The Judgment of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome

by Steven Saylor Narrated by Geoffrey Howard

Overview

In 48 BC the Roman generals Caesar and Pompey are engaged in a battle to rule the world. As Pompey plots a reckless stand on the banks of the Nile, Gordianus the Finder-who has brought his dying wife, Bethesda, to the Nile seeking a cure from its sacred waters-finds himself suddenly at the heart of a series of treacherous and history-altering events.

While Caesar and Cleopatra embark on a legendary romance, Egypt remains ravaged by the brutal contest between the queen and her brother, King Ptolemy. Worst of all for Gordianus, Meto, his once-disowned son and Caesar's right-hand man, stands falsely accused of murder.

Caesar's judgment will decide his son's fate, and it is up to Gordianus to somehow overcome malevolent forces to reveal the carefully obscured truth in order to save his son's life.

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Traveling to Alexandria in 48 b.c. in hope of curing his Egyptian wife's illness, Gordianus the Finder learns once more that "these days, no place is safer than any other."Just as the Roman ship is about to make port in Bethesda's native land so that she can bathe in the healing waters of the Nile, it's surrounded by a fleet commandeered by Pompey the Great, who swore in A Mist of Prophecies (2002) to see Gordianus dead. Though Pompey's wife Cornelia offers the aging investigator a vial of poison to protect him from her husband's torture, his troubles are only beginning. He'll witness the bloody aftermath of Pompey's own landfall and the vanishing of Bethesda from a temple of Isis. Later, the arrival of Julius Caesar, who plans to impose a Roman peace on Egypt by choosing its ruler from between feuding siblings Ptolemy and Cleopatra, will put Gordianus and Meto, the adopted son he'd disowned for his uncritical loyalty to the First Consul, on the spot when an amphora of wine intended for Caesar and Cleopatra is poisoned, and the evidence seems to point conclusively to Meto. To exonerate him, Gordianus will have to extricate himself from high-tension political rivalries and do what he does best: discover the truth. Expert mystery-mongering closely woven into a pageant featuring the most star-studded cast imaginable. Fans of the historical mystery couldn't do better. Author tour. Agent: Alan Nevins/The Firm

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169902815
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	12/01/2013
Series:	Roma Sub Rosa , #10
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

So set was the captain on reaching calmer waters that he took no no-tice of the several ships that lay dead ahead of us, their sails as bright as ivory in the glaring sunlight. Some of the vessels appeared to be war-ships. Such a group, encountered closer to Alexandria, would have given no cause for alarm, for there the harbor and its guardian fleet would have offered protection from vagabonds and pirates. But our location ap-peared to be far from any port or harbor of consequence, so that we might as well have been on the open sea. We were acutely vulnerable to robbery and attack. Even as I was considering this, the captain finally appeared to take notice of the vessels ahead of us. He gave an order to veer southward, toward land, even though that arid, featureless strip of shoreline appeared to offer very little in the way of succor or conceal-ment.
But the other ships had already spotted us, and whatever their inten-tions, seemed unwilling to let us go without an encounter. Two smaller vessels struck out toward us.

Whoever they were, they were practiced sailors with considerable skill at pursuit and capture. Coordinating their movements with ad-mirable precision, they drew apart so as to pull alongside us both to star-board and port, then slowed their speed to match ours. They were close enough now so that I could see the leering faces of the armed men on deck. Were they bent on our destruction, or merely exhilarated by the chase? From the ship to our starboard, an officer called out, "Give it up, Captain! We've caught you fair and square. Raise your oars, or else we'll get rid of them for you!"
The threat was literal; I had seen warships employ just such a maneu-ver,drawing alongside an enemy vessel, veering close, then withdrawing their oars so as to shear off the other ship's still-extended oars, rendering it helpless. With two ships, such a maneuver could be executed on both sides of us simultaneously. Given the skill our pursuers had so far dis-played, I had no doubt that they could pull it off.
The captain was still in a panic, frozen to the spot and speechless. His men looked to him for orders, but received none. We proceeded at full speed, the pursuers matching us and drawing closer on either side.
"By Hercules!" I shouted, tearing myself from Bethesda to run to the captain's side. I gripped his arm. "Give the order to raise oars!"
The captain looked at me blankly. I slapped him across the face. He bolted and moved to strike back at me, then the glimmer of reason lit his eyes. He took a deep breath and raised his arms.
"Lift oars!" he cried. "Trim sail!"
The sailors, heaving with exertion, obeyed at once. Our pursuers, with flawless seamanship, mimicked our actions, and all three ships re-mained side by side even as the waves began to brake our progress.
The ship to our starboard drew even closer. The soldier who had or-dered us to stop spoke again, though he was now so close that he hardly needed to raise his voice. I saw that he wore the insignia of a Roman cen-turion. "Identify yourself!"
The captain cleared his throat. "This is the Andromeda, an Athenian ship with a Greek crew."
"And you?"
"Cretheus, owner and captain."
"Why did you flee when we approached?"
"What fool wouldn't have done the same?"
The centurion laughed. At least he was in good humor. "Where do you sail from?"
"Ostia, the port city of Rome."
"Destination?"
"Alexandria. We'd be there now if not for-"
"Just answer the questions! Cargo?"
"Olive oil and wine. In Alexandria we'll be picking up raw line and-"
"Passengers?"
"Only one party, a fellow and his wife-"
"Is that him, beside you?"
I spoke up. "My name is Gordianus. I'm a Roman citizen."
"Are you now?" The centurion peered at me. "How many in you party?"
"My wife, a bodyguard, two slave boys."
"Are we free to sail on?" said the captain.
"Not yet. All ships without exception are to be boarded and searched and the names of all passengers passed on to the Great One himself. Nothing for you to be alarmed about; standard procedure. Now turn about, and we'll escort you to the fleet."
I cast a wistful glance at the bleak, receding shore. We had not fallen into the clutches of Caesar, or pirates, or renegade soldiers. It was much worse than that. Only one man in the whole world presumed to cal himself Magnus, Great One: Pompey. The Fates had delivered me into the hands of a man who had vowed to see me dead.

Copyright 2004 by Steven Saylor

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