Gordianus the Finder is one of my favourite fictional characters. From the very beginning of the series, the author created a dynamic, intelligent, sympathetic man. Although there is a fair amount of action in the stories, what separates him from other, similar fictional creations, is the preference for brains over brawn.
The way the author worked to place Gordianus amongst the great, the good and the bad of Roman society, and weave his story into known events was generally flawless and as good as any contemporary author. Many of the stories had known endings, but you still wanted to know what happened, and how Gordianus was involved.
I was not so impressed by the prequels which have appeared more recently. Interesting, yes, but not necessary, and not nearly as involving. Prequels must, after all, lead to the original, so suspense is difficult to generate.
Saylor has now added to the original series with this volume, which takes us to the Ides of March. I really think he shouldn’t have bothered. Of course, we all know the outcome. There can be few people who don’t know at least the basics of Caesar’s death. But this book seems more detached than all the other volumes.
It’s as if the author wrote his version of the real events, then padded it out by placing Gordianus in the story at various random points. The story didn’t feel as if it was about Gordianus; it was about Caesar, with the Finder tagging along.
I have enjoyed the series tremendously; indeed it is one of my favourites. But unfortunately this addition is not up to the standard of the rest. And unfortunately, the publisher seems to have forgotten that proofreaders actually exist; there are far too many grammatical and formatting errors.
Ultimately, I think the story is so well known, it is difficult to bring anything fresh to it. Perhaps Gordianus really does need to go off into well-earned retirement.
This is a review of the Constable 2018 Kindle edition.
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