Arms of Nemesis

A Novel of Ancient Rome

By: Steven Saylor

Narrated by: Scott Harrison

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.

Critic reviews

"A compulsively entertaining whodunit." ( New York Times Book Review)
"Entertaining...Saylor's sense of style and elegantly witty writing make the most of this genre transference." ( Boston Guide)

Crassus crassus rich as Croesus

If you could sum up Arms of Nemesis in three words, what would they be?

Murder and mayhem at the foot of Vesubius

What did you like best about this story?

I liked Olympia's apprentice, forget her name.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed listening to it during my commute

Narrator is Distracting

Difficult at times to tell who is talking. I wonder if Romans of the era really tied references to “The Gods” into so many conversations. At times those ubiquitous references become just plain gratuitous.

don't read it for the mystery

If you want a good "who done it" mystery, you should probably move on to another novel. The story is good but the mystery lacks suspense or an unexpected twist. The joy if this series is the well-researched and informative details about life in Ancient Rome. Through the cases he takes on, the novels main character encounters some of the most famous figures in Rome's history. Yet these are not novels about generals and great battles. It's the details of daily life, the descriptions of Rome and other regions of the Empire, and the insights into Roman’s traditions and way of thinking, that make this series such a worthwhile read.

Ok

The reader not has good as other Steven Saylor books. I did like the story

Thought provoking and fascinating mystery

This is another excellent Roman mystery in the Gordianus the Finder series. In this story, two slaves are accused of murdering their master and the household’s owner, Marcus Crassus, plans to make an example by executing the 100 remaining household slaves. It is up to Gordianus to find out who really committed the murder and so save the slaves. The story takes place in the context of Spartacus’ slave revolt and Saylor includes a fascinating examination of the Roman views on the personhood of slaves. As an aside, I find that reading Saylor’s well-researched novels on life and social views in Roman times to be be a tremendous aid in interpreting the Bible. For example, read the book of Philemon after reading this book and see how the chilling Roman view of slavery relates to the Apostle Paul’s approach to the escaped slave Onesimus. Anyway, Saylor is an excellent story-teller, creating rich characters, complex mysteries and suspense. This book is a great addition to the series. One last note is that I didn’t think that Scott Harrison’s voice was the right fit for several of the characters, including Gordianus. he’s an okay narrator, but he just doesn’t seem to fit for this story.

good classic mystery

ancient Roman version of the Hampton's comes alive in this novel. Reminded me of what I enjoy about Agatha Christie mysteries which is the study of humanity and motives.

Awful narrator!

Would you listen to Arms of Nemesis again? Why?

No. Harrison is horrible. Had I noticed who was reading before I spent the credits I never would have downloaded this book.

What didn’t you like about Scott Harrison’s performance?

Dead, dead, dead voice. He has one tone and its boring.

I'm Hooked!

I love the characters. Steven Saylor places me in Rome each time I listen. I wish I could find the entire series here!

Good crime book

This series is really nice. Good crime books with the twist of glimpses into the life in ancient Rome. Very interesting.
Good voice but not amazing (for my taste).

One of the most embarrassingly bad narrations I've ever heard

I've been a huge fan of Saylor's Roma Sub Roma books, and was rereading them over the long weekend. I decided to treat myself to the audiobook version of Arms of Nemesis, to listen to while I did some gardening, and made the mistake of not trying a sample first.

First off, the narrator is just all wrong for this kind of period noir material -- he sounds at all times like he's trying to sell you a used car or entertain children with sock puppets, not immerse you in a foreign world of intrigue.

But beyond that, his pronunciation of Roman names and places is stumbling and clumsy throughout. He doesn't understand how suffixes are used in Roman names -- for example, how "Claudii" (CLOD-ee-eye) would mean "of the house of Claudius." Instead, every time one of these names comes up in the narrative he pronounces it like he's just seen a mouse: "clod-EEEEE."

The most grating example of this is with the lead character, whose name -- Gordianus (GORD-ee-AH-nuss) -- is mentioned literally hundreds of times throughout, and every time the narrator pronounces it like the first and last name of a Canadian man: Gordy Anus. He makes it sound like you're reading the story of a professional hockey player who's turned to pornography.

Whether you're a longtime fan of Saylor or this is your first time diving into the world of Gordianus the Finder, do yourself a favor and start anywhere but here. This is an embarrassment.