Steven Saylor, Constable and Robinson, 2012.
This engrossing, episodic story provides background to Gordianus and we follow him on his first adult adventure.
Here begins the career of Gordianus, a young Roman with a gift for logical reasoning and working stuff out. It is a ‘prequel’ in that it explains the origin of Gordianus’s life as a ‘finder’, someone who discovers and finds out information. There have been other novels based around this character including Roma and Empire, which, according to the jacket of this book, are bestsellers. However, this is the first book of Saylor’s that I’ve read.
In this book Gordianus goes on a trip with his tutor, Antipater, to visit all the ancient wonders of the world. A fitting way to round off the education of an elite Roman at that period, in the year 92BC.
With Gordianus and Antipater we visit all seven of the Wonders. But the story isn’t just a sight-seeing tour. At every place Gordianus gets caught up with a mystery, and there is danger associated with Antipater’s agenda, too. The tutor fakes his own death in Rome, with collusion from the father of Gordianus, in order to travel incognito.
I usually don’t pick books written in the first-person point of view. This one, however, grew on me as I began to trust the storyteller and put myself in the situation of the young Gordianus. Through his eyes we are immersed in his world. A world of Roman power, but Greek culture, of bewildering diversity and vitality. With him we see the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the colossus of Rhodes, the temple of Zeus at Olympia, the walls and hanging gardens of Babylon and the pyramids near Memphis in Eqypt. It’s an interesting and helpful way to learn about these places, all the while, being caught up in the intrigues and concerns of Gordianus and Antipater. We even get a detour to the ruined city of Corinth and spend time in Alexandria, studying the lighthouse and learning about the city’s famous library.
The descriptions of the places, the people and the culture were enthralling and Saylor’s love of the period and attention to detail transported me into the story. Mr Saylor is a history graduate and displays an obvious love for the ancient world and his background as a journalist and editor explain his skill as a narrator and storyteller.
As the story progressed I was more and more drawn in to it. I loved learning ancient history when I was growing up, and this story reminded me why.
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