Book Review: The Ionia Sanction

Nico's back! And he's even funnier and more interesting than ever. We met our intrepid, bumbling, loveable young hero from ancient Greece in Gary Corby's The Pericles Commission, the first in a series about Nicoloas, the young man determined to live a life of intrigue as an investigator rather than follow in his father's footsteps as a sculptor.

In the Ionia Sanction, Nico initially bungles a murder investigation, angering his patron Pericles, and travels to Ephesus in a last-ditch effort to get to the bottom of the case. This set up allows us to spend some time with him (and his brilliant little brother, Socrates) in Greece, which he evokes with fascinating detail (including a slave auction).

In Ephesus, Nico tracks down his love, the brilliant Diotima, who is serving Artemis as a priestess in the famous gigantic temple there.  I won't say more mostly because, honestly, I don't like reviews that detail the plot for me (those are the bits I skip when I'm reading reviews), so I'll just focus on my review: I loved it!

So. Much. Fun.

That's a huge feat in and of itself, don't you think? I mean, how many writers could actually make ancient Greece at the dawn of democracy "fun?" Yet Corby succeeds masterfully by balancing intrigue with both physical and intellectual humor.  I found The Ionia Sanction even funnier than The Pericles Commission, which says a lot. But the humor wasn't at the expense of characterization--rather, it enriched it and made Nico and Diotima even more likeable.

The politics with Persia was fascinating and I really like the way that Corby ramped up the intensity with Diotima with some very interesting...er, scenes. And, of course, the twist at the end is both surprising and satisfying. It feels like Corby is hitting his stride with his second book, which bodes well for the series. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Book Review: The Pericles Commission

I’m a sucker for stories set in the ancient world—that’s obvious. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to jump up and down every time I read one.  (Steven Saylor’s work? Pretty much guaranteed to induce said jumping. But I digress.)

Books that I find exciting have me relating to the main character’s emotional struggles while, at the same time, marveling at the strangeness or “otherness” of the character’s world. In other words, I like ricocheting between recognizing our commonality (as in, “Geez, we humans never change, do we?”) to gasping at how very differently the ancients thought or acted (as in, “Seriously, a man could legally marry corpse???”).

Gary Corby’s THE PERICLES COMMISSION manages that balance of recognition and wonder perfectly.  It’s a twisty “who-dunnit” set during one of the most fascinating periods of ancient history—the start of democracy in Athens.  That setting alone makes it worth reading. Who could resist a young Pericles or an even younger Socrates?

Corby’s wit and talent for comedy move the story along, even as the mystery deepens. I don’t want to say much more because I hate reviews that recount the actual story (I’d rather read the book, thanks).  I will say, though, that I’m very excited about the fact that Nicolaos is fairly young in this first novel. Why? Because it means that if it does turn into a longstanding series, I will be able to watch the flowering of that crazy experiment known as democracy in Athens through the eyes of a very appealing, funny, naïve, and principled young Athenian.

Like Gordianus the Finder (Saylors’ hero), I hope to be reading about Nicolaos’ adventures for a long, long time.