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The Judgment of Caesar (Roma Sub Rosa, Bk 10)
The Judgment of Caesar - Roma Sub Rosa, Bk 10 Author:Steven Saylor It is 48 B.C. For years now, the rival Roman generals Caesar and Pompey have engaged in a contest for world domination. Both now turn to Egypt, where Pompey plans a last desperate stand on the banks of the Nile, while Caesar's legendary encounter with queen Cleopatra will spark a romance that reverberates down the centuries. But Egypt is a t... more »reacherous land, torn apart by the murderous rivalry between the goddess-queen and her brother King Ptolemy.
Into this hot-house atmosphere of intrigue and deception comes Gordianus the Finder, innocently seeking a cure for his wife Bethesda in the sacred waters of the Nile. But when his plans go awry, he finds himself engaged in an even more desperate pursuit - to prove the innocence of the son he once disowned, who stands accused of murder.
The judgment of Caesar will determine the fate of Gordianus's son; the choice Caesar makes between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy will determine the future of Rome's empire. At the center of these two dilemmas, Gordianus becomes the unwitting fulcrum that will shift the balance of history. Witness to the death throes of the old world, he is to play a critical role in the birth of the world to come.
Drawing scrupulously on historical sources, this is the most ambitious novel yet in Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. Saylor presents a bold new vision of Caesar and paints a compelling and original portrait of Cleopatra, amid bloodshed, battles and storms, in a setting of Egyptian magic and mystery.« less
Another in a very enjoyable and informative series. The mystery is less the focus than the history of Caesar and Cleopatra. But that makes it no less interesting.
I've read all of Saylor's book in this series to this point. In some ways I get a bit tired of reading about Gordianus the Finder, and I keep putting off reading another book. But when I do pick up the next one I find myself quickly enthralled and can barely put it down.
I may be wrong, but I suspect Saylor meant for this book to be the last in the series. The next book jumps back in time to an earlier period in Gordianus's life. I say this due to something which occurs at the end of this book. But I won't tell you what it is. Perhaps Saylor was giving himself a possible out if he decided to pick up with the lives of Gordianus and his extended family. However, it appears the next two books continue with the events after this book.
It's 48 B.C. history altering events take place with strategic battles, intrigue, and romance between Ceasar and Cleopatra, while Egypt is ravaged by this brutal contest between Cleopatra and Ptolemy.
Protaganist Gordianus is in the middle again.