Pompey has compiled an interesting assessment of Gordianus and his family. I know it has something to do with Massilia (in Gaul) and Caesar's troops, if only because the next book in the series is called Last Seen in Massilia. That's my guess anyway, and it's been driving me mad to read the next story to find out what's going on. For all the action in Rubicon, it's more of a set-up for the next story arc in this series with Meto's betrayal and Numerius' blackmail. It's another pip of a story from Saylor, and yet I'd also call it a bridge novel. to us).Ĭhronologically, it's MY sixth and Saylor's seventh because the technical sixth, The House of the Vestals, is a collection of short stories that I've slotted in chronologically on my website. The story is set in ancient Rome in January of the Year of Rome 705 (49 B.C.

'All around me, I felt the uneasiness of the city, like a sleeper in the throes of a nightmare.' Awakening from the nightmare, surviving the chaos, and solving this whodunit will be the Finder's toughest battle yet.My sixth in the Roma Sub Rosa historical mystery series and revolving around Gordianus the Finder, a private detective. Confused and troubled, Gordianus walks through Rome toward the house of his former friend and mentor, the poet Cicero. By doing so, he ensures that Gordianus's involvement in the coming conflict will be a very personal one. To force his loyalty, Pompey seizes the detective's son-in-law, and makes him join his household army. But Pompey has reason to distrust Gordianus, who may have an allegiance with Caesar. To top it all off, one of Pompey's favorite cousins has been garroted to death.īefore Pompey flees the city, he asks Rome's greatest detective, Gordianus the Finder, to solve the murder. Rome is on the verge of another civil war, and the forces of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have crossed the Rubicon River and are marching toward the capital. And indeed, the head of the Roman Senate is mightily pissed. Steven Saylor's seventh installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series begins with a character saying, 'Pompey will be mightily pissed.' Scholars might argue that there is no evidence of this particular synonym for anger ever being used in 49 B.C., but the author would no doubt respond that poetic license includes doing whatever it takes to bridge the gap for modern audiences.

Rubicon by Steven Saylor