Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome) by Steven Saylor
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Book Reviews of Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
Book Review: Michener and McCullough would approve
Summary: 4 Stars
The reviewers complaining about the lack of character development, I think, miss the point. Roma is an historical panorama in the tradition of Michener and Rutherford, and a darn good one. The stories about the 12 laws, Corialanus, Scipio Africanus and the Grachii are very effective and at times quite moving.
Saylor takes us from tribalism to kingship to the republic and its demise, all the while packing his tale with entertaining information and enlightening interpretation.
It's fun, it's informative and it's definitely a great read. To those who say he is no Colleen McCullough, I say they're right. There is only one McC. Does that mean we should all stop reading?
Book Review: Stick to Gordianus its what you do best sir.
Summary: 2 Stars
I loved all of the books in the series of Gordianus the finder so it was with cautious optimism that I approached this ROMA. What I have to say to all of the fans of the series that might consider buying this book is don't bother. Its not that just that the stories feel rushed and the characters feel poorly defined the main problem is that the author tries to fit 1000 years of history into 600 pages. Even with the time crunch this would work if the stories were in the remotest way interesting but they are not. So I would go to say that Stephen Saylor is a bad author because he is not this is however a very badly written book that I wish I had avoidedBook Review: Enjoyable romp through Rome
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, from reading the other reviews on here it seems like this is a love it or hate it book. Personally, I greatly enjoyed this novel. Is it a masterpiece of fiction? No. Is it the greatest historical fiction novel set in ancient Rome? No. Is it a very fun and engaging story? Certainly. Is it worth the money? Definitely! Am I done asking and answering my own questions? Indeed.Book Review: pretty disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
I'll just make this as brief as possible. Roma reads like a novel written by a (not particularly talented) fifth grade history teacher trying to make ancient history interesting for fifth grade girls. The plot is weak, the characters are two-dimensional and the dialogue is incredibly insipid. The whole thing just feels like it was thrown together as quickly as possible to take advantage of what following the author has from his series of historical novels. I gave up after the second chapter.
If you're looking for an entertaining overview of the history of Rome and you're over 15, I would suggest that you keep looking.
Book Review: A Follett or Michener He's Not!
Summary: 2 Stars
Just finished reading Roma and, I must admit, I was pretty anxious to finish this book, something I never experienced reading historical fiction by Follett or Michener. While a number of the stories were mildly interesting, I found it hard to connect to any of the characters. The last chapter is probably the worst - a complete snoozer.
In addition, I was turned off by the recurring gay sub-themes that keep popping up (oops, sorry) throughout this book - beginning with Fascinus, the phallic amulet, the half-naked Lupine romps of Romulus and Remus to the very names of some of the characters - Gaius Fabius Dorso. Please! I was surprised that, among the other reviews I read, nobody seemed to be bothered by this. I supposed my sensitivity was heightened when I read that Saylor was a gay porn writer in a previous life.
Unlike Follett and Michener, this will be the last Saylor book I read.