{"id":77,"date":"2021-01-17T09:13:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T09:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/?p=77"},"modified":"2025-05-02T21:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:29:31","slug":"kings-gambit-john-maddox-roberts-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/2021\/01\/17\/kings-gambit-john-maddox-roberts-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The King’s Gambit by John Maddox Roberts \u2013 Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the opening volume of what is now a historical crime series spanning more than ten books, Decius, a low-ranking official at the very bottom of the Roman hierarchy, begins investigating the murder of a freed slave. The time: 70 BC<\/strong>, smack in the middle of the Roman Republic\u2019s period of crisis. And guess who Decius runs into right in the very first chapter of The King’s Gambit<\/em>? Bingo, you got it: the equally green and freshly ambitious Gaius Julius Caesar. Later on, of course, more famous faces from the era show up\u2014everyone from Pompey the Great and Cicero to the scoundrel Publius Clodius Pulcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More of a Historical Novel than a Whodunit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, technically speaking, The King’s Gambit<\/em> is a crime novel\u2014it checks off a bunch of the genre\u2019s usual boxes (forensic expert, informant, tough-guy sidekick)\u2014but you still kind of feel like you\u2019re reading historical fiction. The investigation itself is pretty thin, not particularly thrilling or original<\/strong> (there are moments when John Maddox Roberts rather clumsily uses well-known historical facts just to nudge the plot forward\u2014hello, pirates), and most of the time it gets drowned out by long digressions into the political and historical dynamics of the day. Not least because young Decius becomes OBSESSED with the idea that he\u2019s stumbled right into the middle of an anti-state conspiracy. And that everyone is out to get him. Um\u2026 what?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Conspiracy? Oh, Please.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That grand conspiracy claim eventually fizzles out and turns into nothing more than a plain old political scheme.<\/strong> Typical. But Decius doesn\u2019t let go\u2014he keeps digging into the case. No one understands why he\u2019s MAKING SUCH A FUSS over a murdered slave. No one. Not even you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first book in John Maddox Roberts\u2019s SPQR series honestly feels more like the pilot episode of a detective TV show. It\u2019s a bit clunky, a little unsteady, but maybe not terrible<\/em>\u2014and you can\u2019t help but hope the series eventually finds its stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Feels Like You’re Actually in Rome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What definitely works in The King\u2019s Gambit<\/em>\u2019s favor, though, is its setting, which feels completely authentic.<\/strong> For instance, I gave up on the similarly themed Gordianus series<\/a> precisely because it lacked that feeling. It didn\u2019t help that I had just finished reading Colleen McCullough\u2019s epic Masters of Rome<\/a> series, which made Gordianus fall flat by comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, The King\u2019s Gambit<\/em> doesn\u2019t suffer the same fate. In fact, quite the opposite. Almost every other paragraph drops in some piece of information so naturally woven into the text that it helps you better understand the political and civic backdrop of the time<\/strong>\u2014or just makes you feel like you\u2019re right there, tagging along with eager-beaver Decius through the cramped, stone-paved alleyways of ancient Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: 6.9\/10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The King’s Gambit<\/em> (SPQR #1) by John Maddox Roberts
274 pages, Paperback
Published in 1990 by Minotaur Books<\/a>
—
You might also like:
<\/em>The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the opening volume of what is now a historical crime series spanning more than ten books, Decius, a low-ranking official at the very bottom of the Roman hierarchy, begins investigating the murder of a freed slave. The time: 70 BC, smack in the middle of the Roman Republic\u2019s period of crisis. And guess who … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[286,25,90,40,55,199,109,157],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book","tag-antiquity","tag-crime","tag-detective-novel","tag-historical","tag-mystery","tag-political-intrigue","tag-private-investigator","tag-roman-empire"],"yoast_head":"\nThe King's Gambit by John Maddox Roberts \u2013 Book Review - minimal-Critiques<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Decius investigates in ancient Rome. 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