Nobody Loves a Centurion (SPQR VI) - Softcover

Roberts, John Maddox

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312320191 ISBN 13: 9780312320195

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2003

Synopsis

Like so many young men in later generations, Roman playboy/detective Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is faced with the necessity of serving in his country's armed forces. Since a dangerous enemy has become powerful in the politics of Rome, Decius is just as well out of the city for a while. He sets out to join Caesar in Gaul (where the general has come and seen, but has as yet not been able to conquer. The occupying Roman army is at a standstill. When Decius shows up in full parade regalia (much to the amusement of the more informally uniformed veterans) and accompanied only by his young personal slave. Caesar sets him the task of discovering who murdered one of his centurions, a cruel and unfair officer feared and hated by every man of the one hundred soldiers under him. A further prod to Decius is that the main suspect is a youth whose father is a close friend of the Metellus family. With Caesar's decree that another killer be found in a matter of hours or the young man dies, Decius has his work cut out for him.

John Maddox Roberts's series set in the first century A.D. vividly brings to readers a strong sense of the everyday life of the ancient Romans in the context of our own.

About this title

About the Author:

John Maddox Roberts is the author of several works of science fiction and some modern mysteries. There are eight books already published in hardcover in the series featuring the Roman Decius Metellus, and they are being reissued in this paperback format. The author and his wife have recently moved from Virginia to a home in New Mexico.

From Publishers Weekly:

The first line of Roberts's (Saturnalia) sixth SPQR mystery, "I blame it all on Alexander the Great," sets the tone for this briskly paced, lighthearted Roman historical. Decius Caecillus Mettellus, the would-be playboy son of an illustrious family, plays reluctant sleuth. "Would-be" because his considerable intelligence causes him to be drafted into the most serious affairs of state. When his worst enemy, who could do him great harm, wins a tribuneship, Decius decides it's time to leave Rome. In addition, the family patriarchs, who are grooming him for public office, want him to have more military service. So Decius and his slave, Hermes, journey deep into Gaul, where Caius Julius Caesar is at war with the Helvetii. Caesar's legion faces an unknown number of the enemy, but the trouble really begins when the legion's most hated centurion, Titus Vinius, gets murdered. Titus's death throws suspicion on eight men, who will be executed unless the guilty party is found. Before leaving to recruit additional legions, Caesar assigns the task of uncovering the killer to Decius, who as usual proves a courageous and methodical sleuth. Roberts deftly recreates his ancient world, constantly reminding the reader that it was a cruel and violent place where people thought and acted a lot differently from us. A double-edged solution perfectly caps a highly entertaining story.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312320191
• ISBN 13: 9780312320195
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288