The Enemies of Jupiter

The Enemies of Jupiter picks up the story with the epidemic raging in Rome. Doctor Mordecai has successfully battled the disease in Ostia and can count several Roman families among his clients. If fact, the doctor has become more Romanized shaving his beard and taken to wearing a toga, which alarms Jonathan into believing that a Roman matron has her eye on his father. Doctor Mordecai receives a message from the emperor Titus summoning him to Rome to combat the epidemic. Titus also has had a prophetic dream that he is anxious to have Flavia and her friends solve the mystery. Jonathan has another reason for wanting to be in Rome: he wants his parents to meet in the hopes that they will rekindle their love for each other. The Rome that Flavia and her friends return has been hard hit by the epidemic but there is a feeling of hope and Titus' prophecy appears to indicate an end to the disease, or does it? As with the prior volumes, Caroline Lawrence is masterful in her research and her splendid writing. I particularly liked the description of Tiber Island and the methods by which the other physicians were treating the epidemic. Titus is nicely portrayed as the benevolent emperor that he was but we also see him suffering from headaches and his anger gets the better of him on occasion. We also get a brief encounter between the four children and the historian Josephus. This is a marvelous book for young adults and adults as well.

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.

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!!!

Its great. Its follows a myth like The Twelve Tasks of Flavia and once again we meet some characters we've seen from the past. (Tip: read the series in order).