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Title details for Roma by Steven Saylor - Wait list

Roma

#1 in series

by Steven Saylor
John Lee
Audiobook
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Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families through the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city, and its people.

Weaving history, legend, and new archaeological discoveries into a spellbinding narrative, critically acclaimed novelist Steven Saylor gives new life to the drama of the city’s first thousand years——from the founding of the city by the ill-fated twins Romulus and Remus, through Rome’s astonishing ascent to become the capital of the most powerful empire in history. ROMA recounts the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture of the city by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter political struggles of the patricians and plebeians, and the ultimate death of Rome’s Republic with the triumph, and assassination, of Julius Caesar.

Witnessing this history, and sometimes playing key roles, are the descendents of two of Rome’s first families, the Potitius and Pinarius clans: One is the confidant of Romulus. One is born a slave and tempts a Vestal virgin to break her vows. One becomes a mass murderer. And one becomes the heir of Julius Caesar. Linking the generations is a mysterious talisman as ancient as the city itself. Epic in every sense of the word, ROMA is a panoramic historical saga and Saylor’s finest achievement to date.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Rome

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 27, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415938362
      • File size: 635699 KB
      • Duration: 22:04:22

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A saga of the first thousand years of the city of Rome brings listeners to the beginning of the Christian Era. John Lee's sonorous voice marshals listeners through the wars, the inventions, the love affairs, and the murders that are interwoven in this novel to bring to us a luminous vision of this great city. Primarily a narrative, the story puts few demands on Lee to create voices in dialogue, but his clear, accentless voice allows listeners to keep the grim moments at a distance and to engage in the intensely moving ones. This novel is a fine way to revisit Roman history and to think about how little the human condition has changed. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 27, 2006
      Author of the critically acclaimed Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mysteries, Saylor (The Judgment of Caesar
      ) breaks out on an epic scale in this sprawling novel tracing Rome's extraordinary development over five centuries, as seen through the eyes of succeeding generations of one of its founding families. Skipping over several generations at a time, Saylor puts the Potitii family descendants at the side of Romulus and Remus at the official founding of the city; of Scipio Africanus during the Punic Wars; of the legendary reformers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus during the turbulent second-century B.C.; and of Julius and Augustus Caesar as the Republic ebbs into Empire. Solidly anchored in fact and vividly imagined, this long book moves at a sprightly clip and features some vibrant personages. One of the most memorable is Pinaria, a Vestal Virgin who loses her innocence to a enigmatic slave, and secondaries such as the deformed giant Cacus who terrorizes the early Roman settlement. Linked by blood and by a gold amulet (in the shape of a winged phallus) that is passed from generation to generation, the Potitii family gets to see some fascinating things.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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