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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great forerunner of this new sub genre, May 2, 2002
This review is from: The King's Gambit (SPQR I) (Paperback)
The ancient Rome murder mystery is a relatively new genre - and JMR could be held as its primary mover, so to compare it to Saylor, Davis or Todd is perhaps a little unfair. However it does stand up well. Having read this one I've promptly ordered the other five. Well characterised, well plotted the opening mystery for the senator's son, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, skips neatly through the period around 70BC with some aplomb. His choice of a somewhat 'modern' (in his attitudes) young Roman of patrician nobility with various seedier supporting characters and faithful slaves has been echoed in later authors' attempts at the subgenre. It clearly works. Given knowledge of the actual events around this time, my review is biased towards reviewing the author's depiction of Rome and actual historical characters and it falls down slightly on this point. Two things lead fairly quickly to who dunnit: 1)If you have a good knowledge of the period then it is fairly clear what's going on as JMR follows historical fact - admirably 2)A lack of suspects points to the culprit. JMR's depiction of both Clodia/Claudia and Clodius is OK, again, given knowledge of the reality of what both will become you leave feeling their depiction isn't perhaps quite true. Both Crassus and Pompey exhibit imperial traits; again, doesn't quite fit in with Republican Rome and a view of a younger Caesar and Cicero is really setting us up for later novels - given the titles of those later novels. All in all, well worth reading. I think that those who know the history of the period in some detail will view (and review) this offering in a different light to those who have not. But this is a highly recommended Roman murder mystery. I suspect it will get better and better with each installment.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It gets better..., January 26, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The King's Gambit (SPQR I) (Paperback)
I started out reading "Nobody Loves a Centurion". And guess what? I understood all of it, I understood who the characters were, past relationships, the whole shebang. I have found no other series that does this in such an amusing fashion. So does this mean I'm biased? Well, yeah. "The King's Gambit" is not one of the best books I've ever read, but it is up there. The point is though; read the rest of the series. It gets better, it's funnier than you could ever imagine from just the first book! Overall, this is one of the best written series I have ever read. Yes, I have read the Lindsay Davis books--did they really talk like the British?
The point is; I haven't found a series that is this good. Unfortunately, the first book isn't as thrilling as say the forth.
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truth, Justice, and the Roman Way, August 20, 2001
This review is from: The King's Gambit (SPQR I) (Paperback)
Note: This was originally published under the title "SPQR." Decius Caecilius Metellus, the Younger, is an elderly Roman statesman in the days of Augustus recounting his hazardous youth during the twilight of the Republic. In the story he is a very junior official who, to the great dismay of his noble political family, has a talent for "snooping." Everyone tells him not to look too carefully into a murder in his district. He is faced with the dilemma of following his superiors' advice, or doing his duty to the Senate and the People of Rome even though it may put him in danger. Should he allow himself to fall into the corruptions of his time, or live up to the nobility of Rome's Golden Age (which he realistically admits probably never existed)? While this works well as a mystery, what makes this story exceptional (and simply a great read) is how Rome comes alive in the narrative. Because it is told from the point of view of the protagonist as an old man, much of the history can be placed in context. Because he investigates as a junior official within a politically prominent family, Roman daily life can be presented from slaves to senators. The text has depth within its simplicity that makes it approachable and enjoyable. The only things that prevent this from being a 5-star review are somewhat excessive historical exposition, a too-obvious clue, and the fact that the author does a better job with the following books in this series: Catiline Conspiracy, Sacrilege, Temple of the Muses, and Saturnalia. Look for "Nobody Loves a Centurion," the sixth SPQR book, to be published in late 2001.
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