Steven Saylor has 18 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 7 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 12 ratings. The most-rated is Roma.
Roma
Summary
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 1,000 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.
©2007 Steven Saylor (P)2007 Books on Tape
Empire
Summary
Continuing the epic story begun in his <>i>New York Times best-selling novel Roma, Steven Saylor charts the destinies of five more generations of the aristocratic Pinarius family, from the reign of Augustus to height of Rome’s empire.The Pinarii witness the machinations of Tiberius, the madness of Caligula, and the decadence of Nero. The deadly paranoia of Domitian gives way to the Golden Age of Trajan and Hadrian - but even the most enlightened emperors wield the power to destroy their subjects on a whim. Empire is filled with the dramatic, defining moments of the age, including the Great Fire of 64 A.D, Nero’s persecution of the Christians, and the astounding opening games of the Colosseum. But at the novel’s heart are the choices and temptations faced by each generation of the Pinarii. One becomes the plaything of the notorious Messalina. One becomes the lover of a Vestal virgin. One falls under the spell of Nero, while another is drawn to the strange new cult of those who call themselves Christians. While the Pinarii struggle for survival, they also search for meaning. Some cling to the worship of the gods who made Rome great. Others explore the mysteries of astrology, follow the teachings of the wiseman Apollonius of Tyana, or celebrate the beautiful youth elevated by Hadrian to the status of a god. However diverse their destinies, all the Pinarii are united by the mysterious gold talisman called the fascinum handed down from a time before Rome existed. As it passes from generation to generation, the fascinum seems to exercise a power not only over those who wear it, but over the very fate of the empire.
©2010 Steven Saylor (P)2010 Macmillan Audio
Roman Blood
Summary
In Rome, 80 B.C., on a warm spring morning, Gordianus the Finder receives a summons to the house of a then-unknown young advocate and orator, Cicero. Ambitious and brilliant, the 26-year-old Cicero is about to argue his first important case. His client is a wealthy farmer, one Sextus Roscius of the town of Ameria, who stands accused of the most unforgivable act in Ancient Rome: the murder of his father. Hired by Cicero to investigate the charges, Gordianus sets out to discover the truth in a case - and a society - rife with deceit, betrayal, and conspiracy. As he draws nearer to the truth, the conspiracy looms ever larger until Gordianus begins to perceive the hand of the dictator Sulla himself. Playing for stakes much higher than he bargained for, Gordianus finds that not only is he himself endangered but so are all those around him as well.
©1991 Steven Saylor (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Raiders of the Nile
Summary
In Egypt during the late Roman Republic, the young Gordianus finds himself involved in a raid to steal the golden Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great In 88 B.C. it seems as if all the world is at war. From Rome to Greece and to Egypt itself, most of civilization is on the verge of war. The young Gordianus-a born-and-raised Roman citizen-is living in Alexandria, making ends meet by plying his trade of solving puzzles and finding things out for pay. He whiles away his time with his slave Bethesda, waiting for the world to regain its sanity. But on the day Gordianus turns twenty-two, Bethesda is kidnapped by brigands who mistake her for a rich man's mistress. If Gordianus is to find and save Bethesda, who has come to mean more to him than even he suspected, he must find the kidnappers before they realize their mistake and cut their losses. Using all the skills he learned from his father, Gordianus must track them down and convince them that he can offer something of enough value in exchange for Bethesda's release. As the streets of Alexandria slowly descend into chaos, and the citizenry begin to riot with rumors of an impending invasion by Ptolmey's brother, Gordianus finds himself in the midst of a very bold and dangerous plot-the raiding and pillaging of the golden sarcophagus of Alexander the Great himself. New York Times bestselling author Steven Saylor returns, chronicling the early years of his detective, Gordianus, before he assumed the title of The Finder. Raiders of the Nile is the latest in his much-loved series of mysteries set in the late Roman Republic.
©2014 Steven Saylor (P)2018 Recorded Books
A Twist at the End
Summary
Best known for his acclaimed mystery fiction set in ancient Rome, in A Twist at the End Steven Saylor delivers a stunning historical novel about America's first recorded serial murders - the Austin, Texas, servant girl murders of 1885 - artfully blending real characters and true crime into an engrossing work of fiction. The city of Austin, Texas, "is fearfully dull", wrote young Will Porter to a friend in the spring of 1885, "except for the frequent raids of the Servant Girl Annihilators, who make things lively in the dead of night." Years later Will Porter would become the most famous writer in America - O. Henry, the toast of New York. The long-ago Austin servant girl murders would remain unsolved. But behind the O. Henry pen name, Will Porter was a man with secrets. The appearance of a merciless blackmailer and a mysterious stranger draw Porter back into the past and back to Texas, to confront the twisted solution to those murders - and the secrets of his own soul. When he was a young man in Austin in that spring of 1885, Porter fell in love. Her name was Eula Phillips. She was beautiful. She was married to someone else. And she was doomed to be a victim of the Servant Girl Annihilators. The first victims were young black women who worked in the households of Austin's most prominent citizens. The crimes were unspeakable, as the killer or killers used an ax and - in the newspaper parlance of the day - "outraged" the victims even as they were dying or already dead. The authorities were baffled. The murders continued month after month,until suddenly, shockingly, on a bloody Christmas Eve, the pattern changed - and the trial that resulted would uncover an explosive scandal of sex and power that would tear the city of Austin apart. The scene of these crimes was a capital city in uneasy transition.
