Saturnalia

SPQR #5

by John Maddox Roberts

Every culture has its wild entertainment, but the Roman Saturnalia is looked upon as the granddaddy of them all.

Roberts's vivid fictional account of the annual event takes place in first century Rome is a historically correct picture of excess, with the city's ordinary life shut down, all rules and most laws inoperative, and even slaves permitted to celebrate without restraint. At the same time, the noted family of Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger have reluctantly summoned the young playboy, banished to the island of Rhodes for his wild ways, to seek his help in solving a crime that touches them directly and dangerously. They need him to use his investigative talents to look into the poison death of a politically powerful relative and the suspicion that it is the man's wife who administered the dose. Decius, convinced she is innocent (of this murder, at any rate) looks further for the killer---a quest that leads him to a secret, banned cult of witchcraft being practiced by highborn Romans of both sexes. With the witches at his heels, Decius plunges into the maelstrom of Rome at the height of Saturnalia, and barely escapes with his life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Crime, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

aka Mark Ramsay

John Maddox Roberts is the author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. The first two books in the series have recently been re-released in trade paperback.

Reviews

[ERIC PECHINOT · Rating 3 out of 5]

The SPQR series is a pleasant way of getting familiar with Ancient Roman lore and civilization. The main character, an amateur sleuth in Maddox's imagination, is an actual figure in the history of the Republic.
Unfortunately Maddox later on loses his footing (or his mind?) and slips down to lunacy when he takes it upon himself to revisit History and make Carthage win war against Rome. I declare!

[Georgina Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Saturnalia , SPQR series hero Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger goes back to Rome to investigate his kinsman's murder. While not as hilarious and as comic as the previous book in the series, I find Saturnalia to be better written and its plot more well-developed. John Maddox Roberts is truly a great storyteller.

Saturnalia has all the elements of an entertaining read: suspense, horror, action, drama (that last bit with Decius shouting at Jupiter in the rain after a fight was thoroughly amusing), the works. Though the ending was a little bit abrupt, it left me wanting for more. Am actually restraining myself from downloading Nobody Loves A Centurion at this very moment!

Good work JMR! Hope you're finished writing the 14th book in the series because at the rate I'm going, I might be able to catch up with you :D

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

Läsning 3: mycket bra bok, som håller för en tredje läsning.

Läsning 2: När jag läser detta så ser jag så många detaljer som skulle ha kunnat vara Maddox sätt att göra det till historisk fantasy. Det är verkligen en strålande, om än inte superkomplex, historia.

Läsning 1: En första klassens antik thriller, med fantastiska överraskningar. Som vanligt lyckas Maddox blanda in Romersk och Italisk religion på ett sätt som både känns levande, intressant och romersk-sekulärt. Upplösningen var tillfredsställande och slutgiltig på ett sätt som inte har varit tidigare. Jag är väldigt imponerad, och ser fram emot nästa volym.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had all of the elements of the previous books in the series, arranged in a harmonious package. Maddox portrays the city of Rome very convincingly. There are long passages where one of the characters explains to the protagonist how some aspect of the ancient world works. Maddox does this deftly, so that the reader is informed, but the exposition does not act as a drag on the plot. There was not a lot of character development, but one would not expect to see that in a long-running series.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decius is called back to Rome from his exile in Rhodes in order to investigate the death of his relative Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer. The family believes he was poisoned by his wife Clodia, the sister of Decius' mortal enemy Clodius. As if that isn't difficult enough, Clodius wants him to prove Clodia didn't do it. Roberts always does a good job of inserting Decius into historical events, especially if there's enough ambiguity to make almost any solution to the mystery seem logical.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the SPQR series.

Decius is called home to a dangerous Rome during the Saturnalia. It seems someone poisoned one of his relatives. The family wants him to find out the man's wife, Clodia did it. Unfortunately, Clodia's brother, the biggest gangster in Rome wants him to find the exact opposite.

Decius searches for clues, gets sucked into the supernatural, even finding ancient witches, before finding the real killer.

Quite good with a lot of humor and tension.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Go on, see if you can guess..."

Great setting (Rome), great time period (that of Julius Caesar), great detective story (murder), great characters, great humour, great fight scenes (but not battles), great visuals, great writing, great narration - do I recommend this book?
Guess.

[Jakub Spilka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moje první knížka ze série.
Ačkoliv jsem se toho bál, smysl pro historické detaily nemusel ustoupit zajímavému ději.
Hrdina je "nedokonalý sympaťák".

