The Venus Throw (Signed First Edition)

Saylor, Steven

ISBN 10: 0312119127 / ISBN 13: 9780312119126

Published by St. Martins Press, New York, 1994

About this Item

New York: St. Martins, 1994. First Edition. First printing. Hardbound. New, in a new dust jacket. The fourth book in the Rome series. A perfect unread copy. Less than 7500 copies in first edition. Signed by author on title page (name only). A historical mystery set in 56 B.C., "The Venus Throw" follows Gordianus the Finder as he investigates the murder of his former mentor, the Egyptian ambassador Dio, amidst political intrigue involving Rome and Egypt. This is the fourth novel in the Roma Sub Rosa series, continuing Saylor's acclaimed blend of historical fiction and detective narrative. Saylor s Roma Sub Rosa series begins with "Roman Blood" (1991), followed by "Arms of Nemesis" (1992), "Catilina s Riddle" (1993), and "The Venus Throw" (1995). The sequence continues with "A Murder on the Appian Way" (1996), "Rubicon" (1999), "Last Seen in Massilia" (2000), "A Mist of Prophecies" (2002), "The Judgment of Caesar" (2004), and "The Triumph of Caesar" (2008). Later entries include the prequels "Raiders of the Nile" (2014) and "Wrath of the Furies" (2015), and the more recent "The Throne of Caesar" (2018). In addition to the novels, Saylor published two short story collections set in the same world: "The House of the Vestals" (1997) and "A Gladiator Dies Only Once" (2005).

Seller Inventory # 3252

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Venus Throw (Signed First Edition)
• Publisher: St. Martins Press, New York
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312119127
• ISBN 13: 9780312119126
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

In an ancient Rome torn apart by corruption and decadence, Gordianus the Finder investigates the brutal assassinations of several Egyptian envoys and finds himself in the midst of a deadly and seductive game of murder and intrigue.

Reviews

Saylor (Catilina's Riddle) has established a fine reputation with his mystery novels set in ancient Rome and starring Gordianus the Finder, an early PI. In his fourth adventure, in 56 B.C., Gordianus is visited by Dio, his teacher of Greek philosophy 30 years earlier in Alexandria, who is now on an Egyptian delegation to Rome. Dio, whose fellow delegates are being killed, fears being poisoned; so Gordianus offers him an untainted dinner. Poor Dio dies that night anyway, stabbed and poisoned. Gordianus looks into the doings of his late teacher's companion, the eunuch priest Trygonion, who had accompanied Dio that evening. A beautiful, sex-hungry widow accuses Gordianus's neighbor, a young, loudmouthed lawyer, of murdering Dio, and she hires Gordianus to prove her charges. Saylor gives the widow a gloriously handsome, incest-inclined brother and sets his tale simmering with eroticism, adding engrossing historical filler about Roman law, politics and goddess cults. The result is a talky, absorbing brew of Rome's decay. The title refers to luck at dice.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The author of Catalina's Riddle (LJ 9/15/93) re-creates the corrupt Rome of 56 B.C., when Egypt still remains free. Because several Egyptian envoys have been murdered, the Egyptian ambassador asks series "sleuth" Gordianus the Finder for assistance.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.