©2000 Steven Saylor (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Last Seen in Massilia
Summary
In 49 BC, in the city of Massilia (modern-day Marseille), on the coast of southern Gaul, Gordianus the Finder's beloved son Meto has disappeared - branded as a traitor to Caesar and apparently dead. Consumed with grief, Gordianus arrives in the city amid a raging civil war, hoping to discover what happened to his son. But when he witnesses a young woman fall from a precipice called Sacrifice Rock, he becomes entangled in discovering the truth: did she fall or was she pushed? And could she be connected to his missing son? Drawn into the city's treacherous depths, where nothing and no one are what they seem, Gordianus must summon all of his skills to discover his son's fate - and to safeguard his own life. Steven Saylor delivers another excellent episode in the adventures of his distinguished hero, Gordianus the Finder.
©2000 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Venus Throw
Summary
Rome, 56 BC. The great general Pompey has conquered the East; Julius Caesar is defeating the Gauls; only Egypt, with its strategic granaries and vast treasuries of gold, still eludes the grasp of Rome. The city itself is becoming ever more corrupt, as the last generation of the Roman Republic indulges in political backstabbing, endless lawsuits, scandalous love affairs, and the occasional murder. In recent days several Egyptian envoys have been viciously assassinated. Fearing that he will be next, the Egyptian ambassador, Dio, calls on his old friend Gordianus the Finder and all of his special skills for help - but before the night is out, Dio is murdered. Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio’s death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city’s most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn that nothing is as it seems - not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio’s death. Poison, betrayals, and long-buried secrets confront Gordianus as one of history’s most famous trials races to a close. But even after the verdict is delivered, there are secrets still to be uncovered. Steven Saylor is a freelance writer, editor, and the author of novels set in ancient Rome. He studied history at the University of Texas at Austin. His writing has appeared in the Threepenny Review, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
©1995 Steven Saylor (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Triumph of Caesar
Summary
The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion - Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome's legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made king - the first such that Rome has had in centuries - and that not all of his opposition has been crushed.Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife, Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of "finder", but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar's wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead - murdered - on her doorstep.With four successive triumphs for Caesar's military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies and to protect Caesar's life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar's, Gordianus agrees to help, but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end. Steven Saylor is the author of the New York Times best seller Roma, as well as the previous books in the Roma Sub Rosa series, featuring Gordianus the Finder. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.
©2008 Steven Saylor (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The House of the Vestals
Summary
It is ancient Rome, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus lays bare some of his most intriguing and compelling adventures. The House of the Vestals collects nine of the award-winning stories of Gordianus the Finder by critically acclaimed, best-selling author Steven Saylor. Filling in some of the gaps between novels, this delightful collection ofunique and unforgettable mysteries is Saylor at his finest - revealing the intrigues in the secret history of Rome. In “Little Caesar and the Pirates,” Gordianus must act as a go-between for kidnappers, but he begins to wonder whois really being held hostage. In “The Alexandrian Cat,” a mischievous girl anda tell-tale sneeze reveal an ingenious plot of murder and thievery. In “The House of the Vestals,” blackmail goes horribly wrong, and there is no one to take the blame. These stories and more make up an engrossing collection of finely wrought mystery tales with all the suspense and craft that are the trademark of Saylor’s work.
©1997 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone
Rubicon
Summary
As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey's favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets: to unearth the killer or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompey’s legions - and certain death. Amid the city's sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal. Rubicon, set in early days of the Roman Civil War, is a pivotal novel in Saylor's best-selling and critically acclaimed series of novels set in late republican Rome.
©1999 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Mist of Prophecies
Summary
In the year 48 BC, Rome is in the midst of civil war. As Pompey and Caesar fight for control of the republic, Rome becomes a hotbed of intrigue driven by espionage, greed, and betrayals. A beautiful young seeress staggers across the Roman marketplace and dies in the arms of Gordianus the Finder. Possibly mad and claiming no memory of her past, Cassandra - like her Trojan namesake - was reputed to have the gift of prophecy, a gift many in Rome would pay for handsomely...or kill for. Obsessed with Cassandra's mystery, Gordianus investigates her murder. As he peels away the veils of secrecy surrounding her life and death, he discovers a web of conspiracy linking many of Rome's most ruthless and powerful women. Now Gordianus' pursuit not only endangers his own life but could change the future of Rome.
