Customer Reviews

Nobody Loves a Centurion (SPQR VI)

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SPQR is probably the most approachable Roman Republic mystery series because of its amused self-awareness (as Lindsay Davis is the author for the Roman Empire). Also, you do not HAVE to begin with volume 1 of this series, for there is not a lot of biographical reference, development, or aging from one to another...nor is the chronology all that clear in fact. Considerable Roman lore can be found in these stories, but it is worn lightly and contributes to the plots or atmosphere rather than irrupting as distracting digressions.

The sixth novel is very different in setting and atmosphere from the others. It is a fine inside story of service and intrigue in a Roman legion, far from Rome on the wild Swiss frontier at the start of Julius Caesar's famous Gallic War, c. 58 B.C. Our man, Senator and temporary under-officer Decius Caecilius Metellus, joins a legion--whose units, roles, organization, and rationale is cleverly made clear as the plot develops--but quickly runs afoul of a vicious First Spear, the unloved centurion of the title. Soon Decius is again involved in murders and treachery threatening Julius Caesar, and Decius is ordered by this most vividly dangerous of Romans to uncover the evil. We also learn of the nature of Gauls and ferocious Germans, and of Caesar's plans to dispose of them. Decius, too, struggles with a great historical question, how did Caesar become such a charismatic leader following such a mediocre start?

In this story we learn Decius is honest, and not just an upright man in a temptingly decadent Republic. He is saved from being an insufferable prig by a complete lack of righteousness (which may offend PC readers), his sardonic outlook, and self-awareness (the stories are all written in the first person as if with the historical benefit of old age). Within the strict confines of a legionary camp under threat of imminent attack there is less scope for his entertainingly sharp comments on the corruptions and contradictions of ancient Roman life. Likewise there's no place for his betrothed, Julia, one of the more interesting developments of earlier novels.

Here Roberts is better at avoiding the need for a final stand-up scene where someone finally spills all the beans. We can discover more of the wide-ranging conspiracy before the final confrontation, which here is not only surprising but manages to add a final twist. Roberts is the continuing victim of somewhat casual publishers: the ugly art, the same old incomplete map of Rome (here wholly irrelevant), an expanding glossary (also nearly unnecessary here), and never an historical note to help us distinguish between the real and the fictional events. The publishers have finally rendered correctly the "SPqR" quote that always appears on the title page.

After randomly picking this book up at my local public library (it looked like something I would like; I'm a history buff and I like mysteries), it took me all of three hourse to devour this book (that includes snack time. Can't read any good mystery without a snack to power your brain!). Decius, accompanied by his slave Hermes, attempt to aid Julius Caeser is his campaign against the Gauls/Germans/whoever else he wanted to wipe out. However, Caeser decides that the honest and outspoken Decius poses a problem with his First Spear, Titus Vinius. But when Titus is murdered--guess what? There just happens to be a proven mystery solver in the camp!
There's an interesting twist in the end that I didn't catch on to (I guess those chocolate chip cookies I had for my snack didn't help) that really surprised me. In any case, Decius has an amazing sense of humor that was what really kept me going through the book. His personality and motives show through when he decides to do something extremely stupid to help others. All in all, an extremely funny read.

There was a substantial gap in the writing time of the SPQR series and JMR returns with another installation that sees our erstwhile hero once more stepping outside Rome. In this case, he is heading to Gaul to serve under Caesar as military tribune in his confrontation with the Helvetii.
What follows is an enjoyable march through a legionary camp (JMR has clearly done some extensive research into the facts of a Roman army camp as the detail closely match historical findings) as the Primus Pilus Titius Vinius is murdered and the obvious suspects aren't so guilty to the eye of Decius.
This neatly sets the scene for him to investigate another murder that encompasses more than we intially are led to believe, but this time he is under pressure to find the guilty party before Caesar returns. With aplomb, he picks his way through the clues and deals with a variety of characters before the denouement that is as subtle as it is brilliant.
SPQR VI is an excellent addition to the series and is highly recommended.

Though he is a Roman senator and his family are very influential due to their support of the leadership, Decius Metellus flees town when his enemy Clodius is named as a Tribune. Decius, accompanied by his slave, slowly heads towards Julius Caesar's camp in Gaul. When he arrives, the Proconsul Caesar is disappointed in that his niece's fiancé came with just one person.

