The House of the Vestals

The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder, Book 6

By: Steven Saylor

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

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

Enjoyable collection of short mysteries

This is a collection of numerous short mystery stories. I believe they were originally published separately but brought together in this book. Their general timeframe of these stories puts them between Roman Blood and Arms of Nemesis, even though this is technically Book 6 in the series. These stories are quite varied. Some are mysteries Gordianus investigates and solves, others are more puzzles he figures out, and others are mysterious stories recounted by others. These are not edge of seat thrillers but gentle mystery stories. Saylor is a great storyteller and it comes through here as well. I am somewhat mixed about this Cosham as the narrator. Part of me dislikes the way he reads, but part of me thinks he voice suits the characters and story.

Always entertaining

I ovve this series. Our hero is always cracking wise and making me guffaw with his self deprecating humor. Good entertainment, I enjoyed them all.

Terrible Narrator

What made the experience of listening to The House of the Vestals the most enjoyable?

The stories are well written and dense with historical detail

What didn’t you like about Ralph Cosham’s performance?

Mr. Cosham sounds like a 90 year old man. His voice is thick, hoarse and wavering. Gordianus is supposed to be a vigorous man in his late 30's, not an elderly, wheezing, nursing home patient. Also, Mr. Cosham CANNOT change is voice in any way to portray different characters. He sounds the same which ever character is speaking. Male, female, young, old, greek or roman- his voice never changes its quality.The only thing that kept me going were the interesting stories.

If you could rename The House of the Vestals, what would you call it?

A good bunch of stories almost rendered useless by a poor narration.

great collection of short stories

I enjoyed this collection. Entertaining characters and decent plots with a wonderfully recreated historical setting

A Great Book, But No Story Markers

4 stars for the lazy publishers that could bot be bothered take the time to label which chapters belonged to which stories in an anthology.

A good author but poor narration

The author's material was entertaining as always, but the narrator he used for this book seemed better suited to a work of nonfiction than fiction. His delivery was dry and colorless.

Nice change of pace from the rest of the series

While I have enjoyed every book in the Roma sub Rosa series so far, this was a welcome contrast to the previous novels. Saylor's typical novels involve important moments from Roman history and feature back stabbing politicians, corruption, murder, and a host of unsavory characters. These stories were lighter in content, and it's nice to not have the republic collapsing around us for once. Also, the character of Lucius Claudius was perhaps the first likeable character outside of Gordianus and his family to appear in the series. These aren't criticisms of the previous books, Saylor is being is true to Roman history as he possibly can after all, but I enjoyed the change of pace. But what I enjoy most about the Saylor novels, is how he is meticulous in the way he portrays the day to day life of Ancient Rome, and this novel is no exception. In these stories, we see a play at a Roman theatre, experience the festival of Saturnalia, travel to Ancient Alexandria, and even here the Roman views on honey bees. These are the things that you won't read in book s about Roman history, and they are why I keep returning to the Roma sub Rosa series.

this is the narration this book SHOULD have

Any additional comments?

this is what listening to an audible book should be like. STORY>>nothing but story. thank you

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