Spqr

If you love historicals and you love the late Roman Republic, this much underrated series is for you. John Maddox Roberts is a gifted writer with a talent for brevity, and has a much lighter touch than Steven Saylor. The main character of this series is engaging and witty. Where Saylor's work is poignant, this is more in keeping with the wry Roman spirit. Petronius would have loved these books. And so did I.

They were evil times for the great Republic of Crassus and Pompey - when vicious gangs ruled the streets, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. SO the garroting of a lowly ex-lave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Suburba district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger - high-born commander of the local vigiles - was determined to investigate. And despite official apathy, brazen bribes and sinister threats, the dedicated functionary would uncover a foul stew of corruption simmering at the highest level of his government - one which promised destruction to both Decius.. and the mighty Republic he so loyally served.

I read "The King's Gambit" long ago, when it was titled merely S.P.Q.R. I adored it then and I still enjoy it now. (I have both my orignal copy - falling to bits - and the new edition.) I don't know if Mr. Roberts had intended to do a series but - Vivat Decius Caecilius Metelius the Younger! Granted it's not the same stuff as Ms. McCullough's epic Roman series - which is a terrific though long, involved slogfest - or Steven Saylor's Geordanius the Finder (Geordie got too dark and somber for me to enjoy after the third book, but it's a superior historical series. My librarian friend raves about them.) This series is light, bright stuff - equal to Lindsey Davis' Falco series. This 'Roman as Philip Marlowe' hero had no competition back when I first read his exploits and, except for Falco, Decius has no competition now for my dollar. There is at least one Decius Metelius short story wandering inside an anthology. I wish Roberts would publish it with a few more as a stand alone book.

It disturbs me that many SF/Fantasy books contain pathetic explanations like "Being a product of the (non-democratic or whatever) society I was born in, I was so stupid as to actually believe everything he (a bad guy) told me." JMR does nothing like that. His characters really act, talk and think like ancient Romans are supposed to. They don't apologise to 20th century American readers for not being politically correct. That's one thing I love about this book - it's so realistic! You'll get the feeling of actually being there, you actually start seeing things through the eyes of that Metellus guy.The other thing that makes this book so great is the brilliance of John Maddox Roberts' writing. He has written other great novels too, but SPQR is his best book I have read. If you like historical fantasy and you're interested in ancient Rome, this book is a must-read for you.(I'm sorry to tell you, however, that JMR wasn't able to maintain this high quality through the whole SPQR series. Don't buy them all now, just read one book before you buy the next one.)

I have read all of the SPQR-Series and can only recommend them both to the informed and the lay(wo)man. Being a student of Roman archaeoloy myself, I have seldom found such a good historical FUN novel, where you get to know all in IN men and woman of Rome at one of the most interesting times in her history.