Decius gets in trouble with Caesar for interfering with the discipline meted out by the First Spear of the Tenth, Centurion Titus Vinus to his men. However, someone kills Titus and Julius asks Decius to investigate because the evidence points towards the victim's men including the son of a client of Decius. As he begins his investigation, Decius prays that he can blame the Germans or the Helveti for the slaying so good Roman soldiers can be freed.

In the sixth SPQR Ancient Rome mystery, John Maddox Roberts continues to provide an insightful fresh look into a bygone era. The current tale, NOBODY LOVES A CENTURION, provides a powerful glimpse at the Roman militia as well as Julius Caesar from a non-Shakespearean side. Decius remains a humorous individual who at first glance seems to go with the flow, but in actuality is a deep caring person who gets involved. SPQR VI is "excellentus."

Harriet Klausner

A top-notch mystery and an informative historical novel, Roberts' sixth volume in the SPQR series is satisfying on all counts. As always, the breezy manner but core seriousness of our narrator and sleuth, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, now a cavalry commander in Caesar's army in Gaul at the time of the Helvetian migration, keeps the tone of the novel light, but serious matters are still dealt with, including loyalty, treachery and difficult choices.

In the previous five novels in the series, there has always been a murder mystery to be investigated by Decius. Sometimes the murder mystery was central,while at other times they were mere accompaniment to political conspiracy. In this novel, political conspiracy is at the heart of the murders, but does not occupy a large part of the plot, since we don't find out about the political connections until the end. This is more a novel about life in the Roman army and the often conflicting interests of Romans, Gauls and Germans. Certainly Decius' investigation of the murder, and his need to clear the son of one of his clients of the charge, is the focus of the book and of Decius' actions, in the course of which we meet not only Julius Caesar and his legatus Titus Labienus, but also the German king, Ariovistus, whose own time on-stage is short, but whose associates are main players in the plot. Clodius does not appear in this adventure, because it is his tribunate back in Rome that prompts Decius' departure for Gaul. Since Decius is still engaged to Caesar's niece, Julia, Gaul is a logical place to go for someone who has already had military experience in Spain.

If you like Saylor's Gordianus and Davis' Falco, you will like Roberts' Decius. Like the other two, Decius is able to take care of himself in a fight but differs in being upper class. Decius is not as wise-cracking as Falco nor as closely tied to family as Gordianus, but all three make good narrators that we care about. You don't need to have read the ... previous episodes in the SPQR series (all starring Decius) in order to follow this episode, but there are some back-references that are clearer if you've read the first three, which you should probably do anyhow.

I liked Roberts' presentation of Decius in the first five novels, but I think our hero is even better this time around. Maybe it's just because he is getting older and more serious, though still keeping his wit. I liked the complexity of the murder mystery and especially the double twist at the end. I had anticipated whom Decius would meet at the German camp, since the characters were too vivid to just drop out of the story, but I thought Decius had announced the correct solution to the murder of Vinius in his summing up. It turns out that there is more still for Decius to find out. The definition of Caesar's role in it was a nice touch.

In my review of Sacrilege I had spoken of Caesar as "a rogue, but a fascinating one, who never kills a man for mere pleasure or whim". I have my own view of Caesar, and it is perfectly in keeping with both sides of the portrait of him given here.

There are some minor mistakes in the text (like confusing a horn with a horn player) but the most striking mistake occurs on the dust-jacket blurb, inside flap. The "I came; I saw; I conquered." is attributed to Caesar in relation to his conquest of Gaul. It actually came much later , in 47, after his lightning victory over Pharnaces at Zela.

I recommend this to the general reader as a murder mystery and as a novel giving a feel for characters of the time. Because the military details given are so persuasive, I recommend it especially to those who teach Caesar in high school, for use as a supplemental volume to be assigned to any student who wishes to see how the Roman army worked.

Roberts scores again! This is a series which just keeps getting better. Cross the wry humor of Lindsey Davis with the blood-on-the-tiles-of-the-Forum style of Steven Saylor, add the natural snobbishness of the Roman upper class, and you begin to grasp the writing style in the SPQR series. Plus, in this book you learn all you wanted to know about life in the legions and Ceaser's campaigns in Gaul. Buy it. Now.

