SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion: A Mystery [Hardcover]

John Maddox Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Series: SPQR | Publication Date: February 16, 2010

“Readers looking for a crafty and entertaining journey to the past won’t be disappointed.”

—Publishers Weekly on SPQR XI: Under Vesuvius

 

Caius Julius Caesar, now Dictator of Rome, has decided to revise the Roman calendar, which has become out of sync with the seasons. As if this weren’t already an unpopular move, Caesar has brought in astronomers and astrologers from abroad, including Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Persians. Decius is appointed to oversee this project, which he knows rankles the Roman public: “To be told by a pack of Chaldeans and Egyptians how to conduct their duties towards the gods was intolerable.” Not long after the new calendar project begins, two of the foreigners are murdered. Decius begins his investigations and, as the body count increases, it seems that an Indian fortuneteller popular with patrician Roman ladies is also involved.

This latest in the acclaimed series is sure to please historical mystery fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Time is running out for Julius Caesar, whose assassination is little more than a year away, in Roberts's fine 13th whodunit to feature Sen. Decius Metellus as sleuth (after 2008's SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead). As 46 B.C. draws to an end, Caesar is turning the Roman Republic upside down by ordering the institution of a new calendar and assuming even more dictatorial power. Names familiar from Shakespeare, like Brutus and Cassius, are already gathering to voice their dissent. Meanwhile, Decius looks into the deaths of two astronomers, whose necks were broken by a method that stumps Rome's best doctors. The astronomers' links to the unpopular Julian calendar and to Caesar's mistress, Cleopatra, provide multiple avenues for Decius's investigation, which his wife, Julia, once again assists. That readers know Caesar's ultimate fate in no way detracts from the enjoyment of this inventive historical. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

JOHN MADDOX ROBERTS lives in Estancia, New Mexico.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (February 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312595077
• ISBN-13: 978-0312595074
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who is murdering Caesar's astronomers?, February 21, 2010

By 

Graham (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

It is 45 BC and an increasingly regal Caesar is busily reorganizing Rome, including summoning a conclave of astronomers to reform the Roman calendar. When one of these astronomers is mysteriously murdered, Caesar assigns our hero, Decius Caecilius Metellus, to investigate. As always, Decius is a wide ranging and thorough investigator, traveling throughout Rome, interviewing everyone from Cleopatra to racing touts, turning up many overlapping mysteries and minor crimes until he succeeds in resolving the main mystery.

As usual in the series, Decius sets a light tone, bantering casually through Rome's highest social circles. However, behind the light mood, there are many darker notes. For example, it slowly becomes clear that Decius is now the last survivor of his formerly powerful family and he needs to move with more care than before. Decius gently touches on the various ambitious politicians orbiting around Caesar amidst hints of emerging conspiracies.

The murder mystery is adequate but the real fun comes from touring Rome with Decius, seeing its sights and studying its ways. A good four stars.

Quick historical note: Although Decius is fictional, the Caecilii Metelli were real. In their day they were one of the greatest of the plebian families, with at least ten "Quintus Caecilius Metellus"es becoming consul, but they vanished from history after siding against Caesar in the Civil War. Our fictional Decius may owe his survival to his happy marriage to Julia, a (fictional) niece of Caesar.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Welcome Book in the SPQR Series, April 5, 2010

By 

Terry Weiss "Mystery Lover" (Corvallis, OR U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

I enjoy this series as much as any I've found. I like the mysteries themselves and the characters are interesting and well drawn - no cartoon-ish shortcuts. There is an underlying wry sense of humor that I find irresistible as well. As to the history, I have checked and double checked and Roberts knows his stuff. To the extent we have documentation, he's spot on. Where there's room for interpretation, he goes for it. His view of Caesar - the main character is married to Caesar's niece and has been part of the Senatorial class with Caesar all along the way - is pretty great. And I'd bet pretty darned accurate, if truth be told. I recommend this entire series to any mystery lover. If you like historical mysteries, you'll be delighted. and if you have a sense of humor, they are even better. I've found the SPQR series an interesting contrast with Steven Saylor's more serious books set in the same era. Frequently they have taken an opposite view of an historical character - but, while I enjoy the Saylor books - I more than enjoy SPQR. I buy them new, in hard cover when they come out and I can't give higher praise than that to any writer. Try them, you'll like them. I own them all and can't wait for more to come.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic Ancient Roman mystery, February 27, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

In the year 46 BC in Rome, Caius Julius Caesar is now the Director of Rome. He plans to rebuild the city making it grander as expected of the capital of a great empire. One of his pet projects is to create a new calendar using astronomers and astrologers from around the world. Thus he appoints Senator Decius Caecilius to oversee the project alongside of Cleopatra's head astronomer Sosigenes.

At first Decius is more concerned with Cleopatra being in the city than he is of a bunch of scientists creating a new calendar. However the situation turns dangerous when an astronomer Denades is murdered with his neck broken. He has strange markings on his neck but the doctor feels it it hard to judge how the killer made them. Even the Chief Physician in Rome does not how the killer was able to extinguish is prey. Caesar orders Decius to find the killer, which proves difficult to accomplish because all suspects are lying about something or concealing something.

As always John Maddox Roberts writes a fantastic Ancient Roman mystery that gives the reader a sense of the era and the culture during the time of Caesar. This enables the audience to envision the City-State Empire warped inside a whodunit. Decius is a great detective, whose investigation is all the more remarkable because of the limitations of sleuthing in the first century BC. Sub-genre fans will enjoy joining him on his inquiry.

Harriet Klausner