Reading list for modern fiction

Modern Fiction Set in Ancient Rome

Colleen McCullough ("Masters of Rome")

The First Man in Rome 

(Colleen McCullough / Paperback / Published 1991 / ISBN 0380710811 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671726285 ).

The Grass Crown 

(Colleen McCullough / Paperback / Published 1992 / ISBN 038071082X ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671731513 ).

Fortune's Favorites 

(Colleen McCullough / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 0380710838 ). Also available as an audiobook(ISBN 0671731521 ).

Caesar's Women 

(Colleen McCullough / Paperback / Published 1997 / ISBN 0380710846 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671731548 ).

Caesar: A Novel 

(Colleen McCullough / Hardcover / Published 1997 / ISBN 0688093728 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 067173153X ).

Steven Saylor ("Gordianus The Finder" mysteries)

The Arms of Nemesis 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1995 / ISBN 0804111278 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786111291 ). Marcus Crassus' estate overseer has been murdered, and 99 slaves' lives are forfeit unless Gordianus can unravel the mystery.

Catalina's Riddle 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 080411269X ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786111771 ). Gordianus flees the hubbub of Rome for the Etruscan countryside, but finds he can't stay away from political intrigues.

House of the Vestals 

(Steven Saylor / Hardcover / Published 1997 / ISBN 0312154445 ). Also available in paperback (ISBN 0312964528 ). Short stories about some of Gordianus' early adventures. Also includes a historical note about the time period between the end of Sulla's dictatorship and the Spartacus slave revolt.

A Murder on the Appian Way 

(Steven Saylor / Hardcover / Published 1996 / ISBN 031214377X ). Also available in paperback (ISBN 0312961731 ). This time, Gordianus gets mixed up in the murder of Publius Clodius. The fictional detective's investigations foreshadow the real events to come with the fall of the Republic.

Roman Blood 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 0804110395 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786110589 ). Gordianus helps Cicero investigate for the defense of Sextus Roscius (Cicero's first big case).

The Venus Throw 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 0312957785 ). An Egyptian ambassador to Rome comes to Gordianus for help, plunging him into a tale of international intrigue and debauchery.

Lindsey Davis (Marcus Didius Falco mysteries)

The Silver Pigs 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1989 / ISBN 0345369076 ) Marcus Didius Falco runs into a beautiful woman in the Forum and helps her track down missing silver ingots in this first novel. Introduces Falco's family and his lady friend, Helena Justina.

Shadows in Bronze 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1990 / ISBN 0345373901 ) Falco wants to marry Justina, but finds himself too poor — until the Emperor Vespasian has a little job of spying he wants done ...

Venus in Copper 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1991 / ISBN 0345373901 ) Roman real-estate mogul Hortensius Novus is poisoned at a banquet, and his creepy fiancee, Severina Zotica, wants Falco to investigate.

The Iron Hand of Mars 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1992 / ISBN 034538024X ) Falco goes undercover in Germania to enlist a Druid priestess' aid in finding a missing Roman general.

Poseidon's Gold 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1992 / ISBN 0345380258 ) Falco makes it back to Rome only to find himself a suspect in his brother's death.

Last Act in Palmyra 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1997 / ISBN 0446404748 ) Falco and Helena travel to Petra on a spy mission, only to find themselves mixed up with circus performers and a murder.

Time to Depart 

(Lindsey Davis/Paperback/Published 1998 / ISBN 0446605913 ) After a notorious criminal is banished from Rome, Falco and his staunchly upright friend Petronius join forces to stem a crime wave.

A Dying Light in Corduba 

(Lindsey Davis/Hardcover/Published 1996 / ISBN 0892966645 ) Two Imperial spies are attacked, and one killed, after the olive oil barons' banquet. Falco must juggle a mystery with his own impending fatherhood.