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John the Eunuch #0.3
Classical Whodunnits
Historical detectives Gordianus the Finder, Decius Metellus, and Sister Fidelma rub shoulders in this collection with sometime sleuths Socrates and Brutus. For these mystery stories set in the ancient world, award-winning editor Mike Ashley has selected stories by Lindsay Davis, Edward D. Hock, Phyllis Ann Karr, Steven Saylor, and many others.
374 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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103 people want to read
About the author
Mike Ashley
278 books131 followersMichael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 11, 2022
Some of these stories are really good. Overall a nice sampling.
February 5, 2019
To appreciate this anthology of 20 short mystery stories you can't cling too tightly to the collections title. The stories begin in the mythical age with with Amy Myers' "Aphrodite's Trojan Horse" and end in the 7th century with "The Poisoned Chalice" by Peter Tremayne, well outside the normal understanding of "Classical." Most of the stories take place in Rome or in the Roman world but a few happen in other parts of the ancient Mediterranean such as Greece, Egypt, and the Near East.
Most of the stories are well researched, sometimes too much and you can feel overwhelmed by detail after detail. Most follow the standard mystery trope of a murder but there are also thefts and missing persons though in general a body or two might appear in those stories as well such as in "The White Fawn" by Steven Saylor.
As happens often to me with anthologies, some stories I really loved like "Last Things" by Darrell Schweitzer and "The Nest of Evil" by Wallace Nichols. Other stories were confusing and I won't call them out here. I was pleased to see one of my favorite ancient detectives Libertus from Rosemary Rowe and to learn about Sollius who starred in 60 stories from Wallace Nichols.
Most of the stories are well researched, sometimes too much and you can feel overwhelmed by detail after detail. Most follow the standard mystery trope of a murder but there are also thefts and missing persons though in general a body or two might appear in those stories as well such as in "The White Fawn" by Steven Saylor.
As happens often to me with anthologies, some stories I really loved like "Last Things" by Darrell Schweitzer and "The Nest of Evil" by Wallace Nichols. Other stories were confusing and I won't call them out here. I was pleased to see one of my favorite ancient detectives Libertus from Rosemary Rowe and to learn about Sollius who starred in 60 stories from Wallace Nichols.
July 3, 2017
‘Murder and Mystery from Ancient Greece and Rome.’
A friend gave me this book, knowing that I like both short stories and crime stories. And I enjoyed the twenty stories (involving twenty-two different authors) in this collection. I’ve read work by some of the authors (Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts and Peter Tremayne), recognised some others, and discovered some entirely new (to me) authors as well.
My favourite stories? ‘The Statuette of Rhodes’ by John Maddox Ford, ‘The Things that are Caesar’s’ by Edward D. Hoch, ‘’A Pomegranate for Pluto’ by Claire Griffen, and ‘The Poisoned Chalice’ by Peter Tremayne.
If you like short stories set in Ancient Greece and Rome, some of which feature historical characters, and you can find a copy of this book (first published in 1996), I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
A friend gave me this book, knowing that I like both short stories and crime stories. And I enjoyed the twenty stories (involving twenty-two different authors) in this collection. I’ve read work by some of the authors (Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts and Peter Tremayne), recognised some others, and discovered some entirely new (to me) authors as well.
My favourite stories? ‘The Statuette of Rhodes’ by John Maddox Ford, ‘The Things that are Caesar’s’ by Edward D. Hoch, ‘’A Pomegranate for Pluto’ by Claire Griffen, and ‘The Poisoned Chalice’ by Peter Tremayne.
If you like short stories set in Ancient Greece and Rome, some of which feature historical characters, and you can find a copy of this book (first published in 1996), I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 4, 2023
A good compilation of "classical" mysteries, with almost all of the stories ranging between better-than-average and excellent.
One quibble is with the definition of "classical", however - although ostensibly it might be expected that ancient Greece and ancient Rome would be the location for all these mysteries, a couple post-dated this era, with Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mystery being decidedly in the early mediaeval era (though it is excused, given that it's one of the best stories in the book). No stories set in Egypt, either, bar one from the 4th century AD (again, only borderline classical era).
All in all though, this is just a minor quibble. All of the stories are at the very least readable, and several of them are very good. Well worth the read.
One quibble is with the definition of "classical", however - although ostensibly it might be expected that ancient Greece and ancient Rome would be the location for all these mysteries, a couple post-dated this era, with Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mystery being decidedly in the early mediaeval era (though it is excused, given that it's one of the best stories in the book). No stories set in Egypt, either, bar one from the 4th century AD (again, only borderline classical era).
All in all though, this is just a minor quibble. All of the stories are at the very least readable, and several of them are very good. Well worth the read.
November 24, 2024
I love mysteries so I thought I would give this book a try, a collection of stories set in ancient Roman and Greek times. I did learn a lot of Latin and Greek terms for things. I am glad for Wikipedia. I enjoyed Sister Fidelma, Socrates, and John the Eunuch, among others.
Some of the stories were really good, and some left me perplexed. Overall, an enjoyable read, but not a keeper on my shelf. For those who like whodunnits set in ancient times, this would be an enjoyable book.
Some of the stories were really good, and some left me perplexed. Overall, an enjoyable read, but not a keeper on my shelf. For those who like whodunnits set in ancient times, this would be an enjoyable book.
November 2, 2018
From the fall of Troy to the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, this collection of short mysteries show detectives of all types solving murders all across the ancient world.
February 10, 2016
I so love all the Mike Ashley collections--really they are stellar, and though I've read this book before, re-read it yesterday since I wanted short stories before bed, just to have an easier stopping point. Wound up staying up half the night anyways on this one, which is the first collection I think?
Basically all of the big names show up here: Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts, Mary Reed, Peter Tremayne, and to my suprise Simon Clark. I never connected one of my favorite gruesome horror novelists to have a pretty staid Roman short story in comparison. Some of the stories might miss the mark a bit, but all are interesting and have their strengths/flaws. Usual locked room, poisoned heir, crafty Roman slave figuring it all out, twists at the end stories.
This reminds me it wouldn't be a bad thing to read John Maddox Roberts SPQR series again, been a few years, and out of all the Ancient Roman Murder Mysteries genre authors, he is my favorite.
Basically all of the big names show up here: Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts, Mary Reed, Peter Tremayne, and to my suprise Simon Clark. I never connected one of my favorite gruesome horror novelists to have a pretty staid Roman short story in comparison. Some of the stories might miss the mark a bit, but all are interesting and have their strengths/flaws. Usual locked room, poisoned heir, crafty Roman slave figuring it all out, twists at the end stories.
This reminds me it wouldn't be a bad thing to read John Maddox Roberts SPQR series again, been a few years, and out of all the Ancient Roman Murder Mysteries genre authors, he is my favorite.
May 24, 2012
There were a few duds in it, but most of the stories were entertaining with well drawn characters.
December 24, 2012
As with any collection of stories, there were ones I liked quite a bit more than others, but there weren't any real duds in this collection.
December 29, 2016
The very best story is presented at the end; "The Poisoned Chalice", by Peter Tremayne. That one actually deserves four stars.
July 13, 2009
A collection of short mysteries set in Greece and Rome. A fun read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews