Roma: The epic novel of ancient Rome (Rome 1)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Watch the author talk about this book in Windows Media
Player format: 
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"* 'Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals' Ruth Rendell * 'How wonderful to have a scholar write about ancient Rome; how comforting to feel instant confidence in the historical accuracy of the novel' The Sunday Times * 'Saylor's gifts include authentic historical backgrounds and clever plotting.' Times Literary Supplement * 'entertainment of the first order.' Washington Post"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Newmarket Journal
`A gripping, informative read'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The front of the cover reads "An Epic Novel" - but is it really a novel?
Personaly I would call it a collection of short stories - allthough the stories are linked together, primarily by an amulet which is passed down from generation to generation.
Also, many of the stories span several years - divided into small chapters, or sections, each titled by a year in which the action takes plcase.
All in all, this could be quite a fragmentary read - but it is not!!
Steven Saylor is a fantastic story steller - also in short stories. The stories are told in his ususal style: good settings, lots of intresting details - but always with a clear focus on the cahracters and the story.
Granted, the setting of the first stories is so far from our usual image of ancient Rome (and the time of the Roma Sub Rosa series) that some may be dissapointed, while others (like me) will find it facinating to get a glimpse of the early years Rome.
And connectiing these 500 years of history gives the book a true epic feeling - novel or not!
Personaly I would call it a collection of short stories - allthough the stories are linked together, primarily by an amulet which is passed down from generation to generation.
Also, many of the stories span several years - divided into small chapters, or sections, each titled by a year in which the action takes plcase.
All in all, this could be quite a fragmentary read - but it is not!!
Steven Saylor is a fantastic story steller - also in short stories. The stories are told in his ususal style: good settings, lots of intresting details - but always with a clear focus on the cahracters and the story.
Granted, the setting of the first stories is so far from our usual image of ancient Rome (and the time of the Roma Sub Rosa series) that some may be dissapointed, while others (like me) will find it facinating to get a glimpse of the early years Rome.
And connectiing these 500 years of history gives the book a true epic feeling - novel or not!
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love Steven Saylor's Roman mysteries, but the fictional characters in this were not as well drawn or sympathetic, with a couple of exceptions like the Vestal Pinaria during the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 393 BC. I also love sweeping historical epics covering vast swathes of time a la Rutherfurd or Michener, but this lacked the depth of those. So to some extent this was a bit disappointing, especially when plot and action were sacrificed for lengthy expositions by older characters explaining the events of the past decades or centuries to younger characters. But much of it was still a good read with some memorable setpieces such as the aforementioned sack of Rome (for me, the best section of the whole novel), the massacre of the supporters of Gaius Gracchus and the assassination of Julius Caesar. The book stimulates wider non-fiction reading about Roman history and is a worthy book for this reason, though probably more likely to appeal to the reader who already has some interest in this area, rather than the general reader who might pick up one of the author's mysteries.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I too have enjoyed this author's Roman Sub Rosa series with Gordianus--surely one of the most likeable heroes in detective fiction. So I approached this book with great anticipation, but like a number of others I enjoyed it --but wasn't really bowled over. It is the old problem of 'didactic' fiction --using fictional form to teach history. It is very difficult to do well, and I think Saylor has not done all that well. Parts are grippping, and pull the reader in, other parts get tangled up with the real history. However, it did give me a strong impression of how just how awful the Romans were--cruel, licentious, bullies, merciless,treacherous, the list goes on. I think Saylor, who is a really distinguished Roman scholar, give him his due, set out to write "the ultimate novel about Rome". He failed, but I give him a rosette for trying.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Too much exposition & cardboard characters
The premise is sound and may authors manage these multi generational epics well (Rutherfurd, Mitchner etc). Read more
Published 24 days ago by J. Brookes
Roma: One of the best.
Roma must be one of the best books I have read. Steven Saylor knows his history and can weave an enthralling plausible tale around a myth, legend, hard fact. Read more
Published 1 month ago by jena
Roma review
Completely enthralled my wife after I downloaded it onto her Kindle. She stayed up late, missed her alarm because of the book, She thoroughly enjoyed it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by bagsy51
good novel..well though out
nice read ..like the why the story revoles around the pendant and the differening charaters .. also it covers other aspects of Roman life not just Battles and milatary.. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Brian Daniels
Terrific
I could not put this down. I really loved it and I also loved the quality of the research which had gone into it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by teevoss
A very readable semi-fictional "History of Rome"
Steven Saylor has carefully researched the myths and legends of Rome from 1000 BC to the year 1 BC using many very reputable and near-contemporary sources. Read more
Published 11 months ago by David Briggs
The Pillars of Rome
I read this expecting a similar novel to Ken Follet's excellent The Pillars of the Earth, albeit set in ancient Rome. It is not. Read more
Published 15 months ago by M. Stevens
Reads like a children's history book
Arguably I am not entitled to write a review on this book at all since I only read two or three pages of what is quite a lengthy book. Read more
Published 16 months ago by messageinthemoon
A great historical Roman story
This book by Steven Saylor is a great book telling the story of Rome and its great history.
From the very beginning as a place of trade (salt & metal traders) to the small... Read more
From the very beginning as a place of trade (salt & metal traders) to the small... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Clemens Schoonderwoert
An Excellent piece of historical fiction
This title as other reviewers have noted is essentially a number of pieces covering the birth foundation and apex of the Roman Republic: until, the resurgence of Caesar Augustus. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mark Rowantree
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