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, a very enjoyable story from ancient Rome.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nach seinem Aufenthalt in Alexandria und auf der Insel Rhodos wird Decius Caecilius Metellus endlich wieder zurück ins heimische Rom beordert, allerdings hat diese Rückkehr einen traurigen Anlass: den Tod seines Verwandten Metellus Celer. Jedoch soll Decius nicht nur den Trauerfeierlichkeiten des Familienmitglieds beiwohnen, vielmehr hat der Metellus-Clan aus einem ganz bestimmten Grund auf seine Anwesenheit in Rom bestanden: Decius soll nämlich beweisen, dass Celer keines natürlichen Todes gestorben ist, sondern von seiner Ehefrau Clodia hinterhältig vergiftet wurde.

So muss Decius Caecilius Metellus auch in “Tödliche Saturnalien”, dem fünften Band der beliebten Romanreihe von John Maddox Roberts, wieder einmal als Ermittler auftreten, statt sich voll und ganz den zahlreichen Annehmlichkeiten eines privilegierten Lebens im antiken Rom widmen zu können. Ein Unterfangen, welches auch diesmal nicht wieder ohne Gefahr für sein eigenes leibliches Wohl vonstatten geht, denn standesgemäß ist auch diese Geschichte wieder voll von Intrigen, die auch Decius im schlimmsten Fall das Leben kosten könnten.

Wie der Titel andeutet ist die Handlung diesmal rund um die sogenannten “Saturnalien” eingebettet, einem damaligen Feiertag zu Ehren des Gottes Saturn, welcher natürlich mit ausschweifenden Festlichkeiten und sündhaften Gelagen begangen wurde. Wie man es vom Autor gewohnt ist wird auch diesmal das Leben (und Sterben) im alten Rom sehr detailliert und authentisch beschrieben, wobei die Saturnalien mit ihren Traditionen und Besonderheiten – unter anderem werden hier für einen Tag die Standesunterschiede zwischen Römern und ihren Sklaven aufgehoben bzw. sogar umgekehrt – der Geschichte einen stimmigen Rahmen verleihen. Dabei verzichtet John Maddox Roberts auch nicht auf den üblichen feinen Humor, der vor allem wieder durch seine mit allen Wassern gewaschene Hauptfigur zum Ausdruck kommt.

Atmosphärisch ist “Tödliche Saturnalien” somit wieder eindrucksvoll, wobei die zahlreichen Ausführungen über die gesellschaftlichen und politischen Verstrickungen mit ihren unzähligen Protagonist:innen zuweilen auch etwas ermüden und der Geschichte manchmal den Fluss nehmen – eine bekannte und kaum zu vermeidende Schwäche, wenn man wie der Autor auf Realismus, Glaubwürdigkeit und vor allem auch Verständlichkeit des römischen Systems mit all seinen komplexen Beziehungen legt.

Allerdings plätschert auch der Kriminalfall dabei diesmal meist vor sich hin und ist zum einen selten wirklich spannend, zum anderen auch etwas vorhersehbar. Das liegt auch daran, dass Decius Caecilius Metellus trotz seiner vielen gefährlichen Konfrontationen nahezu unverwundbar scheint und vor allem im Vergleich zu seinen Zeitgenossen brenzlige Situationen meist weitestgehend unbeschadet übersteht. Dennoch handelt es sich hierbei insgesamt um eine wieder unterhaltsame und auf angenehme Weise auch gewohnt lehrreiche Lektüre, die vor allem in Verbindung mit Erich Räukers amüsanter Hörbuchlesung für einige vergnügsame Stunden sorgen kann.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fun, being set during Saturnalia, the one day in the year where the slaves don't have to obey their masters in Rome. Hermes enjoys it far too much, even taking the liberty of calling Decius by his name instead of master, which I found hilarious. The case was good too, specifically since the most likely suspect was way too obvious, making it more of a mystery of who did it. With the exception of a few deviations, the narrative flowed nicely. And I like book 4, the story is able to stand on its own feet without relying too heavily on historical events, unlike the first 3 books, which while still fun to read made it the plot all too predictable for a student of Ancient Roman history.

The Metellii seem to like to hedge their bets, politically, making sure they have an alliance with each of the 3 big men to Rome: Crassus, Pompey, and Caesar. Decius being the link to Caesar with being betrothed to Julia Minor. I enjoyed Decius's interactions with Julia in this one, as they were able to be more free with their affections for one another thanks to the Saturnalia season. Decius still finds her complete unwillingness to see who her uncle Julius Caesar really is despite all the evidence he presents her, amusing and frustrating. I just find it amusing. Though some of the shine in her eyes might have worn off in this one. If just a bit.

Now that the series has hit its stride with book 4 and book 5, I'm looking forward to book 6.