©2010 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone Audio
A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder
Summary
Steven Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa series, set in the later Roman Republic and featuring Gordianus the Finder, has garnered unusual acclaim from listeners and reviewers alike, establishing him as one of the preeminent historical mystery writers. In A Gladiator Dies Only Once, the second collection of his award-winning stories featuring Gordianus, Saylor more than meets his own high standards. Set between the events of his novelsRomanBlood and Catilina’s Riddle, these nine stories of previously untold adventures from the early career of Gordianus - when his adopted son, Eco, was still a mute boy and his wife, Bethesda, was but his slave - will delight Saylor’s many fans while illuminating details of the ancient world like no other writer can. Included are “The Consul’s Wife”, which involves a twisted search for truth behind a threatening blind item in the Acta Diurna. In “The White Fawn”, Gordianus must deal with a kidnapping and murder during the revolt of Sertorius. “Archimedes’ Tomb” tells the story behind Cicero’s discovery of Archimedes’ tomb. Finally, “If a Cyclops Could Vanish in a Blink of an Eye” brings up a perplexing domestic situation in Gordianus’ own home.
©2010 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone Audio
Arms of Nemesis
Summary
South of Rome on the Gulf of Puteoli stands the splendid villa of Marcus Crassus, Rome's wealthiest citizen. When the estate overseer is murdered, Crassus concludes that the deed was done by two missing slaves, who have probably run off to join the Spartacan Slave Revolt. Unless they are found within three days, Crassus vows to massacre his remaining 99 slaves. To Gordianus the Finder falls the fateful task of resolving this riddle from Hades. In a house filled with secrets, the truth is slow to emerge. And as the hour of the massacre approaches, Gordianus realizes that the labyrinthine path he has chosen may just lead to his own destruction.
©1992 Steven Saylor (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Wrath of the Furies
Summary
In 88 BC, it seems as if the entire ancient world is at war. In the west, the Italian states are rebelling against Rome; in the east, Mithridates is marching through and conquering the Roman Asian provinces. Even in the relatively calm Alexandria, a coup has brought a new pharaoh to power and chaos to the streets. The young Gordianus is waiting out the chaos in Alexandria with Bethesda when he gets a cryptic message from his former tutor and friend, Antipater. Now in Ephesus as part of Mithridates' entourage, Antipater seems to think that his life is in imminent danger. To rescue him, Gordianus concocts a daring, even foolhardy scheme to go behind enemy lines and bring Antipater to safety. But there are powerful and deadly forces at work here, which have their own plans for Gordianus. Not entirely sure whether he's a player or a pawn, Gordianus must unravel the mystery behind the message if he's to save himself and the people he holds most dear.
©2015 Steven Saylor (P)2015 Recorded Books
The Seven Wonders
Summary
USA Today hails Steven Saylor as a “modern master of historical fiction.” Rich in intrigue and period detail, his novels set in ancient Rome have garnered acclaim the world over. A prequel to his epic Roma Sub Rosa series, The Seven Wonders follows series star Gordianus the Finder as an 18-year-old traveling the Mediterranean to witness the wonders of that fabled age. At each stop, the young investigator finds a beguiling mystery that pushes his powers of deduction to the limit.
©2012 Steven Saylor (P)2012 Recorded Books
The Judgment of Caesar
Summary
In 48 BC the Roman generals Caesar and Pompey are engaged ina battle to rule the world. As Pompey plots a reckless stand on the banks ofthe 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.
©2004 Steven Saylor (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Murder on the Appian Way
Summary
Ancient Rome has been in a state of turmoil as the rival gangs of Publius Clodius, a high-born, populist politician, and his arch-enemy, Titus Milo, have fought to control the consular elections. When Clodius is murdered on the famed Appian Way and Milo is accused of the crime, the city explodes with riots and arson, and even the near sacrosanct Senate House is burned to the ground. As accusations and rumors fly, Gordianus the Finder, whose famed investigative skills and integrity make him sought after by all sides in the escalating conflict, is charged by Pompey the Great with discovering what really happened. Who is really responsible for Clodius' death? And should his murderer be despised as a villain or hailed as a savior of the Republic?
©1996 Steven Saylor (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Throne of Caesar
Summary
It's Rome, 44 BC, and the Ides of March are approaching. Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he's been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself. Both have the same request of Gordianus - keep your ear to the ground, ask around, and find out if there are any conspiracies against Caesar's life. Caesar, however, has one other important matter to discuss. Gordianus's adopted son Meto has long been one of Caesar's closest confidants. To honor Meto, Caesar is going to make his father Gordianus a Senator when he attends the next session on the 15th of March. With only four days left before he's made a Senator, Gordianus must dust off his old skills and see what conspiracy against Julius Caesar, if any, he can uncover. Because the Ides of March are approaching....
©2018 Steven Saylor (P)2018 Recorded Books