The story begins with Decius Caecilius Metellius the Younger traveling to Gaul to join Caesar in his war with the Helvetii. Decius is also anxious to be away from Rome as his mortal enemy, Claudius, has become a high official with the authority (in Rome only) to arrest and convict without appeal.

Decius has a slow start in his assignment with Caesar's Tenth Legion. While the entire legion is wearing casual field attire, he arrives in a fancy parade uniform which leads to much kidding. Then he interferes with a centurion disciplining his troops. By long tradition, an officer never interferes with a centurion. Caesar disciplines him with extra duty. Later, without authorization, he replaces that centurion's guard with some of his own cavalry troops. For that infraction Caesar considers serious punishment. As a result of his own errors, the entire 10th Legion thinks Decius is a fool and distrusts him. Decius is his own worst enemy.

Finally, the legion's 1st Spear, the ranking centurion in the legion, is killed, and Caesar assigns Decius to investigate and find the guilty parties. If he doesn't, then eight of the centurions men will be executed. One of the eight's family is a client of Decius' family, so family honor is at risk.

Decius discovers that the crime is complex. There are many suspects, as the victim is a Centurion who was hated by many. The Centurion was unusually cruel to his own men, which made him feared and despised. Even the nearby Helvetii and Germans become prime suspects. Decius fears that he may not be up to the job.

Nobody Loves a Centurion displays John Maddox Roberts' knowledge of the inner working of Roman Legions. The detailed description of Legion communications, fortifications, and chain of command is impressive. As a military veteran, I felt at home in the10th Legion, as most of their procedures, organization and culture are still active in modern armies.

Decius uses investigative techniques that are foreign to the legion, so he meets resistence but solves the crime. The ending is complete and satisfying but surprising, even to Decius. This historical novel is excellent. I highly recommend Nobody Loves a Centurion.

John Maddox Roberts hit upon a great character and put him in all kinds of fun situations. Decius Caecilius Metellus is a swashbuckling young Roman senator who has a bloodhound's nose for ferreting out criminals, a playboy's talent for getting himself into all kinds of odd romantic entanglements, and a young turk's ability for getting himself in public fights that embarass his conservative, upper crust family. Each of the novels in this series builds until that moment when Caecilius says "I'm going to do something stupid" and then the fun really begins. Invariably he gets himself into a life-or-death struggle with a mixed bag of colorful and cunning evildoers. Each novel gives us a view of Roman life at the end of the late Republic, while at the same time drawing us inexorably into the emotional intelligence and derring-do of young Caecilius.
In this installment (Nobody Loves a Centurion) Caecilius finds himself in the ranks of Julius Caesar's much venerated Gaulish Legion as it prepares itself for the coming war with the Gauls. His arrival in camp, way overdressed in customized armor, is one of the most hilarious and humiliating moments in Caecilius' oh so many humbling moments. Without giving the plot away, the Primus Pilus of the Legion turns up dead, and the chief suspects are a group of legionaires who have been harshly treated.... Young Caecilius must hustle to find out who the murderer was to save the legionaires, all the while being watched closely by the daunting Julius Caesar. Along the way Caecilius encounters a wide array of interesting rogues and beauties. And in the end the evil-doer murderer is a great surprise.
Each of these novels are great fun, and Nobody Loves a Centurion is one of the best for action and adventure. Its a great read, and readers will enjoy every minute.

The SPQR series is by far my favorite Roman mystery series, and this is one of the best. Roberts is tops in bringing the details of Roman life into the story without swamping the reader with too much information; he expertly brings the ancient world convincingly to life, while telling a fast-paced whodunit.

In this novel, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger travels to Gaul. While he solves the mystery that inevitably ensues, we are treated to a vivid description of life in a Roman military camp. I am not a fan of military history and generally find battle scenes and military details extremely boring, but Roberts make it fascinating. This is a rare example of a novel which can teach you something while entertaining you.

The SPQR series doesn't seem to have attracted as many readers as Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis, and it's a shame, as Roberts is by far the best writer of the three. An ideal Roman mystery should tell a good tale while immersing you in the ancient world, and no one does this quite as brilliantly as John Maddox Roberts.

This book is a great crime solving series set in the twilight of the Roman Republic. If you like Cadfael series then here is something to look forward to when you get done with them. 1st rate! (Also if you are interested in the Caesars Army in Gaul then here you go!)