Roma is the story of the ancient city of Rome, from its mythic beginnings as a campsite along a trade route to its emergence as the centre of the most extensive, powerful empire in the ancient world. Beginning with the prehistory days when Roma was a way station among seven hills for traders and merchants and the founding of the city itself by Romulus and Remus, critically acclaimed historical novelist Steven Saylor tells the epic saga of a city and its people, its rise to prominence among the city-states of the area, and, ultimately, dominance over the entire ancient Western world. From the tragedy of Coriolanus, to the Punic Wars and the invasion by Hannibal, the triumph and murder of Julius Caesar, and the rise and decline of the Roman Republic and the beginnings of Imperial Rome, Saylor's breathtaking novel brings to vivid life the most famous city of the ancient world. Roma is Saylor's finest achievement, an epic in the truest sense of the word.
Roma: The epic novel of ancient Rome (Rome 1)
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"* 'Saylor expertly weaves the true history of Rome with the lives and loves of its fictional citizens.' - Daily Express * '... with the scalpel-like deftness of a Hollywood director, Saylor puts his finger on the very essence of Roman History' - TLS * 'A breathtaking epic... scholarly and engrossing...Compelling and evocative, this dramatic saga does full justice to the fascinating role that ancient Rome has played in world history.' - Good Book Guide"
Book Description
A epic novel of ancient Rome in the tradition of Edward Rutherfurd and James Michener
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By J. Hansen
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!
18 of 18 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.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Brian Butler
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice try
Saylor took on the challenge of condensing ancient Rome's history in a single book novel. Well written, well documented, the characters however are sacrified to the short lengh of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Andrea Agostini
4.0 out of 5 stars
Epic and fascinating.
A splendid romp through the history of ancient Rome bringing fact and fiction to life through a series of connecting short stories.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. H
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
A good read and at a reasonable pace. I have read several books by Saylor and this is a welcome addition.
Published 4 months ago by Genevieve Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a novel, but a really good collection of stories
First of all, I will agree with many reviewers that this book is not really a novel. It is a collection of stories, joined by an amulet passed down the line of a family, telling... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Simon Binning
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Good Read
This is a very interesting book on ancient Roma. It charts the development of the city from the Bronze age up to about 5 BC. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Lock
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read if you are interested.
I thought this was rather clever. I liked the way the history of Rome was traced through certain families. Read more
Published 11 months ago by janmezzo
3.0 out of 5 stars
Roma
A very intersting narration about the birth of the Roman Empire. However it is a bit sketchy in places and seems to leap missing out generations
Published 11 months ago by TonyD
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great overview of the Roman world
It took me a little while to get into this book but I'm pleased I persevered. The book traces the history of Rome through a family line and visits key moments in Roman history... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mark Withers
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too much exposition & cardboard characters
The premise is sound and may authors manage these multi generational epics well (Rutherfurd, Mitchner etc). Read more
Published 12 months ago by J. Brookes
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 13 months ago by jena
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