A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder

From Publishers Weekly As in The House of the Vestals (1997), Saylor's previous collection featuring Gordianus the Finder, these nine carefully researched stories cover the early phase of the ancient Roman sleuth's career, affording fans the chance to witness the growth of some important personal and political relationships, including Gordianus's connection with the legendary orator Cicero. Though Saylor's novels in this acclaimed series allow him more scope to describe settings and develop his secret Roman history, he still manages, especially in the book's highlights, "The Cherries of Lucullus" and "The White Fawn," to suspend disbelief and make all his characters feel real. Some story mysteries prove to have a noncriminal resolution, but the twisty fair-play plotting that marks Saylor's best novels ( Catilina's Riddle ; A Murder on the Appian Way ; etc.) is very much in evidence, especially in "Archimedes's Tomb" and "Death by Eros." A partial chronology and historical notes round out this excellent volume. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist *Starred Review* Gordianus the Finder, one of several toga-clad sleuths in the mystery genre, operates by way of giving advice to the likes of consuls and senators in the final decades of the Roman Republic. Gordianus has picked apart political intrigues, murders, and money scams against a rich background of ancient Rome, including the Spartacus slave revolt, the siege of Massilia, and the love triangle of Caesar, Antony, and Cleopatra. All this action has taken place in the eight novels of the Roma Sub Rosa series and in a single collection of short stories. This is the second collection of stories, containing nine gems from Gordianus' early career. The nine stories all present intriguing puzzles, but, more impressive, they shine a revealing light on daily life in ancient Rome (e.g., the Romans' love of a fish-pickle paste called garnum, how they bet at chariot races, and how they use handkerchiefs to signal that a gladiator should live). In "The Consul's Wife," an item in the society section of the Daily Acts, the Roman newspaper, leaves Decimus Brutus convinced he is about to be murdered at the Circus Maximus. In "Something Fishy in Pompeii," Gordianus investigates the theft of his client's famed garnum recipe from a neighboring manufactory on the slopes of Etna. The title story centers on an excruciatingly vivid depiction of three gladiatorial contests that Gordianus attends with a squeamish Cicero following a funeral outside Rome. The stories are admirably varied--some are extensive mysteries; others offer short, sharp slices of life. All are marvelous reads in themselves and marvelous reflections of ancient Rome. Connie Fletcher Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Saylor evokes the ancient world more convincingly than any other writer of his generation." - The Sunday Times (London) on The Judgment of Caesar "[T]he twisty fair-play plotting that marks Saylor's best novels is very much in evidence...A partial chronology and historical notes round out this excellent volume." -- Publishers Weekly "The stories are admirably varied--some are extensive mysteries; others offer short, sharp slices of life. All are marvelous reads in themselves and marvelous reflections of ancient Rome." -- Booklist (starred review)"[T]he twisty fair-play plotting that marks Saylor's best novels is very much in evidence...A partial chronology and historical notes round out this excellent volume." --Publishers Weekly ( Publishers Weekly )"The stories are admirably varied--some are extensive mysteries; others offer short, sharp slices of life. All are marvelous reads in themselves and marvelous reflections of ancient Rome." --Booklist (starred review) ( Booklist ) "Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthralls." - Ruth Rendell, The Sunday Times (London)"A vivid and robust writer, Saylor invests his books with exquisite detail and powerful drama." - Philadelphia Inquirer on A Mist of Prophecies"Saylor puts such great detail and tumultuous life into his scenes that the sensation of rubbing elbows with the ancients is quite uncanny." - The New York Times Book Review on A Murder on the Appian Way"Rivals Robert Graves in his knack for making the classical world come alive. The puzzle is subtle, the characters vivid, the writing sublime - proof the mystery can be a work of art." - The Oregonian on The Venus Throw"Saylor's scholarship and knowledge of day-to-day living in old Rome bring the age alive with all its intensity and intricacies." - Tampa Tribune on A Mist of Prophecies"Saylor shows once again why fans of ancient historicals regard him as the leader of the field." