The Last Cato (2001)

by Matilde Asensi

Series: Catón (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,372	50	13,650	(3.61)	26
In the same vein as Ruiz-Zaf, n's "In the Shadow of the Wind" and Daniel Silva's "Prince of Fire" comes an internationally bestselling novel about the search for the secret location of the actual Holy Cross used to crucify Jesus.

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

AElustondo, SergioRuiz, alareth1976, MiquelSilviaBielRoc, Muricec, manuelriera, PabloGonzalez, prengel90

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Member recommendations

00
Inferno by Dan Brown (vpfluke)
vpfluke: Both books are thrillers where the main characters follow trails taken from Dante's Divine Comedy
00
The Eight by Katherine Neville (JAPerlmutter)
JAPerlmutter: This books by Spanish author Asensi preceded Katherine Neville's The Eight and, in many ways, is more fascinating since it deals with the vagaries of Catholicism and the schisms, myths and spiritual journeys peculiar to the Church's dogma. Strong female protagonist and an ending just as satisfying as Neville's.… (more)

▾Lists

Recommend the 20 best books you've read in the last five years (797)

EU Fiction: 1950-2022 (188)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 26 mentions

▾Member reviews

English (27) Spanish (16) Catalan (2) French (1) Italian (1) All languages (47)

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)

Y Julia retó a los dioses
Santiago Posteguillo
Publicado: 2020 | 671 páginas
Novela Histórico
Serie: Julia Domna #2 /sU4Nukl6z_G4

Mantenerse en lo alto es mucho más difícil que llegar. Julia está en la cúspide de su poder, pero la traición y la división familiar amenazan con echarlo todo a perder. Para colmo de males, el médico Galeno diagnostica que la emperatriz padece lo que él, en griego, llama karkinos, y que los romanos, en latín, denominan cáncer. El enfrentamiento brutal entre sus dos hijos aboca la dinastía de Julia al colapso. En medio del dolor físico y moral que padece la augusta, cualquiera se hubiera rendido. Se acumulan tantos desastres que Julia siente que es como si luchara contra los dioses de Roma. Pero, en medio del caos, una historia de amor más fuerte que la muerte, una pasión capaz de superar pruebas imposibles emerge al rescate de Julia. Nada está perdido. La partida por el control del imperio continúa.

libreriarofer | Jul 30, 2023 |

I am not a Dante-fan but this was a very interesting and illuminating book - and why a bit predictable that was because it fulfilled my hope. Enjoyed reading it. (

)

VictoriaJZ | Jun 7, 2023 |

I thought the plot of this True Cross conspiracy meets Dante was way over the top and I didn't like the ending. None of the main characters worked well for me and I found the heroine particularly implausible, especially her Sicilian background. That said, it was well researched and there was enough food for thought in parts of it to encourage me to read more of this writer. She is clearly very knowledgeable. I enjoyed what she had to say about Byzantium and she offered some very interesting insights into the Orthodox Church. I am currently reading Asensi's Iacobus, a medieval tale about the lost treasure of the Templars and so far, I think it is a much better book. The translation is better than in The Last Cato. This could be because the book is written in a medieval style and is suited to formal English.
(

)

MochaVonBee | Jan 21, 2023 |

Masterful. Literary Indiana Jones. Very sharp, thrilling! (

)

Martialia | Sep 28, 2022 |

Being Catholic in Italy is a huge deal (

)

AZBob1951 | Oct 27, 2021 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

1 review

add a review

thingScore unrated

Tras el éxito de El salón de ámbar e Iacobus, Matilde Asensi nos presenta una nueva novela tan impactante como aquellas. Todo comienza cuando una científica que trabaja para el Vaticano es llamada para descifrar las extrañas señales aparecidas en el cuerpo de un etíope fallecido en extrañas circunstancias. A partir de aquí se desplegará una trama trepidante y que pondrá al descubierto una siniestra conspiración para atentar contra las reliquias más sagradas de la Iglesia.

added by Pakoniet | editLecturalia

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (7 possible)

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Catón (1)

Belongs to Publisher Series

dtv premium (24429)

I romanzi [Sonzogno]

Ξένη Λογοτεχνία / Λιβάνης

▾Awards and Honors

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

The Last Cato

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2001

People/Characters

Dr. Ottavia Salina

Professor Farag Boswell

Captain Kasper Glauser-Roist

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For Pascual, Andres, Pablo, and Javier

First words

All things of beauty- from great works of art to sacred objects- suffer the unstoppable effects of the passage of time, just as we do.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Jane Fulton Alt

▾Book descriptions

In the same vein as Ruiz-Zaf, n's "In the Shadow of the Wind" and Daniel Silva's "Prince of Fire" comes an internationally bestselling novel about the search for the secret location of the actual Holy Cross used to crucify Jesus.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Dr. Ottavia Salina, a renowned paleographer and head of the Vatican's Secret Archive, is taksed with restoring and preserving the ancient texts that are the cornerstone of Christianity. When a murder sends shock waves to the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church, Dr. Sallina is asked to decipher the strange tattoos found on the Ethiopian man's corpse. In addition to the mysterious markings, found next to the body were three pieces of wood-priceless artifacts believed to be from the Vera Cruz, the cross on which Christ was crucified. When Dr. Salina uncovers a connection between the tattoos-nearly indecipherable enigmas representing the Seven Deadly Sins-and the vision of purgatory in The Divine Comedy, it sets in motion an adventure of epic proportions. Accompanied by an archaeologist and the captain of the pope's Swiss Guard, and using Dante's masterpiece as a guide, she sets out on a risky and electrifying journey that takes her from Rome to Antioch in search of the sole person who can provide the answers they need...the last Cato, the only one who knows the secret location of the Holy Cross. (back of book)

Haiku summary