This is the original volume of a series featuring the wry exploits of Decius Caecilious Metellus, a noble ancient Roman and a snoop. At the beginning of his career up the Roman political ladder he is a ward conmmissioner in a murderous sector of the city of Rome, c. 70 B.C. during the fall of the Roman Republic. Beginning from a little murder and a small arson, Decius gradually links and unravels a horrendous plot to undermine the state, against many hazards to his morality and his health. Along the way we are introduced to major historical and series characters who oppose or further Decius's inquiries and ascension, from Crassus (the Richest Man in the World) and Pompey (self-proclaimed The Great), ambivalent Julius Caesar, to lawyer Cicero and useful figures from the underworld of Rome. Decius recruits and adopts several independent assistants who promise to be of help in the future, either forensically or as smart muscle.

There is more of Roman administrative intrigue here than in most mysteries set in ancient Rome, because Decius is pursuing a political career, is himself a noble from an exalted lineage, and his father is already a high official (but frustratingly remote from his son's endeavors and progress). Decius is too old-fashionedly morally upright for his own good, but--happily for us--he is pleasantly cynical in his outlook and in his historically informed asides to us. This story is spendidly written, marvelously worldly, and rich with historical and archaeological detail that actually moves the story along. I disagree this is a fantasy; it is a fictional but plausible mystery set in a solidly realized historical context. Roberts writes this series in a rather more breezy style than the parallel Roma sub Rosa series by Stephen Saylor. Roberts depends too much on an illogical climactic confession by the villain to wrap up the many loose ends he has creatively developed in this story. (St. Martin's Press has republished the first two books in this apparently intermittant series. This as SPQR I: THE KING'S GAMBIT, q.v.)

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.