The Seven Wonders
by Steven Saylor
Young Gordianus: Ancient World (1), Roma Sub Rosa {Publication Order} (13)
On This Page
Description
A prequel to the best-selling Roma Sub Rosa series traces 18-year-old Gordianus's journey to the Seven Wonders of the World, each of which pose a mystery that challenges his budding powers of deduction and the tenacity of celebrated poet Antipater of Sidon, who fakes his death to accompany young Gordianus.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I have always wondered about the early life of Gordianus the Finder and I love Steven Saylor's series about this wonderful character from Ancient Rome. Saylor is a true storyteller, and his books enthrall me. This book is a series of stories about Gordianus' travels to each of the Seven Wonders of the World. Accompanied by his tutor, Antipater of Sidon, they embark on a two-year journey that takes them all over the ancient world. Gordianus and Antipater encounter many interesting people, and Gordianus manages to solve many mysteries and riddles as they travel. Even though he is only 18, Gordianus has a keen wit and an ability to see into the heart of events. It is wonderful to get a glimpse into Gordianus' life as a young man. Mr. show more Saylor's writing is so real and vivid that it is like we are placed right there, right on the scene in 90 BC in Babylon, in Ancient Greece and in Egypt. Not for nothing is Steven Saylor one of my favourite authors and Gordianus one of my favourite fictional sleuths. show less
Saylor is a great historical novelist - what is lost by his being forced to make things up is made up for in the verisimilitude of the context in which he places his characters. _The Seven Wonders_ acts as the first [in a proposed trilogy] part of a prequel to the Roma Sub Rosa series. In this book Steven not only brings us Gordianus at eighteen, but takes us on a whirlwind tour of the wonders. Accompanied by his tutor Antipater, we find Gordianus solving mysteries and having lots of sex along the way.
Gordianus the Finder is back in this prequel to Steven Saylor’s popular series of mysteries set in the Roman Republic of Cicero and Caesar. Gordianus is eighteen and embarks on the First Century BCE equivalent of a “Grand Tour” with his old tutor and famous poet Antipater of Sidon. As the Italian peninsula simmers with rebellion, the pair head east to visit the Seven Wonders of the World encountering murder, mysteries and political intrigues. Over the course of their year+ journey, Gordianus evolves into “the Finder” series readers have come to know and love.
For the record, I am not a Gordianus fan. I very much enjoyed Saylor’s multi-generational epics Roma and Empire, which I reviewed, but didn’t take to the couple of show more Finder novels I sampled. Not because they were bad books, but because I’m not that into historical mysteries. Every reader has her quirks. This book has a distinctly different structure from the others. Saylor uses the journey to visit the Seven Wonders as a framework for several short stories (many of which were previously published in mystery and fantasy magazines.) Each Wonder gets a story with a few interludes, such as attending the Olympic Games and visiting the ruins of Corinth, resulting in ten chapters dealing with murder, witchcraft, ghosts and gods. As their journey continues, a larger mystery entangles Gordianus and Antipater with spies and other enemies of Rome.
But the real story is the evolution of the Gordianus character. He comes of age during these stories. His powers of observation and deduction sharpen as his naiveté concerning the greater world lessen. Saylor does a good job of portraying this young man in a strange land, struggling with another language and gradually coming to understand that the might of Rome is not always a protection among conquered peoples. But also like any young man abroad, he experiences a sexual awakening. He sleeps with his first woman, his first man, a priestess and (possibly) a goddess. By the end, he has grown into a capable man who earns the name “Finder.”
One of the things I admire most about this book is the incredible research and description of the Wonders and the cities Gordianus and Antipater visit. As Saylor says in his Author’s Note: “To explore the Seven Wonders, one enters a labyrinth of history, legend, hard facts and half-facts, cutting-edge archaeology and the very latest innovation in virtual reality.” He does a great job of bringing the locations alive and seamlessly incorporating history into the narrative without bringing the stories to a screeching halt. Each Wonder is given its due with historical accuracy and vivid description. For this alone, I’d recommend the book. For Gordianus fans, it’s a must read.
Note: The publisher provided a free copy of this book, but the opinions expressed in the review are my own and not in consideration for the book. show less
For the record, I am not a Gordianus fan. I very much enjoyed Saylor’s multi-generational epics Roma and Empire, which I reviewed, but didn’t take to the couple of show more Finder novels I sampled. Not because they were bad books, but because I’m not that into historical mysteries. Every reader has her quirks. This book has a distinctly different structure from the others. Saylor uses the journey to visit the Seven Wonders as a framework for several short stories (many of which were previously published in mystery and fantasy magazines.) Each Wonder gets a story with a few interludes, such as attending the Olympic Games and visiting the ruins of Corinth, resulting in ten chapters dealing with murder, witchcraft, ghosts and gods. As their journey continues, a larger mystery entangles Gordianus and Antipater with spies and other enemies of Rome.
But the real story is the evolution of the Gordianus character. He comes of age during these stories. His powers of observation and deduction sharpen as his naiveté concerning the greater world lessen. Saylor does a good job of portraying this young man in a strange land, struggling with another language and gradually coming to understand that the might of Rome is not always a protection among conquered peoples. But also like any young man abroad, he experiences a sexual awakening. He sleeps with his first woman, his first man, a priestess and (possibly) a goddess. By the end, he has grown into a capable man who earns the name “Finder.”
