The Venus Throw
A Novel of Ancient Rome, Book 6
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Narrated by:
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Scott Harrison
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By:
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Steven Saylor
About this listen
Rome, 56 BC. The great general Pompey has conquered the East; Julius Caesar is defeating the Gauls; only Egypt, with its strategic granaries and vast treasuries of gold, still eludes the grasp of Rome. The city itself is becoming ever more corrupt, as the last generation of the Roman Republic indulges in political backstabbing, endless lawsuits, scandalous love affairs, and the occasional murder.
In recent days several Egyptian envoys have been viciously assassinated. Fearing that he will be next, the Egyptian ambassador, Dio, calls on his old friend Gordianus the Finder and all of his special skills for help - but before the night is out, Dio is murdered.
Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio’s death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city’s most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn that nothing is as it seems - not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio’s death.
Poison, betrayals, and long-buried secrets confront Gordianus as one of history’s most famous trials races to a close. But even after the verdict is delivered, there are secrets still to be uncovered.
Steven Saylor is a freelance writer, editor, and the author of novels set in ancient Rome. He studied history at the University of Texas at Austin. His writing has appeared in the Threepenny Review, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
©1995 Steven Saylor (P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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When Marcus Didius Falco encounters the young and very pretty Sosia Camillina in the Forum, he senses immediately that there is something amiss. When she confesses that she is fleeing for her life, Falco offers to help her and, in doing so, gets himself mixed up in a deadly plot involving stolen ingots, dangerous and dark political machinations, and, most hazardous of all, one Helena Justina - a brash, indomitable senator's daughter connected to the very traitors that Falco has sworn to expose.
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Completely brillant
- By Lynn on 01-25-20
By: Lindsey Davis
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A Place of Greater Safety
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 33 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1789, and three young provincials have come to Paris to make their way. Georges-Jacques Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, debt-ridden - and hugely but erotically ugly. Maximilien Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, diligent, and terrified of violence. His dearest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a conspirator and pamphleteer of genius. A charming gadfly, erratic and untrustworthy, bisexual and beautiful, Camille is obsessed by one woman and engaged to marry another, her daughter.
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Disaster
- By Frank Dudley Berry Jr. on 08-01-13
By: Hilary Mantel
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A Mortal Bane
- By: Roberta Gellis
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Magdalene la Batarde is the madam of the Old Priory Guesthouse in Southwark. She and her women are expected to engage in a number of sinful activities, but bloody murder isn't one of them until Baldassare, the messenger, dies. Though Baldassare isn't a regular client of the Old Priory Guesthouse, Magdalene and her women refuse to allow his death to go unavenged. Of course, their efforts aren't completely altruistic.
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Delightful
- By Jim on 08-25-05
By: Roberta Gellis
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The Memory of Earth
- Homecoming, Volume 1
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet, to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats...to protect them, most of all, from themselves.
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I keep hoping, but, alas, ...
- By Ole Hippie on 02-22-10
By: Orson Scott Card
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Lion of Senet
- Second Sons, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Fallon
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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On the world Ranadon there is no night as both suns shine brightly. The intervention of Belagren, High Priestess of the Shadowdancers, and the sacrifice of a child of royal blood, has banished the Age of Shadows from the skies. Belagren's position is unquestioned...until circumstances begin to tip political rivalries into a deadlier game altogether.
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Really enjoyed it
- By Amazon Customer on 09-15-17
By: Jennifer Fallon
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The Reluctant Swordsman
- By: Dave Duncan
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true?
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An enjoyable listen
- By Joe on 10-21-12
By: Dave Duncan
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Hand of Isis
- By: Jo Graham
- Narrated by: Gigi Shane
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
By: Jo Graham
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The Fire Rose
- By: Mercedes Lackey
- Narrated by: Kate Black-Regan
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children and only wants her to read to him through a speaking tube.
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Great story, poorly presented
- By Che on 02-26-10
By: Mercedes Lackey
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The Immortal Prince
- Tide Lords, Book 1
- By: Jennifer Fallon
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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He's insisting he's a Tide Lord and he's begging us to try again...to kill him, that is. When a routine hanging goes wrong, the survivor announces he is Cayal the immortal Prince, a Tide Lord. However, the only known record of the immortal beings of Amyrantha is the Tide Lord Tarot...and everyone knows it is only a parlour-game, an amusement. Arkady Desean, an expert on the legends of the Crasii - a part-animal, part-human race - is sent to interrogate Cayal.
