The Ancient World
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.
"Starred Review. As usual with Saylor, a feast of details about Roman cuisine, street life, dress, and social strata is presented here, spiked with the contrast to Alexandrian customs. Another history-mystery that can be devoured on both levels." - Booklist
"While series fans may hope for an eventual return to the continuing story line of the older Gordianus, last visited in 2008's The Triumph of Caesar, both they and newcomers will find this outing entertaining." - Publishers Weekly
This information about Raiders of the Nile was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Steven Saylor is the author of the long running Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel, Roma. He has appeared as an on-air expert on Roman history and life on The History Channel. Saylor was born in Texas and graduated with high honors from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.
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