Decius Caecilius Metellus, this year’s magistrate for cases involving foreigners, thinks he is merely visiting one of the local attractions of southern Italy when he takes a party to visit the Oracle of the Dead, a pre-Roman cult site located at the end of a tunnel dug beneath a temple of Apollo. But there is a bitter rivalry between the priests of Apollo and those of Hecate, who guard the oracle, and when the priests are all killed, the countryside looks to explode in violence as Greeks, Romans, and native Italians of several conquered nations bring out old enmities.
This riveting historical series began with the Edgar Award–nominated SPQR I: The King’s Gambit and has gone on to international success in thirteen languages.
SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead
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From Publishers Weekly
Civil war looms between the forces of Julius Caesar and Pompey, providing an ominous background for Roberts's compelling 12th Roman historical to feature Decius Caecilius Metellus (after 2007's SPQR XI: Under Vesuvius). Recently raised to the post of praetor peregrinus, Metellus is enjoying traveling outside Rome hearing cases involving foreigners, but he gets an unexpected shock at the Oracle of the Dead near the southern Italian town of Baiae. The corpse of Eugaeon, a priest of Apollo, surfaces in the rushing stream of water inside the oracle's temple. Oddly, Eugaeon's body shows no sign of violence but is completely hairless. After the priest's missing colleagues, initially the prime suspects, also turn up dead, the astute sleuth comes to believe that these current killings are but the latest of many. Metellus puts his own life at risk in an exciting case that engages the attention of Pompey himself. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
John Maddox Roberts is the author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy in addition to his SPQR series set in Ancient Rome. He and his wife live in New Mexico.
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John Maddox Roberts has written numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. He lives in New Mexico with his wife.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two temples, many murders and heightened politcal tensions...,
By L. C Glover "Varied Interests" (Half Moon Bay Ca, USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead (Hardcover)
Overall:
I am giving "Oracle of the Dead" by John Maddox Roberts 3.5 stars. The book is a very quick and entertaining read. The style is basically the same as the other books in the SPQR series. However, the parts where keys pieces of information get figured out only indicate that Decius has figured something out which makes it fairly easy to figure out who the bad guys/gals are. I am curious to see how John Roberts will wrap up the story now that the Republic is about to be destroyed by Julius Cesaer. The civil war between Cesaer and Pompey is just about to be begin. Thankfully, Decius is smart enough to run away to the south. Characters: ----------- Decius does not develop much as a character. He does grow up a bit and starts to take more seriously his political rank and the associated rights / responsibilities. A nearly successful assassination attempt helps to get him back in shape and prepare for the hard times ahead of the Republic. Julia is not developed much but she does show a bit more understand on how to work with Decius. Decius does show more appreciation for Julia's skills. Misc. cast of characters: there is a large group of colorful characters in the story which help round out the scope of the events quite well. I would like to have more red-herring characters to help obfusicate who the killer(s) is/are. Story: ------ The story revolves around a mass murder of all the priests in the Temple of Apollo. The Temple of Apollo sits above a temple of Hecate. The followers of Hecate claim to have a oracle of the dead in their underground complex. The situation is complicated by the rising tensions between Pompey's faction and Cesaer's faction...overlayed on local issues between natives of the areas and the Romans who forcibly settled in the area. The question of religious practices and superstitions are raised quite a bit. But, ultimately, it comes down to human nature. Action: ------- The action in the book was limited compared to the other books. Decius is more of a supervisor than an actual worker. The level of disconnectedness comes through in the story which is unfortunately as one of the main reasons I enjoy Decius is that he has been a very hands on type of person. He is not a "seagull manager" but a person who you want to work for. Prose: ------ The style is nearly identical to the last 3 or 4 books in the series. Characters: 2.5 stars Story: 3 - 3.5 stars Action: 2.5 - 3 stars Prose: 2.5 stars Overall: 3.5 stars -- the combination of characters, setting, roman culture, action is better than the sum of the individual parts
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Workmanlike historic mystery,
By Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
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This review is from: SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead (Hardcover)
"Oracle of the Dead" is Book VII of the Decius Caecilius Metellus mystery series. This story is set in the waning days of the Roman Republic, as Julius Caesar approaches his run at total power. Most interestingly, it gives the reader an educated view of Roman jurisprudence and governance as practiced by protagonist Decius Metellus, who has been appointed to the position of circuit magistrate, with current headquarters in the area of the Bay of Naples. This same area is destined to be covered in ash by Mt. Vesuvius some decades later.
As an important representative of the Roman Senate and naturally inquisitive sort, Metellus extends his authority to investigate the murders of a half dozen priests of the temple of Apollo in Baiae, sharing space with some dodgy priestesses of Hecate, who guard an important oracle. Author John Maddox Roberts takes his protagonist through some entertaining hoops as he sorts out the hows and whys of the murders. I especially enjoyed the details of Roman life in what was the resort area of the Roman upper class of the time as well as the background of Rome's relationships with the fairly recently conquered areas of southern Italy. I had forgotten how Greek that area was before the Romans moved in. Author Roberts spends some interesting focus on the impact of Greek culture and custom on Rome. "Oracle of the Dead" will be enjoyed by fans of the SPQR series, but new readers will also find the book interesting and the mystery at its core, credible. A good read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely disappointing ending!,
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This review is from: SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead (Hardcover)
SPQR XII is another one of the classic Decius Metellus books we've all come to know and love, this time dealing with a corpse that washes up in an underground river at a rural shrine known as the Oracle of the Dead...yeah, creepy. But Decius and Hermes plow on with their usual aplomb, investigating in a way no one else seems to understand. Julia remains a bit of a harpy here, which is no real change from previous books; I often wonder whether the fictional Decius privately bemoans his marriage. 80% of the time he seems to skive off from her watchful eye and do what he wants to do, but that remaining 20% really makes him seem unpleasantly henpecked! Pompey and Cato put in brief but necessary appearances. No sign of Caesar.
The book rolls along well, with good characters and excellent settings. I was completely intrigued right up to turning the very last page, when, after solving the mystery to its fullest, Decius turns the case over to the local magistrates. It's not so much THAT he does this, which is a perfectly reasonable thing for him to do...it's HOW he does this. One sentence to announce he's turning it over, then turn the page to read one follow-up sentence about events in Rome after that, and bam. End of book. Too abrupt; I could have used a little more warm fuzzies in the "events in Rome after that" section, especially "what happened with regard to this case as the locals dealt with it." But this is only enough to take off half a star, which I can't do, so I don't take off any stars. I did have a hunch who the main perpetrator was, rather early in the book, and I rarely guess that sort of thing correctly. Perhaps I've simply gotten enmeshed in Decius' way of thinking, or perhaps Roberts is becoming slightly more heavy-handed in his character introductions. Either way, it's a good read, just like all the rest of the SPQR books.
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