But the depiction of political activity and Roman governance is strong. And the idea of taking on the most powerful men in the state for the sake of duty is fairly unbelievable as well. No Roman would have cared so much about the murder of people he didn’t know, certainly not if they were only freedmen and foreigners. The chief anachronisms come from the attitudes people have. The accuracy, as expected of historical murder mysteries, is spotty, although better than most.
It sent people flocking there.” Comments like this are what keep you reading when all else fails. He’s also a great narrator for his witty and cynical remarks: “I’ve suspected him of many things, but never of innocence.” “Moralists loved to rant about decadent Baiae. Decius makes a great viewpoint character. Principled but not pushy, clever but not a showoff, dilettantish but not excessively so. Decius is such a fun character to spend time with. I’m pleased to say that the books are as good as I remember, although this of course was never the best of them. I’ve learned a lot about the ancient world since reading these books and I wondered whether my affection for these books would be reduced by the number of liberties taken. I remembered these books as standouts and was curious how tainted my memory was by nostalgia. I’ve been disappointed with several of the Roman mysteries on offer and found myself looking back fondly on the old SPQR and Falcoseries. All I can say is, SPQR lessens the pain of having to end Roma Sub Rosa :) I kinda panicked while reading the last few pages of the book because I thought it was going to wrap up "flatly," but there was a touching surprise at the end. Titus Annius Milo here was far more likable than in Roma Sub Rosa). It was interesting to take a look at them from another author's perspective (e.g. Many of the characters that I encountered in Saylor's books, such as Caesar, Pompey, and the Clodians, I also encountered here (Roma Sub Rosa and SPQR were both set in the late Roman Republic). I loved the book it painted Ancient Rome vividly and wonderfully. Besides, that would be unfair because they are both wonderful protagonists.
I want to compare Roma Sub Rosa's Gordianus with SPQR's Decius, but this is supposed to be a "review" of The King's Gambit. While the Roma Sub Rosa series can be described as fast-paced (I practically gobbled up every exhilarating book in the series), SPQR allowed you to savor every page-morsel by interesting, well-written morsel. I saw Roberts' SPQR while surfing the Net, bought the first book in the series, and read it after finishing Saylor's A Mist of Prophecies. Because I only had two Roma Sub Rosa books left to read, I was scouting for another series set in Ancient Rome (can't get enough of this genre). I read this book while taking a break from Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series.
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