Eighth * in the Roma Sub Rosa ancient Roman historical mystery series and revolving around Gordianus the Finder and his family in the Rome of 48BC. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the Roma Sub Rosa (and the Ancient World prequel) books on my website.Chronologically, it's MY eighth and Saylor's ninth or twelfth if you include the Ancient World books. The reason it's my eighth is because the technical sixth, The House of the Vestals, is a collection of short stories that I've slotted in chronologically.My TakeI continue to love how real Saylor makes his stories. I feel as though I'm there in Rome, feeling the heat and tasting the food, interacting with real people. The research Saylor has done has that ring of authenticity as well; you can see how very much he's done to bring life to A Mist of Prophecies.That said, Saylor employed an odd sort of foreshadowing as he flips back and forth between the past and the present. It's not particularly confusing, but it did throw me off. I don't feel it was well done. For the rest, A Mist of Prophecies is more of a catch-up on what is happening in Rome as Gordianus makes the rounds of seven Roman matrons and interacts with Cassandra.Hmmm, Diana is asserting her abilities to take up her father's previous occupation as a Finder, and this papa is not happy. It could be interesting in future stories to see if she does start detecting.Cytheris has the scoop on Cassandra's true identity, and it's so much more interesting than what Rome knows. And yes, there is a spattering of licentious behavior in a number of the characters' backgrounds. I do love how well Saylor fleshes out the women, especially when there is so little, historically, to go on other than asides in the men's biographies and letters.The economy in Rome is suffering with all the strife between Caesar and Pompey. Prices are sky-high for everything, and it's wiping out everyone from high to low, adding another level of conflict.The StoryIt's a fluke that Cassandra dies in Gordianus' arms, and as he mourns her loss, he organizes her funeral only to have seven surprise mourners. It's those mourners who will provide the clues to her murderer.Yet, it's not Cassandra's death that is riling up Rome, but Caelius with his diatribes against bankers and landlords. With so many of Rome's citizens in debt and losing everything they own, his words are welcome and make Caelius a man to watch.Meanwhile, Caesar's actions trouble Gordianus: Romans were never meant to be ruled by a king.The CharactersGordianus the Finder retired a year before events in Rubicon, 6. Bethesda is his ill wife. Diana, his daughter, is married to Davus, a former slave who now serves as Gordianus' bodyguard. Eco, his son, is married to Menenia, and they have twin daughters. Hieronymus the Massilian from Last Seen in Massilia, 7, is now living with Gordianus in Rome. Mopsus and Androcles are brothers and slaves in his household. Meto, Gordianus' former son (see Last Seen in Massilia), is with Caesar again.The epileptic Cassandra is named for the prophetess who saw the future but no one ever believed her. Rupa is her mute bodyguard.Terentia is Cicero's wife; he is in Greece with Pompey. Tullia is their daughter and married to Dolabella, her third marriage and a huge mistake. Dolabella is in charge of Caesar's fleet in the Adriatic. Fabia is Terentia's sister and a Vestal Virgin.Antonia is the wife of Marc Antony, Caeser's right-hand man who has been left in charge of Rome. And there's no love lost between them! Cytheris is a mime actress and Antony's mistress given to him by Volumnius, a rapacious banker who has loaned money to Gordianus. Chrysippus is one of Cytheris' slaves.Fulvia is a widow twice over. Her first husband was Clodius ( A Murder on the Appian Way, 5) while the second was Gaius Curio whose head now adorns King Juba's court. Sepronia is Fulvia's singleminded mother. Thraso is one of Fulvia's slaves.Fausta is the very promiscuous daughter of the dictator Sulla; she's technically married to the exiled gang leader, Titus Annius Milo ( A Murder on the Appian Way and Last Seen in Massilia). Birria was one of Milo's gladiators and is now Fausta's bodyguard.Calpurnia is Caeser's wife, and she's running Caesar's spy network in Rome. Clodia was once the most notorious woman in Rome until events in The Venus Throw, 4.Marcus Caelius ( The Venus Throw) is back in town as one of Rome's magistrates, but he's speaking against Caesar these days.Publius Servilius Isauricus is Caesar's fellow consul. Gaius Trebonius is the city praetor (we first met him in Last Seen in Massilia) charged by Caesar to manage his economic plans.Didius is an old friend of Gordianus'; his shop sells writing materials and specializes in copying documents.The chin-waggers at the ForumVolcatius, a Pompeian, is the most vocal; Canininus; and, the mild-mannered Manlius.Pompey and Caesar are mentioned throughout but do not appear.The Cover and TitleThe cover is a blend of Roman fresco and a maid helping her mistress. It's a mix as the bottom of the image is three dimensional with a purple-bordered orange cloth covering a bench on which a white-clad and be-turbanned woman sits with her back to us, one hand pulling on a purple cloth as her maid bends at the waist holding a shallow dish on which the cloth lies. The background is a damaged red panel bordered by black. The damage also appears on the women's faces making them seem a part of the wall. It's an odd effect.The title refers to Cassandra and A Mist of Prophecies that she spreads throughout Rome.
