that things will calm down.

But what if Caesar and Pompey both die in battle, far from Rome? What
then? There’s a slim possibility that a clever, ambitious man could sweep
into power on the wings of a popular revolution. Marcus Caelius thinks
he just might be that man.

As always, Saylor’s viewpoint character is Gordianus the Finder, the man
Cicero called “the last honest man in Rome.” Gordianus is getting on in
years, and his son Eco is doing most of the finding these days; Gordianus
spends most of his time tending his garden or hanging out in the Forum
listening to the other geezers belittle each others’ politics. He doesn’t
want to get involved with rebellion; he just wants to live comfortably
and enjoy his children and grandchildren.

And then a strange woman comes to Rome. She has no memory of her past;
because she occasionally falls into fits and utters strange prophecies,
she is soon dubbed “Cassandra”. She is strange, and unkempt, and
beautiful, and Gordianus, for all his years, is captivated.

And then she is murdered. Gordianus gives her a funeral, since no one
else comes forward–and seven of Rome’s most notable women attend,
briefly, on her funeral pyre. Why? Why was she murdered? And who killed
her? It falls, naturally, to Gordianus to find out, as revolution brews in the
streets of Rome.

Alas, I don’t find Gordianus as compelling as I once did. He’s become
rather a sad sack; paint him dreary. And then, although Saylor’s
focus on historical events lends the Gordianus books much of their
interest, it’s also a problem. Each book involves some crux in the Roman
political record, and that means that the books are never really about
Gordianus or his doings at all. It’s also why Gordianus is so old and
tired only eight books into the series; there are only so many major
political upheavals in one man’s life span.

So what can I say? The book was published in 2002, and it’s been
knocking around the house for ages; I only picked it up because I
was going to be waiting at the airport for an hour or so, and it was
more or less the first paperback I put my hand on as I was going out the
door. It didn’t disappoint me–I’m not sorry I read it–but I’m not
terribly excited about it either.