About book SPQR IX: The Princess And The Pirates (2006)
Recommend: Yes Pros: Very short concise book; characterization, plot, setting, are all strong.Cons: Very short. The ending was a little off.The Bottom Line:Best book in the nine book SPQR series (at the time of review, 9 book series). Very quick read, very enjoyable dip into this time period. Historical/Murder/Mystery.Full Review:This book is the ninth book in the SPQR series. The SPQR murder mystery series follows the career of Decius Caecilius Metellus during the last days of the Roman Republic (this particular book occurs in 50 B.C., or as Roberts notes at the end of the book: the 703rd year of the city of Rome). The Metellus family are a prominent family, though on the decline.The SPQR series and the Gordianus the Finder series (by Steven Saylor) both occur at roughly the same time period in history, so comparisons between the two are common. The SPQR series, as mentioned, follows a relatively a youngish man from a well-placed family, while the Gordianus the Finder series follows a much older man from the lower classes of society. Both men solve murder mysteries, and both, on occasion, meet up with historical characters. For instance, both Decius and Gordianus run into Cleopatra in their most recent novels (at the time review written). Saylor's book (The Judgment of Caesar) though, deals with an old man returning his ailing wife to her homeland, in an attempt to restore her health (and occurs in 43 BC, mostly in Egypt). Roberts book, on the other hand, deals with a younger man still trying to climb the political ladder, and meets up with Cleopatra before she is Queen (in roughly 50 BC), and before the Caesar-Pompey civil war (which is in the final stages in Saylor's book). Also, unlike Gordianus, who is married to an ex-slave (his own), Decius is married to the niece of Julius Caesar.I was surprised to find out that I ended up rating Robert's book slightly higher than Saylor's 10th Gordianus book. I wasn't surprised, though, to find that I had rated this Roberts book as the highest rating of all the books in the SPQR series. On the whole, Saylor's series is better, but Roberts series is still a very enjoyable read.Roberts book is about a youngish Senator on the rise in the 703rd year of the city of Rome (officially, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC, take away 703 years, and you get 50 BC) who, after serving for two years as an aedile, is tasked by his family (actually by the Senate, the family has already set aside its resources to elect candidates and cannot, yet, push Decius up to the next position of power) to go off to fight the pirates springing up in the Eastern Mediterranean. Roberts book is very well-written, gripping from beginning to a weak ending. While not the best book Roberts has written, in my opinion, it is the best book in the series. Robert's book, for the most part, is tightly written, needing just 188 pages (the rest is a glossary) to tell a very good story. The characters are, for the most part, fully formed personalities. The plot is strong. I gave Robert's book 4.39 stars out of five.
Η ένατη αυτή SPQR περιπέτεια δεν αποκλίνει από το επιτυχημένο (και αγαπημένο) ποιοτικό ύφος που χαρακτηρίζει τη σειρά στο σύνολό της . Είναι ένα μικρό ιστορικό αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα με άρτια πλοκή και γρήγορη, σπιρτόζικη δράση. Μετά από τη Ρώμη, τη Γαλατία και την Αλεξάνδρεια ήρθε ο καιρός να επισκεφτούμε την Κύπρο. Το βιβλίο ξεχωρίζει για τη ζωντάνια και την αυθεντικότητα που προσδίδει στην εποχή που περιγράφει. Αβίαστα και πλήρως εναρμονισμένα με την κύρια αφήγηση παρατίθενται πλήθος λεπτομερών πληροφοριών για τον τρόπο ζωής και σκέψης των ανθρώπων. Η βαθμολογία (3/5) οφείλεται στο ότι, παρότι απόλαυσα το βιβλίο, δε με συνεπήρε εξίσου με κάποια άλλα της σειράς (όπως το "Σατουρνάλια και αίμα", "Ο θάνατος του εκατόνταρχου" και "Ένα νομικό ζήτημα")και προτείνεται κυρίως σε παλιούς φίλους της σειράς και όχι σε αυτούς που θέλουν να την αρχίσουν.
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For once, not in any real trouble, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is off to Cyprus with a naval commission as commodore of a (nonexistent) fleet, commanded to wipe out the burgeoning pirate fleet operating in that area. In addition to the exasperation of outfitting and staffing a fleet from the scraps left over from Pompey's and Caesar's raids on the stores, the governor, Sylvanus, is murdered in a truly odd way--someone has stuffed over a pound of precious frankincense down his throat. Given his nasty, suspicious Roman mind, Decius suspects that the two--the suddenly renascent piracy and the murder--are somehow connected. Prime among the suspects is, of all people, Princess Cleopatra of Egypt, who is in Crete on a royal visit, adding to Decius' headaches.This book never really got off the ground. There were, as usual,some interesting aspects: the cult of Aphrodite, the frankincense trade, and the the naval warships of the day. But what was left out was puzzling: the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher who, in the series, was Decius' deadly enemy. In history, Clodius was ambushed outside of Rome by Milo and his gang. In the series, Milo is Decius' closest friend. Yet, while Milo does show up in this book, the murder is referred to but glossed over. Odd.Still a good read, but not up to Roberts' best by a long shot.
—Joyce Lagow
This is number nine in a terrific mystery series set in the late Roman Republic period.The main character, Marcus Decius Metellus, is a swashbuckling rake on his way up the Roman political ladder who also has a talent for solving crimes in the midst of historical events. Besides great stories, this series is also very enjoyable historical fiction; especially for an Ancient Rome buff. The author definitely belongs in the class of others in the genre such as Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davies. Consider this a rating for the series as a whole.
—Bill Cohn
