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Title: Rubicon

Subtitle: A Novel of Ancient Rome

Author: Steven Saylor

Narrator: Ralph Cosham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-30-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 41 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey's favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets: to unearth the killer or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompeys legions - and certain death. Amid the city's sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal.

Rubicon, set in early days of the Roman Civil War, is a pivotal novel in Saylor's best-selling and critically acclaimed series of novels set in late republican Rome.

Members Reviews:

May You Live in Interesting Times

The first five novels in Stephen Saylors Roma Sub Rosa saga span almost 30 years, from when Gordianus the Finder met Cicero the Advocate (Roman Blood, set in 80 BC) to the murder of Clodius (Murder on the Appian Way, 52 BC). Gordianus rubbed shoulders with historical bigshots while he solved crimes, got married, acquired children, and watched as the Roman republic crumbled. In "Rubicon," the sixth book of the series, he (and we) reach the era of outright civil war--early 49 BC, as Julius Caesar and his legions cross the Rubicon in defiance of the Roman senate and its leader, Pompey Magnus (the great, a title Pompey apparently bestowed on himself).

Rubicon opens with Pompeys nephew found murdered in the atrium of Gordianus own home. Pompey is going to be mightily pissed, moans Gordianus, now 60 and retired. He has tried to avoid taking sides in the civil war, despite the fact that his son Meto is Caesars close adviser and literary amanuensis. Gordianus the Finder has given way to Gordianus the Father (and grandfather), paterfamilias of a unique family that he loves deeply and is desperate to protect. But of course the startling murder drags him into the thick of things. Pompey, about to lead his own army against Caesar, takes Gordianus son-in-law hostage and will return him only when Gordianus finds the killer.

Especially considering that its one of the shorter entries in the series, the plot of Rubicon is complex. There are secret love affairs and coded messages and disguises and blackmail and a climactic battle. The ending reveals the killer but opens up a whole new mystery that will play out over the next few books.

The Roman Republic-into-Empire era epitomizes the curse may you live in interesting times. Saylors books portray the uncertainty, violence, and chaos and its effects on ordinary citizens with verve and scholarship. The parallel but somewhat less earnest SPQR books by John Maddox Roberts feature the same timeframe and events, starring a young aristocrat who is prone to stumble across murders. Both series are treats for the classical history lover.

In terms of audiobooks, its unfortunate that the early Gordianus novels were *extremely* poorly narrated. Ralph Cosham takes over the narration for Rubicon and later books, and I enjoy him (once I get over wondering how Inspector Armand Gamache--a trademark Cosham character--got from modern Quebec to ancient Rome). The SPQR books are narrated by Simon Vance and John Lee, both great old hands at this type of material.