A Mist of Prophecies , by Steven Saylor, tells the story of "Cassandra," a beggar woman called by that name because she is given to odd fits in which she foretells the future. All the best women in Rome want to consult her, especially since their various husbands and lovers are either fighting in the Civil War between Pompey and Julius Caesar or are stirring up trouble in the city itself; nobody knows what the outcome might be of so much chaos. When Cassandra appears suddenly in the marketplace, foaming and crying and ultimately dying of poisoning in the arms of Gordianus the Finder, he is compelled to find out what happened, which means he must start to investigate some of the most powerful women Rome has ever seen.... This is the ninth book in Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series, all of which feature Gordianus as the main character, a sort-of detective living in ancient Rome and making his way by using his curiosity and intelligence to uncover the truths that others might want to remain buried. What is especially intriguing about this entry in the always-interesting series is how much it focuses on the women of the upper classes, a group about which historians really know next to nothing as the ancient Romans themselves didn't consider women to be important enough to be written about. This gives Saylor much leeway in his depictions of these women, but as he's a scholarly soul as well as a novelist, I think his ideas about their lives are probably quite sound. Indeed, one of my pleasures in reading this series is his end-notes, in which Saylor lays out his research for all the world as if it's a history text, not a novel, that we're reading - and yet, each book works well as a novel too, with compelling and fascinating individuals and real-life complications and problems. Highly recommended!
What do You think about A Mist Of Prophecies (2003)?
I still love Gordianus and friends, but I found this entry in the series to be bleak, to the extent that I didn't have the same compulsion to keep reading, as I have with the earlier entries. I understand why the mood was bleak, and it makes perfect sense, but I also felt that some characters -not just Gordianus - behaved out of character as far as we've come to know them through earlier books. I still liked the book and have come to care about these characters. I look forward to reading the last two books and then the prequel when it's released in June.
—Melissa
A Mist of Prophecies is a return to Rome, after Gordianus the Finder's (Saylor's superb ancient Roman detective) last ventures in various other parts of the empire. Most (but not all!) of the menfolk are off fighting in the war between Caesar and Pompey, but the women all are left behind - and thank the gods! Every well known woman from Roman history at the time of the fall of the Republic makes some sort of appearance in this book, with all their usual conniving and/or sexy ways. Gordianus has his hands full with the most famous matrons of Rome, who each have a mysterious connection to a murdered seeress. Saylor's portrayal of these women (particularly the delightful villainous Clodia) makes this entry in the series particularly wonderful. If you are new to Gordianus the Finder, start at the beginning; if you are just coming to this book in the series, you'll find the Roman detective to be older, sadder, but not necessarily wiser. But he's definitely a pleasure to read about.
—Shawn Thrasher
Steven Saylor developed a passion for all things "Roman" as an adolescent. He's spent years reading and researching everything he could find on this time period and writes stories based on historical events and characters. He doesn't sugar-coat the past nor does he write under the influence of any religious dogma. If you're easily offended by depictions of gladiatorial games, bloodshed, and sexual attractions and situations, do NOT read this series. If however, you're an adult who accepts that ancient people approached life differently and relished food, entertainments and pleasures (when they could), then get comfortable and enjoy some good stories. Life was hard in ancient times and this author tells it like it was! I just wish my local libraries had the entire series...it's so aggravating to attempt reading books in order chronologically and then running into the problem of a library not having a particular title. Guess I'll have to stop being cheap and go buy the missing titles LOL.
—Denise
