Vorab-RezensentenSteven Saylor

From the back cover: "From its mythic beginnings as a campsite along a trade route to its emergence as the center of an extensive, powerful empire, Steven Saylor's breathtaking novel brings to vivid life the most famous city in the ancient world. Told through the tragedies and triumphs of the descendants of two families, Roma shows the events, the people, and the turning points in history that have come to symbolize ancient Rome in the modern imagination."

In celebration of the upcoming release of EMPIRE which picks up where ROMA ends covering the saga of the center of the Ancient World from the time of Augustus, through Claudius, to its height with Marcus Aurelius., 25 copies of ROMA will be offered to LibraryThing members during the month of July... About ROMA: Spanning a thousand years, and following the shifting fortunes of two families though the ages, this is the epic saga of Rome, the city and its people. 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 thousand years — from the founding of the city by the ill-fated twins Romulus and Remus, through Rome’s astonishing ascent to become the capitol 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.

Continuing the epic story begun in his New York Times bestselling novel Roma, Steven Saylor returns to tell the story of the continued rise of the city of Rome, the epicenter of the most powerful empire of the ancient world. Telling the story via the descendents of a single bloodline through time, Empire traces the glorious, turbulent, and often scandalous history of the capitol from the heyday of the Augustus, founder of the empire in 14 A.D., to the height of its glory in territorial extent and cultural achievement, under Hadrian in 138 A.D. Over the course of these decades, four generations of the Pinarius family witness the continual growth and evolution of the city, itself the main character of the novel. Saylor brings to life the most discussed period of the empire, including the most famous, frequently infamous, notorious emperors who dominated the era, including Augustus, Claudius, Caligula, Nero, Titus, Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian. These episodes are intimate stories of men and women in crisis, but they also shed light on the most famous people and events of imperial Rome.