Mondays Book Talk - The Last Cato

Written by MikeH

The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi

Specialized in historical thrillers and author of various best-sellers, Matilde Asensi is a Spanish journalist and writer. Her books, of an indubitable quality and historical documentation, have been translated into 15 languages. Asensi started her writing career in 1999 and since has published various books. Always passionate about history, I have decided to dedicate this review to The Last Cato, a thriller that I personally enjoyed. The story behind this dynamic and well-researched book resonated with me.

Published in Spanish in 2001, this novel combines elements of medieval mystery drama, gothic thriller, fantasy and also classic travel literature. It is not surprising at all why this thriller became a best-seller almost immediately. The English translation was made available in 2007 and the same year it won the International Latino Award in the category ‘Best Mystery Novel’ and an honour mention for ‘Best Adventure Novel’. 

The Last Cato is a novel centred on the Vatican palaeographer, Sister Ottavia Salina, Vatican Swiss Guard Captain Kaspar Glauser-Roïst, and a Coptic Catholic archaeologist, Farag Boswell. All three are brought together on a race across the globe to Christianity's ancient capitals to find the secret location of the Vera Cruz, the “True Cross” on which Christ was crucified. During their quest, they will face the Staurofilakes, the clandestine brotherhood having sworn to protect this valuable relic for centuries, headed by a secretive figure called Cato. 

Asensi interweaves in a perfect manner the main fictitious characters with the historical ones such as the first Christian Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena, Dante Alighieri’s Purgatorio and Dante’s pagan protector of Purgatory’s terraces, Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, also known as Cato the Younger, from which the title is derived. 

Overall The Last Cato is very enjoyable to read, it is rich in details which invites the readers to conduct further research. I must confess, this book knew how to keep me in suspense from the first pages up to the epilogue. 

Some readers, especially those who are a bit critical, will notice that this thriller contains certain references which may seem incorrect or inaccurate. Unlike other authors producing similar novels, and more precisely Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Asensi emphasizes that The Last Cato is a precisely that, a historical fiction. Her author notes at the end of the book contain the references and source material having inspired each chapter with the purpose to help the readers to distinguish precisely the real facts from fiction. 

Definitely, The Last Cato is an excellent choice for those who love conspiracy theories. Hope you all enjoy with this novel as much as I did. 

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Image: Supplied by Author