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really hard to listen to
- By Scott Oeskovic on 02-09-18
By: Jennifer Fallon
What listeners say about The Venus Throw
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Xana Pixie
- 03-17-15
love love
regardless who reads it , it is still one of the best books and author if all time
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- Sisyphas
- 05-30-22
One of the Best
Abysmal reader.
If only Cosham could have narrated the entire series! A redo of the entire ‘Roma Sub Rosa’ series by a single, talented reader would certainly boost listenership, as presently so many give up on the series due to individual books being “unlistenable”.
As to story, it builds on two fronts whilst giving us a glimpse of a strange minor religion as well. The surprise revelation at the end makes it one of Saylor’s best. Also, Bethesda and Diana’s characters are finally allowed a welcome bit of dimensionality! Great story, although pacing varies throughout.
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- SAR
- 06-16-22
really bad narrator
Narrator exhibits no emotion in this recording, and mispronounces almost all Greek and Roman names
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- James W.
- 01-07-23
Solid Gordianus mystery but not his best
This story seemed a. It slow paced and unfocused for the first two-thirds before the story really picked up in the final third. I am a fan of Saylor’s Gordianus series, and although this was a good story, it wasn’t his best. Steven Saylor is always a great story teller and he typically focuses in on some aspect of Roman history in the story. In this book, Saylor focused on the horrendous and exploitative treatment of slaves by men in the Roman era. What I didn’t like so much in this book was that the first part of the book seemed a bit unfocused and meandering. I also thought there was a bit too many double entendres. Still, we got a more in-depth look into Bethesda’s past, which was welcome. Overall, this is a good book, part of a great series, but isn’t the best of that series. I didn’t like Scott Harrison as narrator as he seemed too forced and I don’t like how he overdoes certain characters. But he is easy to understand.
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- G. M.
- 08-18-13
Love This Series
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I would and have. Off we go with a delightful family, one that grows and grows in numbers", in the height of Roman History. Once a year I go back and listen to this series once again.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
This plot held me for years
What does Scott Harrison bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He is my pick for this series. He nailed the energy , humor and spirit of this family.
Who was the most memorable character of The Venus Throw and why?
I loved the new addition to the family. Our hero does collect them, bless his heart, and the way this story unfolds, develops, and the super ending.
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- LoTech Junkie
- 03-05-16
Keeps getting better
I continued the Rosa sub Rosa series a little guarded after disappointment in Saylor's first book. This chapter of Gordiamous' life however was by far the best thus far in a series of steady progression in narrative detail, plot development and character building with each book.
I find myself now sneaking a few minutes here and there throughout my day to slip back into Ancient Rome and see how our protagonist and his family are doing.
I actually look forward now to my hourly commutes and all the traffic delays that come with them.
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- Amateur curmudgeon
- 08-09-16
The Clodians at their most entertaining
If you could sum up The Venus Throw in three words, what would they be?
Poison, murder and kinky sex.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked the character Clodia. I knew her and her brother Clodius from history. Saylor paints them into real people. They had a "reputation" and Saylor expands and fills in the blanks for them. I also liked Bethesda, we get to know her backstory.
Which character – as performed by Scott Harrison – was your favorite?
Clodia as one of the protagonists and Bethesda in a supporting role
Any additional comments?
When I started listening to the sub rosa series of books I disliked the narrator and thought that his voice grated and tended to over act the dialogues, but I got used to him and think he does a fair job. Don't let the negative reviews dissuade you.
I listen during my commute and look forward to it. If there's heavy traffic, even better.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sharon K Carrell
- 08-02-22
couldn't endure the narrator
I generally enjoy this series and have read a number of them in somewhat Reckless order which doesn't really make that much difference. I gave up on this one within a couple of chapters because the narrator pontificates. it's simply got on my nerves. will continue with any of the series that doesn't include this person. not even for free and I Endure hours of this narration. it is probably remarkable that so many of these stories are done by excellent interpreters. I can sometimes adjust the speed or the volume to overcome problems but this one is absolutely impossible. don't give up on the stories if you can avoid this narrator. he's worse than a politician Roman or otherwise.
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- Airbnb Superhosts
- 04-24-22
Voice impossible
Again, a voice that in no way fits the material weird jocularity & no rhythm. Unlistenable
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- Anne S
- 02-28-22
glad it didn't cost anything
barely got started. Narration is HORRIBLE! Find something else to read if you want enjoyment.
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