He is not perfect though and slightly jarring Americanisms occasionally cop up. Saylor is one of the best historical novelists, not only because his research is thorough enough for his stories to avoid conflict with known history, but more importantly because he presents the ancient world on its own cultural and moral terms. As long as one can overlook this, one can delight in otherwise generally convincing and well-developed characters. But Gordianus’s knack of being party to incredibly frank disclosures strains credibility throughout the series. The one serious flaw in the plot is Zeno’s psychologically highly improbable and pointless confession of wrong-doing that could never have been discovered. This does not detract from its being an enthralling story, conveniently borrowed from a quite different place in that greatest repository of good stories, classical literature itself. Though as in most of this series, the plot centres on a mystery, the solution to this one barely requires any investigation or clever deduction by Gordianus, but mostly unravels itself. I have always thought the ancient Mediterranean the most exciting place to have lived and travelled, though preferably when the pax Romana was effective, and not least for its rich local cultures Saylor has reinforced this feeling with his brilliant evocation of the distinct character of an impressive Greek city in Gaul. As usual with Saylor, it has evidently been meticulously researched. Saylor’s eighth novel about his fictitious private detective Gordianus, actually the twelfth when the prequels are placed in their correct order, is set in 49 BC entirely around ancient Marseilles, which had been founded as a Greek colony nearly six centuries earlier and was then under siege by the Romans. Gordianus pursues the truth of this mystery almost as a diversion from the more compelling mystery of his son's disappearance.Ī typically ancient story of passion and ambition ![]() Was it suicide or murder? The three witnesses-Gordianus, Davus, and Hieronymus-are sharply divided on exactly what they saw. Sacrifice Rock is central to the book, the site of a tussle between man and woman that ends, provocatively, in the woman's death. He is expected to hurl himself from Sacrifice Rock to appease vengeful gods. The city's "scapegoat", Hieronymus, lives out the legacy of his parents' illegal double suicide by being the human repositor of Massilia's collective sins. ![]() ![]() Apollonides, the imperious ruler of Massilia, has a peculiar bond with his horribly deformed daughter. Literally the title refers to Meto, but the motif extends to other key characters as well. Indeed, bonds between fathers and children-their betrayals, promises, and legacies-play a key role in the twisting plot of Last Seen in Massilia. Lacking a corpse, Gordianus cannot bring himself to believe that Meto is really dead. There is some speculation that Meto betrayed Caesar and that death was his punishment. Gordianus's careful, thoughtful musings are infused with real pathos as he seeks out information about his son whom, he has been informed, is dead. ![]() Plunged into the midst of the bloody Roman civil war, the well-connected Gordianus and his son-in-law Davus survive adventure after adventure as they penetrate the Gaulic city Massilia, which is walled against Roman invasion.įrom the first pages, author Steven Saylor is on sure ground with his distinguished protagonist. In this mystery set in Marseilles in 49 B.C., master detective Gordianus the Finder is on a personal quest to learn the truth about his missing son, Meto.
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