Dominus is the latest
historical novel in Steven Saylor’s “Roman Empire” series.
As with the other novels in this
series, the events of Roman history are seen through the eyes of the ancient
Pinarius family – worshippers of Priapus who wear the fascinum.
This novel begins with the reign of
Marcus Aurelius and continues through the emperors to Constantine and his weird
acceptance of the Christian religion. Saylor makes the history come alive
through engaging dialog and through portraying the good and the bad of each
emperor and their works.
There is a map of Marcus Aurelius’
empire at the start of the novel. At the
end, there is an epilogue quoting an archeological magazine about a recent
discovery mention in the novel. This is
followed by an author’s note which contains references and thoughts about the
major works Saylor used in writing the novel – kind of an annotated
bibliography. For me, guidance to
further reading on issues that interested me.
The novel ends with a timeline of the events covered.
I look forward to each novel that
Saylor writes. If you like historical
novels and are interested in the Roman Empire, his novels are a great place to
go.
[This review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, and
Goodreads.com.]
No comments:
Post a Comment