Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, Malice, and Machiavellian Maneuvering, Jul 10 2004
As a reader who likes John Maddox Roberts' science fiction, likes historical mysteries, and loves ancient history, I was happy to find the SPQR series. I immediately ordered the first two books in the series and dove into "King's Gambit."I was disappointed. The writing was pedestrian, and the solution to the murder mystery was obvious. Decius Caecilius Metellus is a minor official with a talent for snooping. A freed gladiator is found murdered in the streets of Rome on the same night as a warehouse fire. Decius begins looking into the matter, and is warned off by his father and several other movers and shakers in Roman politics. He obstinately pursues his duty of figuring out "whodunnit," employing such unorthodox means as consulting a medical doctor for insight into how wounds were inflicted. So much for the first half of the book. The second half makes up for the first, as young Decius navigates the treacherous waters of Roman politics and slips closer and closer to almost certain death as he tries to solve the mystery, save the Republic, and bring the conspirators to justice. The story closes with Decius departing Rome pursued by Furies. He was able to fashion an imperfect justice and save the Republic and his hide--but only just, and Rome will be too hot for him for several years to come. The farther I read, the better the story got. The writing improved, the characters became more engaging, and the plot thickened considerably. I've read many historical novels set in Ancient Rome, but none seemed to bring Republican Rome to life quite as well as Roberts' little novel. I haven't read the second novel in the series yet, but I've already ordered the third and fourth.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
historical inaccuracies distracting, Jun 16 2004
While I don't pretend to be an expert on Roman history, I do have some knowledge of the time period. I found this book to have so many glaring inaccuracies, that it was difficult to read. The one that sticks out in my mind is the description of Cato as consorting with his slaves and producing children. The author has confused Cato the Censor with the Cato who was a contemporary of Caesar's. Cato the Censor was the great (I believe) grandfather of this Cato and he was the one who consorted with his slaves. Indeed, that side of the lineage is what produced Caesar's nemesis Cato.In fact, this is really the only thing from the book which sticks out in my mind, in addition to other historical problems which needn't be addressed here. I can't really remember the plot points and I just finished it a couple of days ago. There are definitely better books in this genre.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
It gets better..., Jan 26 2004
By A Customer
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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by John Maddox Roberts
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