A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations Of Gordianus The Finder by Steven Saylor

Publisher: "New York, New York, U.S.A.: Minotaur Books", 2005
ISBN: 0312271204
ID: S00010407

"Hardcover with jacket in Mylar cover, not price clipped, signed by author on custom designed bookplate, 1st ed./1st printing, complete numberline with #1, trade (retail) edition, not bookclub or ex-library. CONDITION: As New. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity for Author's Signature."

Price in US $ 52.5

Summary: 'Saylor evokes the ancient world more convincingly than any other writer of his generation.'-The Sunday Times (London) on The Judgment of Caesar Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of novels, set in the later Roman Republic and featuring Gordianus the Finder, has garnered unusual acclaim from readers and reviewers alike, establishing him as one of the pre-eminent historical mystery writers. In A Gladiator Dies Only Once, the second collection of his award-winning Gordianus stories, Saylor more than meets the high standards of his previous work. Set mainly in the seventeen years between the events of his first novel, Roman Blood, and his third, Catilina's Riddle, these tales will delight his many fans while relating previously untold adventures of Gordianus' early career.

The Judgment of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2004
ISBN: 9780312271190
ID: PJ0773

Signed! Hardcover first edition / first printing. Fine book in fine jacket, not price clipped, Signed on a custom designed bookplate and is author's signature only. Minimum scuffing and edge wear. No writing or marks Comes with Certificate of Authenticity for author's signature.

Price in US $ 56.25

Summary: Gordianus the Finder and his ailing wife Bethesda leave the relative safety of Rome to travel to Egypt-Bethesda's homeland-in search of a cure for her enduring, mysterious illness. Arriving just as the war between Caesar and Pompey is reaching its conclusion on its shores, Gordianus is imme-diately thrust into the middle of the struggle between Ptolemy and his sister Cleopatra. As Caesar's involvement with Cleopatra grows and Gordianus's wife disappears into the waters of the treacherous Nile, Gordianus is confronted by a set of mysterious circumstances that he must unravel if the truth is ever to be revealed.

Rubicon: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1999
ISBN: 9780312205768
ID: PJ0774

Signed! Hardcover first edition / first printing. Fine book in fine jacket, not price clipped, Signed on a custom designed bookplate and is author's signature only. Minimum scuffing and edge wear. No writing or marks Comes with Certificate of Authenticity for author's signature.

Price in US $ 31.50

Summary: Steven Saylor's seventh installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series begins with a character saying, "Pompey will be mightily pissed." Scholars might argue that there is no evidence of this particular synonym for anger ever being used in 49 B.C., but the author would no doubt respond that poetic license includes doing whatever it takes to bridge the gap for modern audiences. And indeed, the head of the Roman Senate "is" mightily pissed. Rome is on the verge of another civil war, and the forces of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have crossed the Rubicon River and are marching toward the capital. To top it all off, one of Pompey's favorite cousins has been garroted to death. Before Pompey flees the city, he asks Rome's greatest detective, Gordianus the Finder, to solve the murder. But Pompey has reason to distrust Gordianus, who may have an allegiance with Caesar. To force his loyalty, Pompey seizes the detective's son-in-law, and makes him join his household army. By doing so, he ensures that Gordianus's involvement in the coming conflict will be a very personal one. Confused and troubled, Gordianus walks through Rome toward the house of his former friend and mentor, the poet Cicero. "All around me, I felt the uneasiness of the city, like a sleeper in the throes of a nightmare." Awakening from the nightmare, surviving the chaos, and solving this whodunit will be the Finder's toughest battle yet. "--Dick Adler"

A Twist at the End : A Novel of O. Henry by Steven Saylor

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2000
ISBN: 9780684856810
ID: PJ0775

Signed! Hardcover first edition / first printing. Fine book in fine jacket, not price clipped, Signed on a custom designed bookplate and is author's signature only. Minimum scuffing and edge wear. No writing or marks Comes with Certificate of Authenticity for author's signature.

Price in US $ 31.50

Summary: Austin, Texas, 1885. Manhattan, 1906. Twenty-year-old ghosts haunt Will Porter, a.k.a. famous writer O. Henry, who may have changed names and cities but hasn't outrun the memory of a series of murders that cast a chilling shadow over a sunny and bustling town. In "A Twist at the End", Steven Saylor, author of the Roma Sub Rosa mystery series ("Rubicon", "The House of the Vestals", "A Murder on the Appian Way", "The Venus Throw"), riffs on reality: brutal and sadistic, the "Servant Girl Annihilator" killed seven Austin women in 1885, but the murders were never solved. Saylor weaves together murder mystery and love story, historical exploration and fictional creation, combining careful research with artistic license to hazard a potential solution to the now-obscure mystery. Will is summoned back to Austin by a mysterious stranger bearing a letter whose author claims to have discovered the perpetrator of the hideous crimes; Saylor cleverly frames the story as a series of flashbacks during Will's trip to Texas. The sense of the train moving both forward, west toward Austin, and backward, deep into the past, accelerates the story itself, creating a foreboding sense of portent. Will himself is an engaging protagonist: "He considered himself to be fairly well-rounded, for a self-educated fellow. He could throw a lariat, quote from "Idylls of the King", and grow an exceedingly fine moustache. Despite this résumé, once in Austin he had encountered some difficulties in earning a livelihood." His youth and naiveté are compelling counterpoints to the gritty boisterousness of the capital city, which Saylor evokes with careful precision. Saylor has a light touch with historical irony. All too often, writers wrestle unsuccessfully with the temptation to have their characters make claims that we know, with all the wisdom of hindsight, will be disproved. The trick is to do this without making readers feel they've been poked sharply in the ribs (Do you get it? Do you get it?), and Saylor exhibits the commendable talent of grounding his characters' thoughts and observations in their historical context; they never seem forced or sly. Unfortunately, the urge toward verisimilitude carries its own risks. Too often, Saylor will weave an item of historical record into his narrative--the so-called Female Clerks bill, for example--then seem oddly compelled to dispose of it; he brusquely states its actual outcome and drops it forevermore. The reader has the impression of a file drawer sliding shut (perhaps the one labeled "Historical Atmosphere"). Such moments, though they testify to Saylor's familiarity with Texas history, rupture the flow of the narrative. The opening of the novel is so successful--with its O. Henry-esque twist that leaves readers ruefully shaking their heads, realizing too late the author's trickery--that one expects great things from the conclusion. Sadly, Saylor falls short of his own inspiration; the dénouement may be logical, but it certainly is neither startling nor ironic, and what, after all, is an O. Henry story without irony? "--Kelly Flynn"