The Judgement of Caesar (original 2004; edition 2005)

Interesting insertion of our friend Gordianus into the confrontation between Caesar, Pompey, and the two Ptolemies, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy, in Egypt. A difference from most earlier novelists, the brother is portrayed as intelligent and capable (the Ptolemy of Shaw comes to mind).

An assassination attempt is made on Caesar, death by poisoning. Gordianus' son is at first blamed and faces death, however, the Finder proves his son's innocence. This takes place against the machinations between the surviving three key players. The end result, Ptolemy dies, Cleopatra (pregnant) rules Egypt, and Caesar heads to the province of Africa to crush the annoying Cato and the surviving Roman trouble makers.

A curious end to the novel. Gordianus is apparently a spirit, in the afterlife with his deceased wife. Though I am not entirely sure just what the matter is intended to be. Perhaps this is a "happy ending" to the series. ( )

This is the 11th in the Gordianus series and a welcome return for me over two years after reading the previous one. This is set entirely in Alexandria in Egypt which Gordianus is visiting as his wife Bethesda wants to bathe in the Nile to cure herself of a wasting sickness. Gordianus manages to be present at many key historical events such as the murder of Pompey, the unveiling of his head in the presence of Caesar and Cleopatra's smuggling herself into Caesar's presence in the famous rolled up carpet. The whodunnit aspect only takes up the final third of the book. There are a couple of key dramatic developments in Gordianus's family life that I won't give spoilers for here, but they are as eclectic and as likeable a group of characters as ever. I really enjoyed this one and there will definitely be a much shorter gap between this and my reading the next one. ( )

Watching over Gordianus's shoulder we are again witness to famous historical events, this time in the extraordinary city of Alexandria. Gordianus has taken his wife, originally Egyptian, home to Alexandria in the hopes that bathing in the Nile will cure her of whatever the illness is that she is suffering. As the famed city pulls into view, their ship is hit by a terrible storm that pushes them into sight of Pompey's fleet. Suspected of being a spy, Gordianus is taken onto Pompey ship moments before he is rowed ashore to his death at the feet of the young king Ptolemy. Afraid of being separated from his family, he leaps into the water to try and swim to their ship but is instead washed on to the beach. He assists in building pyres for Pompey (less one finger and a head) and collapses from exhaustion. He wakes to find his wife and adopted sons had been deposited on the beach.

They travel west toward Alexandria, searching along the various branches of the Nile in the river delta for the spot to take Bethesda's healing swim and finally find an ancient temple that suits her needs. She walks into the water and disappears. Bereft, Gordianus proceeds to Alexandria.

He arrives in time to witness the famous meeting of Caesar and Cleopatra at the same time that he is rejoined with his son Meto. At a meal he was to share with the famous couple, a bottle of wine rescued from Pompey's ship was opened. Before either tasted the wine, Cleopatra calls her slave girl to taste the wine and it is discovered, fatally, that it is poisoned. Meto opened the sealed bottle and poured the wine so suspicion falls on him. Gordianus is granted a chance to investigate and determine who was the real poisoner.

Sayer has brought us to another important place in history and places us in the middle of the action as an eyewitness. Only one more book in the series. He has taken a well documented historical event and inserted a mystery that involves all the major players and lets us see them as more than pages in a history book. ( )

More historical fiction than historical mystery, I still liked this latest installment of Gordianus the Finder, who seems to find himself at a crossroads as he struggles to come to terms with alienating his adopted son and his sick, possibly dying, wife. He arrives in Alexandria at his wife Bethesda's request, in order to "take the cure" by immersing herself in the Nile's "sacred" waters. At the same time, Pompey has arrived to seek Egyptian support after his defeat at Pharsalus. What comes after is history and Gordianus is there to witness it, which I think is basically what this novel is about. Hardcore Gordianus mystery fans might be disappointed because the mystery plays a small part in the novel, but in Saylor's version of events, it tips the balance historically as Caesar chooses between Ptolemy or Cleopatra. ( )

This review contains spoilers for this and earlier books in the Roma sub Rosa series.

At the close of A Mist of Prophecies, Gordianus the Finder's wife, Bethesda, decided that the only way she could be cured of a lingering illness was to return to Alexandria and bathe in the Nile. When this book opens, Gordianus, Bethesda, his recently adopted son Rupa, and his two slave boys are at sea approaching Alexandria's lighthouse. Before they can even land, Gordianus finds himself carried away by the Roman civil war that is now spilling over into the struggle for the Egyptian crown, and reunited with old acquaintences and enemies. Knowing that Caesar is going to be arriving in Alexandria any day, it seems likely that he will also be forced to face his disowned, adopted son, Meto.

The mystery in this book takes a backseat to the historical and family drama. The murder which Gordianus investigates does not take place until the last third of the book, and is resolved well before the ending. The major suspense action of the plot- taken seperately from the ongoing story of Gordianus' family- is general court intriuge, with every side thinking that the Finder might be a useful man to know, and not an investigation.

Bethesda's alleged death and later reappearance was handled strangely, and with little explanation. Possibly Saylor wants to force the reader to see through Gordianus' eyes, as a man of his times, who though not superstitious in nature might accept that Egyptian gods rule in Egypt just as Roman gods do in Rome, and not look for an explanation of what in the natural world Bethesda could have been doing while she was gone. However, there is little that would have been changed about the plot if Gordianus had known all along that she would need to spend some time in seclusion at the temple, and had been sent on ahead. Some different explanation would need to have been given for Meto to see the vial in Gordianus' trunk. Gordianus' internal musings would have been different, but I cannot name one action that necessarily would have been except for the times that he informs somebody of her death. Even his delay in leaving Alexandria could have been accounted for at the end, if he needed to wait for Bethesda to be ready. The action of the next full novel (Triumph of Caesar, coming out next year) seems to be set in Rome, so it is hard to say why Gordianus and Bethesda would need to be left in Alexandria when the rest of the family went ahead with Meto. Maybe some reason for splitting up the traveling party will become clear in the next book? ( )