My biggest concern reading this book was that it would be hard to get into the story since this is the third book in a series, but I needed not worry. Yes, there are events mentioned in this book that has happened in the previous books, but that didn't bother me at all. Instead, it made me quite eager to get the two previous books in the series.

Steven Saylor first wrote about Gordianus the Finder in the Roma Sub Rosa series. This series is called Ancient World and takes place when Gordianus is younger and living in Alexandria. Gordianus gets a cryptic message from his former tutor Antipater who seems to be in danger. He decided to travel together with his slave Bethesda to Ephesus to rescue him. But this little rescue plot soon becomes part of a much bigger plot, one that could save thousands of lives.

I was really impressed with this story, Saylor has really captured the atmosphere of the time. I have mostly read non-fictional books about this time frame and I'm really stunned how genuine everything feels. This combination of genuine feeling and interesting story makes this book really enthralling to read. This mix of fictional characters with real characters like Mithridates is executed so well. And, the story surprised me, especially towards the end.

Wrath of the Furies is a great book and will definitely appeal to readers of historical fiction. It's well-written and compelling. There are some brutal scenes in the book. This is not a cozy mystery book, it's a historical fiction that deals with historical events that are awful to read about, but it was a time of war and unrest. And, even though I hoped for a different ending, well sometimes not everything can be fixed.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

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Steven Saylor got me into historical mysteries with his Gordianus the Finder series. I had followed it faithfully to when Julius Caesar had some problems in the forum and then the most recent have gone back in time to when Gordianus was young and had travelled to the Seven Wonders of the world and lived in Egypt. Wrath of the Furies takes place during a truly terrible purge of Romans by King Mithridates. My favorite thing, besides Gordianus as a character and a voice, is how Saylor finds really interesting events in history and plays them as the background for the characters we meet in the books. It's something I've tried to emulate in my novels set in gilded age Chicago. I think of it as a huge painting of some big historical event with a set of characters in the foreground. The approach always succeeds in capturing my interest and the massacre that is anticipated in the action of this book is really interesting. I always learn something and have a good read. When I was in Rome walking around the Forum, I was picturing Gordianus. I highly recommend the whole series. ( )

Having received a mysterious document that seems to be from his old tutor, Antipater, Gordianus decides to go and find him. The only thing is he's in what is now enemy territory, Ephesus under Mithradates.

Saylor is back in form with this adventure. It's a great thriller with lots of twists and turns, made even more exciting if you know enough about the period to know what's coming. ( )

This is the third in the author's prequel trilogy featuring his sleuth Gordianus the Finder during his youth, in exile from Rome and living in Alexandria. He seeks out his former travelling companion with whom he visited the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in the first novel of the trilogy, the historical poet Antipater of Sidon. The latter had become a spy for Rome's enemy Mithridates of Pontus, the self-proclaimed "king of Kings". Gordianus makes a perilous journey to territory that Mithridates has conquered, Ephesus, posing as a mute Egyptian, to hide his Roman-accented Greek from an Ephesian population that now hates all Romans, and has expelled them from the city to starve and worse. This book contains the usual colourful array of characters, though Gordianus's slave, lover and future wife Bethesda plays less of a role here than in other novels. It is quite a grim story with Mithridates determined to unleash genocide against all Romans on his territory. Gordianus, Bethesda and a few others only narrowly escape the tyrannical kings's clutches. I think this is probably the last of the prequel novels, as Saylor has now resumed the main series of Gordianus novels with a thirteenth mystery, set at the time of Julius Caesar's assassination. ( )

Thank you Mr. Saylor for once again taking us back in time! This book seems particularly timely with the ongoing refugee crisis in the Middle East. Taking off from where his last book (_Raiders of the Nile_) left us, this is an exciting novel set in ancient times. Action packed and supported by historical research, this is definitely one of my favorites from this author. ( )