One of the things I admire most about this book is the incredible research and description of the Wonders and the cities Gordianus and Antipater visit. As Saylor says in his Author’s Note: “To explore the Seven Wonders, one enters a labyrinth of history, legend, hard facts and half-facts, cutting-edge archaeology and the very latest innovation in virtual reality.” He does a great job of bringing the locations alive and seamlessly incorporating history into the narrative without bringing the stories to a screeching halt. Each Wonder is given its due with historical accuracy and vivid description. For this alone, I’d recommend the book. For Gordianus fans, it’s a must read.
Note: The publisher provided a free copy of this book, but the opinions expressed in the review are my own and not in consideration for the book. show less
The young Gordianus goes on a trip to see the 7 Wonders of the World in a series of mysteries loosely strung together.
Enjoyable, but it's not always easy to see how Gordianus reaches the solution beyond a lucky guess. And where did he or rather his father with the 21st century views get the money for this trip from?
Enjoyable, but it's not always easy to see how Gordianus reaches the solution beyond a lucky guess. And where did he or rather his father with the 21st century views get the money for this trip from?
For a collection of short stories, this is a great collection. This is a preqel following the eighteen year old Gordianus, the Finder, who would later star in a book series "Roma Sub Rosa".
Antipater of Sidon, a real historical figure, takes young Gordianus on a tour to see the Seven Wonders (of the Ancient World). I thoroughly enjoyed the magical descriptions of the Seven Wonders of which only one of them exists in our time (the Pyramids).
At each Wonder (and a couple interludes), Gordianus gets involved in mystery which he solves.
Still I found the stories on the simplistic side. With the mysteries just short stories, the true culprit was difficult to hide. The writing on the simplistic side. It felt more like a young adult book (which show more I would have loved when I was in junior high). show less
This book is a good vehicle to teach young readers about `The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World'. The author paints a very vivid picture of each monument in situ, but the episodic plot is far too simplistic for most readers (Scooby Doo as my husband so aptly phrased it)... and the references to sex will probably give parents a conniption - although I found them to be the most realistic aspect of the story (What will an eighteen year old boy remember most, the spirit of Olympic competition, or the prostitutes?)
Roma, año 92 a.c., Gordiano se va recorrer mundo junto con su tutor el gran poeta griego Antípatro de Sidón, juntos irán a visitar las siete maravillas del mundo.
En este viaje iremos visitando cada uno de estos maravillosos lugares y tengo que decir que la manera en que son descritos es absolutamente maravilloso.
La manera en que el autor presenta la época, la forma de vida, situación política, todo contado alrededor de estos dos personajes y sus peripecias en cada lugar visitado, es sencillamente genial.
Es un libro entretenido, contado de manera sencilla, pero no por eso menos valioso, aunque bien podría plantearse como un libro de Thriller ligero, lo cierto es que lo que lo que se presenta alrededor de las andanzas de Gordiano show more es lo que mas atrae de toda esta lectura.
Muy recomendable show less
En este viaje iremos visitando cada uno de estos maravillosos lugares y tengo que decir que la manera en que son descritos es absolutamente maravilloso.
La manera en que el autor presenta la época, la forma de vida, situación política, todo contado alrededor de estos dos personajes y sus peripecias en cada lugar visitado, es sencillamente genial.
Es un libro entretenido, contado de manera sencilla, pero no por eso menos valioso, aunque bien podría plantearse como un libro de Thriller ligero, lo cierto es que lo que lo que se presenta alrededor de las andanzas de Gordiano show more es lo que mas atrae de toda esta lectura.
Muy recomendable show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Published Reviews
ThingScore 100
"As always, Saylor excels at bringing the past alive, in particular by incorporating the political issues of the day into the action."
added by bookfitz
Author Information
61+ Works 13,595 Members
Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics. Although he also has written novels about Texas history, Saylor's best-known work is his Roma Sub Rosa series, set in ancient Rome. The novels' hero is a detective named show more Gordianus the Finder, active during the time of Sulla, Cicero, Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra. He divides his time residing in California and texas. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Work Relationships
Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Seven Wonders
- Original title
- The Seven Wonders
- Alternate titles
- The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World
- Original publication date
- 2012-06-05
- People/Characters
- Gordianus the Finder; Antipater
- Important places
- Rome, Italy; Alexandria, Egypt; Olympia, Greece; The Tower of Babel, Babylon (Genesis 11:1-9); Rhodes, Greece; Halicarnassus (show all 9); Ephesus; Giza Plateau, Egypt; Corinth, Greece
- Epigraph
- With a favorable wind, Apollonius and his disciple Damis arrived in Rhodes. As they approached the Colossus, Damis exclaimed, "Teacher, could anything be greater than that?" To which Apollonius replied, "Yes, a man who love... (show all)s wisdom in a sound and innocent spirit."
-Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, 5:21 - First words
- "Now that you're dead, Antipater, what do you plan to do with yourself?" My father laughed at his own joke.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The auctioneer loked at me as if I were crazy. So did Bethesda. So began the next chapter of my life.
- Blurbers
- Rendell, Ruth
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- "Some chapters of this novel, in slightly different form, were first published as short stories" T.p. verso
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 345
- Popularity
- 91,150
- Reviews
- 20
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- 5 — English, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 6
