Roman religion was an interesting mixture of ancient and new deities whose rites were a function of the state. There were some exceptions, and one was the rite of the Bona Dea, the Good Goddess, which was the worship of an ancient female earth deity that predated the advent of the ruling sky gods. This was strictly a women's rite; men were absolutely forbidden to view the rites, and any violation was seen not just as an ordinary sacrilege but one that put the very existence of the Roman people themselves at stake, since such sacrilege could result in the loss of fertility of all Roman women.Publius Clodius Pulcher was the scion of an ancient patrician Roman family, who had too much intelligence coupled with too much ambition and too little to do. A deadly combination, Clodius was a constant troublemaker, whose antics often descended into the dangerous. One such was the profanation of the Bona Dea rites in 62 B.C.E.; held at the home of Julius Caesar who was then the Pontifex Maximus--the supreme high priest of the state-sanctioned Roman religion and the title now of the Roman Catholic pope; Clodius, with the aid of his sister Clodia and Pompeia, Caesar's wife, sneaked into the rites dressed as a woman. He was discovered, and the resulting scandal rocked Rome.Naturally, our hero Decius becomes involved, for Roberts uses the basic historical event to postulate something much deeper with political implications in order to give his protagonist some sleuthing to do. And that's a problem, because the resolution strains credulity. But getting there is the usual Decius mix: political observations, too much to drink, hair-raising escapes, and encounters with the historically famous. The Caecilii Metellii were an important family, and many of Decius' relatives played important roles in this period: Metellus Celer, an old-fashioned aristocratic politician; Metellus Creticus, a powerful soldier-statesman and others. Roberts has other famous people in Decius' circle, such as Milo of Ostia. And Decius finally gets a steady girlfriend, Julia Minor, Julius Caesar's niece.For those who have read Lindsay Davis' wonderful Marcus Didius Falco series, which takes place about 100 years later, teh look of this series now becomes familiar. The hero may be an aristocrat unlike Falco, but there's the same private detective context and now he has Caesar's niece no less to aid him much as Helen, the Senator's daughter, aids Falco.What's interesting in this series is the take Roberts gives Decius on these famous men whom Decius knows more or less well. his view of Caesar changes as the books go on, but his personal enmity with Clodius allows us to see the truly seamy side of Roman politics.Except for the over-the-top resolution, which anyone who has read Colleen McCullough's series Masters of Rome will see as not really credible, the book is well written and very entertaining--which is the point, after all.
I liked this better than SPQR, both because of the author (He has cut down considerably on the annoying "future knowlege" in his writing) and because I'm getting more use dto his style (it's got a noir feel to it without becomming totally anachronistic). It's also interesting to read a mystery series set in the late Roman Republic where the protagonist is a member of the ruling class (dealing with patronage - both as client and patron -, the cursus honorum as well as the relationships between the major families). Also, it's refreshing that he (the protagonist) generally doesn't have anachronistic attitudes - he doesn't question the basic tenets of Roman society.
What do You think about SPQR III: The Sacrilege (1999)?
This is the third book in the series. And at this stage they all seem very much the same, particularly the beginnings. I almost didn’t need to read the first third of the book. Oh, well, the story itself lacked the intend suspense; It didn’t help by knowing the history which made the ending obvious. At least with Saylors’ sub rosa series, knowing the history didn’t get in the way of the ending. I haven’t yet been able to get any of Saylors’ endings, while knowing the general history of the times. Still, the book was general well written. And did give me new perspective of some the historical figures that I have encounter in Saylors’ and other similar books of this genre. John was able to develop, Decius, in to an intriguing character. It will be him that will drag me back to read more of the series
—Lance McMurchy
This book indeed was much like the others (as a friend had promised was true of the series): Decius starts looking into a murder and (the semi-spoilers start here) finds out that major figures in Rome are involved and despite that he continues working away on the problem though he's in way over his head (politically).This book was interesting in that Decius never got to make his accusations of guilt. Instead he's run out of Rome by, well, elephants. That was a bit different from the others in th
—Shannon Appelcline
Overall a good book, particularly if you are interested in the history of Rome during the rise of Caesar. However as a mystery it's very disappointing. The murders once again hinge on plots involving real life people. People, even casual readers of Roman History should know about, thus deflating a lot of potential suspense. We KNOW Caius Julius Caesar won't be exiled for his part in any shenanigans because he wasn't...I think Roberts is reaching too high for this plots and I would prefer more of a standard whodunit involving the ordinary people of Rome.
—Kris