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Mist of Prophecies Steven Saylor is the author of numerous books featuring Gordianus the Finder, most recently the novel The Judgment of Caesar . He is currently at work on a new historical novel, Roma , and divides his time between Berkeley, California and Austin, Texas. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter OneThe Consul’s Wifexa0“Honestly,” muttered Lucius Claudius, his nose buried in a scroll, “if you go by these accounts in the Daily Acts, you’d think Sertorius was a naughty schoolboy, and his rebellion in Spain a harmless prank. When will the consuls realize the gravity of the situation? When will they take action?”xa0I cleared my throat.xa0Lucius Claudius lowered the little scroll and raised his bushy red eyebrows. “Gordianus! By Hercules, you got here in a hurry! Take a seat.”xa0I looked about for a chair, then remembered where I was. In the garden of Lucius Claudius, visitors did not fetch furniture. Visitors sat, and a chair would be slipped beneath them. I stepped into the spot of sunlight where Lucius sat basking, and folded my knees. Sure enough, a chair caught my weight. I never even saw the attendant slave.xa0“Something to drink, Gordianus? I myself am enjoying a cup of hot broth. Too early in the day for wine, even watered.”xa0“Noon is hardly early, Lucius. Not for those of us who’ve been up since dawn.”xa0“Since dawn?” Lucius grimaced at such a distasteful notion. “A cup of wine for you, then? And some nibbles?”xa0I raised my hand to wave away the offer, and found it filled with a silver cup, into which a pretty slavegirl poured a stream of Falernian wine. A little tripod table appeared at my left hand, bearing a silver platter embossed with images of dancing nymphs and strewn with olives, dates, and almonds.xa0“Care for a bit of the Daily? I’m finished with the sporting news.” Lucius nodded toward a clutter of little scrolls on the table beside him. “They say the Whites have finally got their act together this season. New chariots, new horses. Should give the Reds a run for the prizes in tomorrow’s races.”xa0I laughed out loud. “What a life you lead, Lucius Claudius. Up at noon, then lolling about your garden reading your own private copy of the Daily Acts.”xa0Lucius raised an eyebrow. “Merely sensible, if you ask me. Who wants to elbow through a crowd in the Forum, squinting and peering past strangers to read the Daily on the posting boards? Or worse, listen to some clown read the items out loud, inserting his own witty comments.”xa0“But that’s the whole point of the Daily,” I argued. “It’s a social activity. People take a break from the hustle and bustle of the Forum, gather round the posting boards and discuss whatever items interest them most—war news, marriages and births, chariot races, curious omens. It’s the highlight of many a man’s day, perusing the Daily and arguing politics or horses with fellow citizens. One of the cosmopolitan pleasures of city life.”xa0Lucius shuddered. “No thank you! My way is better. I send a couple of slaves down to the Forum an hour before posting time. As soon as the Daily goes up, one of them reads it aloud from beginning to end and the other takes dictation with a stylus on wax tablets. Then they hurry home, transcribe the words to parchment, and by the time I’m up and about, my private copy of the Daily is here waiting for me in the garden, the ink still drying in the sun. A comfy chair, a sunny spot, a hearty cup of broth, and my own copy of the Daily Acts—I tell you, Gordianus, there’s no more civilized way to start the day.”xa0I popped an almond into my mouth. “It all seems rather antisocial to me, not to mention extravagant. The cost of parchment alone!”xa0“Squinting at wax tablets gives me eyestrain.” Lucius sipped his broth. “Anyway, I didn’t ask you here to critique my personal pleasures, Gordianus. There’s something in the Daily that I want you to see.”xa0“What, the news about that rebellious Roman general terrorizing Spain?”xa0“Quintus Sertorius!” Lucius shifted his considerable bulk. “He’ll soon have the whole Iberian Peninsula under his control. The natives there hate Rome, but they adore Sertorius. What can our two consuls be thinking, failing to bring military assistance to the provincial government? Decimus Brutus, much as I love the old bookworm, is no fighter, I’ll grant you; hard to imagine him leading