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A review by mrsmarch
Empire by Steven Saylor
3.0
This is the follow up to Saylor's novel [b:Roma|13134425|Roma|Steven Saylor|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322711293s/13134425.jpg|73039], which I also read and reviewed.
The author admits, in an afterword, that there were difficulties in writing Empire that weren't an issue in Roma. While the early Imperial Period is very well documented by contemporary authors, the writing is Emperor-centric and it is harder to delineate between the "heros and villains." This did make for a less lustrous, more cerebral read, but a good read nonetheless. As someone very familiar with the period and knowing how well-researched Saylor's works tend to be, I appreciated the everyday details and the links to contemporary accounts. For someone with only a passing awareness of the period, this could be a good introduction to the Emperors who came after Augustus.
I was a bit baffled at first why Saylor would end with Hadrian and not the Philosopher King who followed him, but after sleeping on it I decided that ending at the end of Hadrian's reign allows for an ending filled with hope and wonder for the future of the Empire, whereas Marcus Aurelius was a fairly lovely fellow with very little drama and ending the book with his reign might frankly have been a bit of a disappointing ending. Also, with an entity such as Rome, where do you end? It just keeps going and going. You might as well take an intermission at Hadrian.
I'm a bit peeved that the Wall only gets one mention, not even a retrospective comment going "Hey, that actually worked!"
I would love to see [a:Steven Saylor|42919|Steven Saylor|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394768071p2/42919.jpg] do a third installment around Constantine. The fascinum of the Pinarii is already getting miscontrued as a Christian amulet, so of course by the time any Pinarii are serving with Constantine, Christianity would be on the rise and the metamorphosis of the fascinum would be natural if not advantageous. Also would love to see Nicaea et c. from an interior perspective. At the end of Empire the Pinarii are Senators again and close to the Imperial family, so it would not be beyond reason to see a Pinarius on Constantine's staff. Maybe time for another set of twins, one in the military and one in the Church?
SPOILER BELOW
SPOILER: I nearly died when Suetonius asked about the Black Room. Excellent.
The author admits, in an afterword, that there were difficulties in writing Empire that weren't an issue in Roma. While the early Imperial Period is very well documented by contemporary authors, the writing is Emperor-centric and it is harder to delineate between the "heros and villains." This did make for a less lustrous, more cerebral read, but a good read nonetheless. As someone very familiar with the period and knowing how well-researched Saylor's works tend to be, I appreciated the everyday details and the links to contemporary accounts. For someone with only a passing awareness of the period, this could be a good introduction to the Emperors who came after Augustus.
I was a bit baffled at first why Saylor would end with Hadrian and not the Philosopher King who followed him, but after sleeping on it I decided that ending at the end of Hadrian's reign allows for an ending filled with hope and wonder for the future of the Empire, whereas Marcus Aurelius was a fairly lovely fellow with very little drama and ending the book with his reign might frankly have been a bit of a disappointing ending. Also, with an entity such as Rome, where do you end? It just keeps going and going. You might as well take an intermission at Hadrian.
I'm a bit peeved that the Wall only gets one mention, not even a retrospective comment going "Hey, that actually worked!"
I would love to see [a:Steven Saylor|42919|Steven Saylor|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394768071p2/42919.jpg] do a third installment around Constantine. The fascinum of the Pinarii is already getting miscontrued as a Christian amulet, so of course by the time any Pinarii are serving with Constantine, Christianity would be on the rise and the metamorphosis of the fascinum would be natural if not advantageous. Also would love to see Nicaea et c. from an interior perspective. At the end of Empire the Pinarii are Senators again and close to the Imperial family, so it would not be beyond reason to see a Pinarius on Constantine's staff. Maybe time for another set of twins, one in the military and one in the Church?
SPOILER BELOW
SPOILER: I nearly died when Suetonius asked about the Black Room. Excellent.