From Publishers Weekly
Saylor, well known for his Roma Sub Rosa historical mysteries, switched gears for his bestselling Roma and now continues the history of ancient Rome from A.D. 14 to 141 with a hefty tome of the Pinarius family as its members serve a succession of Roman emperors as soothsayers, senators, and artisans, while trying not to get killed in the slew of conspiracies that marked the Roman political scene. The patriarch, Lucius Pinarius, grooms his son, also named Lucius, to be a member of an ancient priesthood of soothsayers who interpret natural phenomenon to divine the future. Young Lucius is particularly skillful, earning the emperor's praise and confidence. Succeeding generations of Pinariuses will enjoy the favor of Trajan and Hadrian, but will suffer from the cruelty of Tiberius, the madness of Caligula, the depravity of Nero, and the murderous paranoia of Domitian. Saylor also vividly describes how the family survives the volcanic destruction of Pompeii, the burning of Rome, and the persecution of Jews and Christians. Though the ending is disappointingly abrupt, it does signal another volume to come in this grand series.
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From
Starred Review How to deliver historical fiction about the Roman Empire at its height? Saylor, Latin scholar and author of the acclaimed Roma Sub Rosa mystery series, identifies one huge problem in his authorβs note: βemperor-centricism.β The emperors command center stage in most accounts of Rome, as they did in life. That leaves, as Saylor puts it, βsurvivors and seekers,β those living at the edge of the emperorsβ bidding. Saylorβs brilliant approach to bringing alive the period of the Roman Empire from the reign of Augustus to the burial of Hadrian is to focus on generations of one family, the Pinarii (introduced in Roma, 2007). The Pinarius family is aristocratic, so they afford readers an insiderβs view into imperial palaces and gladiator games. Yet from Lucius the Augur, who begins the book, through Marcus the Sculptor, during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian, the family has been rocked, as all Romans were, by the upheavals and whims of the emperors. The Pinarii characters afford an excellent lens through which to view both imperial and daily life, and the great events of the span from 14 C.E. through 141 C.E., including the Great Fire, the persecutions of Christians, numerous military campaigns, and, of course, insanity and perversion among the emperors. Saylor is an excellent guide through this fascinating underworld. Superb historical fiction. --Connie Fletcher