an expedition. But his fellow consul Lepidus is a military veteran; fought for Sulla in the Civil War. How can those two sit idly on their behinds while Sertorius creates a private kingdom for himself in Spain?”xa0“All that’s in the Daily Acts?” I asked.xa0“Of course not!” Lucius snorted. “Nothing but the official government line: situation under control, no cause for alarm. You’ll find more details about the obscene earnings of charioteers than you’ll find about Spain. What else can you expect? The Daily is a state organ put out by the government. Deci probably dictates every word of the war news himself.”xa0“Deci?”xa0“Decimus Brutus, of course; the consul.” With his ancient patrician connections, Lucius tended to be on a first-name basis, sometimes on a pet-name basis, with just about everybody in power. “But you distract me, Gordianus. I didn’t ask you here to talk about Sertorius. Decimus Brutus, yes; Sertorius, no. Here, have a look at this.” His bejeweled hand flitted over the pile and plucked a scroll for me to read.xa0“Society gossip?” I scanned the items. “A’s son engaged to B’s daughter . . . C plays host to D at his country villa . . . E shares her famous family recipe for egg custard dating back to the days when Romulus suckled the she-wolf.” I grunted. “All very interesting, but I don’t see—”xa0Lucius leaned forward and tapped at the scroll. “Read that part. Aloud.”xa0“‘The bookworm pokes his head outside tomorrow. Easy prey for the sparrow, but partridges go hungry. Bright-eyed Sappho says: Be suspicious! A dagger strikes faster than lightning. Better yet: an arrow. Let Venus conquer all!’”xa0Lucius sat back and crossed his fleshy arms. “What do you make of it?”xa0“I believe it’s called a blind item; a bit of gossip conveyed in code. No proper names, only clues that are meaningless to the uninitiated. Given the mention of Venus, I imagine this particular item is about some illicit love affair. I doubt I’d know the names involved even if they were clearly spelled out. You’d be more likely than I to know what all this means, Lucius.”xa0“Indeed. I’m afraid I do know, at least in part. That’s why I called you here today, Gordianus. I have a dear friend who needs your help.”xa0I raised an eyebrow. Lucius’s rich and powerful connections had yielded me lucrative work before; they had also put me in great danger. “What friend would that be, Lucius?”xa0He raised a finger. The slaves around us silently withdrew into the house. “Discretion, Gordianus. Discretion! Read the item again.”xa0“‘The bookworm—’”xa0“And whom did I call a bookworm only a moment ago?”xa0I blinked. “Decimus Brutus, the consul.”xa0Lucius nodded. “Read on.”xa0“‘The bookworm pokes his head outside tomorrow . . .’”xa0“Deci will venture to the Circus Maximus tomorrow, to watch the races from the consular box.”xa0“‘Easy prey for the sparrow . . .’”xa0“Draw your own conclusion from that—especially with the mention of daggers and arrows later on!”xa0I raised an eyebrow. “You think there’s a plot against the consul’s life, based on a blind item in the Daily Acts? It seems far-fetched, Lucius.”xa0“It’s not what I think. It’s what Deci himself thinks. The poor fellow’s in a state; came to my house and roused me out of bed an hour ago, desperate for advice. He needs someone to get to the bottom of this, quietly and quickly. I told him I knew just the man: Gordianus the Finder.”xa0“Me?” I scowled at an olive pit between my forefinger and thumb. “Since the Daily is a state organ, surely Decimus Brutus himself, as consul, is in the best position to determine where this item came from and what it really means. To start, who wrote it?”xa0“That’s precisely the problem.”xa0“I don’t understand.”xa0“Do you see the part about ‘Sappho’ and her advice?”xa0“Yes.”xa0“Gordianus, who do you think writes and edits the Daily Acts?”xa0I shrugged. “I never thought about it.”xa0“Then I shall tell you. The consuls themselves dictate the items about politics and foreign policy, giving their own official viewpoint. The drier parts—trade figures, livestock counts and such—are compiled by clerks in the censor’s office. Sporting news comes from the magistrates in charge of the Circus Maximus. Augurs edit the stories that come in about weird lightning flashes, comets, curiously shaped vegetables, and other omens. But who do you think oversees the society news—weddings and birth announcements, social engagements, ‘blind items,’ as you call them?”xa0“A woman named Sappho?”xa0“A reference to the poet of ancient Lesbos. The consul’s wife is something of a poet herself.”&... Read more