The Enemies of Jupiter (The Roman Mysteries) Paperback – Illustrated, June 3, 2004

Buy them all if you can... Great series of books for kids. Make wonderful gifts and are good enough that even an adult might like to read a few of them

Awesome book of mystery and twists. You would never guess the 2 half of the book. Enjoy reading the enemies of Jupiter.

My daughter likes the book a lot! The character Berenice has intrigued her to the fullest and it has added depth to the novel.

Awesome

This is the seventh book in Caroline Lawrence's historical-detective series, chronicling the lives of four children living in 80 AD and the mysteries that crop up whenever they're around. By this stage, their reputations precede them, and in "The Enemies of Jupiter" they are summoned by Emperor Titus himself to Rome in order to solve a case that he's prepared for him. It's also the first book that I've ever read in this series, and no doubt my reading experience was somewhat tempered by the fact that I was unfamiliar with previous installments.The four children are aristocratic Flavia, the freed slave Nubia, the tongue-less Lupus and Jonathan, the Jewish son of a renowned doctor. When Jonathan's father Mordecai is summoned to Rome to attend to the victims of the plague, the children are invited too in order to help Emperor Titus with a troubling dream. He believes that the illness that is running rampant in the city is the result of a "Prometheus" who has opened a Pandora's Box - and he wants the children to find out who this might be.Armed with a stuttering guide, the children begin their investigation into Roman history and mythology, suspecting that whoever is behind the plague is unknowingly committing the crime of hubris against the gods. But Jonathan has other concerns on his mind: knowing that his long-lost mother is in the city, he is desperate to have his parents reunite, particularly since one of his father's patients seems to have her eye on snaring Mordecai as a husband.Although the mystery itself seems rather non-consequential, it ends up taking on a grand prophetic air by the end of the story, and the final paragraph will have readers eager to seek out  The Gladiators from Capua . Neither does the author shy away from the darker side of life in Ancient Rome: not only does one of the young heroes have his tongue cut out, but the children pass a row of crucified men on their way into the city. It's not gory, but dealt with in a matter-of-fact way that indicates that this was simply the norm for this particular time and place.Lawrence succeeds in the tricky technique of inserting various tidbits of historical facts into the book without detracting from the story (in particular, a look at ancient medicines and illnesses, as well as the personage of Emperor Titus and the Jewish Queen Berenice), and provides an afterword that discusses some of the real-life events and settings drawn upon to provide the plot.This is really Jonathan's book (I'm going to assume that each installment alternates between the children as protagonists), and he makes for an intelligent, sensitive, three-dimensional hero, complete with plenty of realistic flaws. By the end, my heart was bleeding for him, as well as the three friends who are left in the shadow of dread at the book's conclusion. At first I was rather skeptical about the children's ability to wander Rome with minimal supervision (Flavia in particular has a ridiculous amount of freedom for a Roman girl approaching marriageable age), but on reflection, it's no more absurd than  The Famous Five  getting permission to roam the English countryside with only lashings of ginger beer and a dog to protect them.I have been meaning to track down these books for some time, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a shame that I had to start at book seven (the library had no earlier installments) for I was at a clear disadvantage when it came to the introduction of the characters and their situation as Lawrence clearly expects prior knowledge of previous books. It's easy enough to catch on if you start here, though I'm sure that the further the series goes on, the harder it will be to jump on the bandwagon.

This whole series is addicting, fun, entertaining and educational. I started to read these books, introduced them to my 11 year old and am now behind by 6 books! We toured Ostia Antica this summer and had such a thrill imagining the characters running up the ancient streets in Italy 2000 years ago.

Every book that Caroline Lawrence writes is based on a character in the roman mysteries series. This book was based on Jonathan. Jonathan and his friends Lupus, Nubia and Flavia go to Rome to solve a mystery for the emperor Titus. During solving the mystery, Jonathan gets an urge to show something to his father. Something very important. Something that has to do with Jonathan's family. In this book, Berenice(said to be the empress) was told by emperor Titus to leave the city returns once again. I rated this book 5 because it has all the actions and adventures that a great book should have!!!

This book (and the series) may be aimed at pre-teens but is surprisingly sophisticated in the ways it deals with some of the harsher problems of life faced by its protagonists. Add to these the underlying philosophies of the Roman world of the first century AD, and you have a story rich in setting, characters and plot--mainly because the sense of youthful adventure is never ever neglected. Very highly recommended reading.

Usual high quality story telling from Caroline Lawrence. Aiming for the complete set.Love the DVD as well.Caroline Lawrence even sent me some signed posters :)

Great read.