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decius is summoned back to Rome from Rhodes by his father to uncover/prove that his uncle was murdered by his uncle's wife (and sometimes enemy of Decius himself). This is a good old fashioned murder mystery set against the holiday of Saturnalia. It also features some of the usual political intrigue and a bonus of a different/older religion than the usual Roman state religion.

Decius is just as glib as always, and I appreciate Julia (his fiance) being around, as she's a fun character. Also enjoy when Milo is around.

There is some intrigue involving Pompey Magnus and Julius Caesar and that political situation, but I don't think you need to be particularly well versed to follow along, which is nice. Even though I have a pretty strong background in Roman History, I think these books are fairly accessible, but I do think this is not a serious one should jump into at the middle. It will make a lot more sense to follow along in publication order (which also follows internal chronology).

[James Wirrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, Decius is recalled to Rome by his family to investigate the possible murder of a family member and they want him to find the dead man’s wife, the infamous Clodia, guilty. This is a mostly entertaining mystery, but not quite as absorbing as some of the other series in this genre. I found that the story wasn’t always easy to follow - not because it was too complicated but because my mind wandered at times. I found that the first part of the book moved somewhat slowly, and then in the second half things moved very quickly and al ost abruptly. This may have been part of the reason why it was sometimes hard to follow - you come to expect things to unfold rather slowly and then suddenly a bunch of developments happen one after the other. I did enjoy Decius’ banter with Julia, his betrothed. Overall, these are fine mysteries and worth reading, but I like the Gordianus and Medicus series better.

[Thomas W Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

IO SATURNALIA!

John Maddox Roberts strikes again. This time, it's a series of murders during the Roman winter celebration of Saturnalia. Roberts couples the delights of pagan Rome with the penchant of Decius Metellus the Younger to offend his fellow Roman aristocrats as he solves yet another pack of brutal killings

All the usual suspects show up-- Pompey, Crassus, Caesar, Clodious, and his beautiful but sinister sister Clodia. Plus a large cast of colorful supporting characters worthy of Shakespearean comedies.

It's SPQR at its best, during the final days before the Roman Republic became an Empire.

Highly recommend.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have all the books, so I am reading this #5 following #2. Comparing the two, Saturnalia holds together better as a plot than The Catiline Conspiracy. It is easier to track the characters now that we know them, but I think this plot also introduces them better. In addition to hearing more about the interesting Greek doctor Asklepiodes, Decius has picked up a young slave, Hermes, and a finance, Julia, a member of Cesar's family, who is an enthusiastic partner in mystery solving. We get lots of detail about Roman witches and the Saturnalia, the Roman Christmas.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a few slower spots than others in the series, but it was still very good, as Decius is recalled to Rome by his family to investigate a murder of one of his extended family, a crime of which the wife may be guilty.

Witches and forbidden ancient ceremonies help complicate the solving of the crime as Decius, with the help of his fiancé, Caesar’s niece, Julia, and his slave Hermes, uncovers the perpetrator after further killings to cover up the original.

Roman politics, life and ceremonies (like the title) seamlessly integrate into the narrative

[Gerry Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saturnalia is the fifth in John Maddox Roberts S.P.Q.R. Series. In the midst of the topsy turvey festival of Saturnalia Decius Caecilius Metellus must uncover the poisoner of his relative and the network of ancient cults, witchcraft and the political establishment that resorts to murder and street violence to advance its ambitions. Always a cultural treat about Ancient Rome during the time of Caesar, Pompey and Cicero.

[Gregory Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dicius is recalled to Rome to investigate the murder of a prominent family member....And to aid his twoyears greatest enemies, all during the decadent year-end celebrations of Saturnalia. A story of poison, witch-cults, high-level politics and more, this one has it all, including a very dramatic finish in a thunderstorm outside the temple of Jupiter.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually the family of Decius Caecilius Metellus the younger finds his interest in sleuthing unbecoming but, when a family member dies and rumors abound, Decius is recalled to Rome just in time for the year end celebration of Saturnalia. Another fun audio listen with narration by John Lee.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining as usual and you learn more than a couple of things in the process, definitely a very good deal!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looked at poisonings and the opinions on witches and religions in Ancient Rome while solving the crime.

[Ray A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding story, terrific series!

About halfway through the series (6th of 13); so far the author hasn't failed to please. Looking forward to book 7

[Horst Diemert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Series

[Pappy · Rating 3 out of 5]

nicely done

[Mike A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, though this entry in the series seemed to lack the punch of the previous titles, perhaps from the significant similarities in how the plot plays out compared to previous books.

[Peter Kalnin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expansive romp through classical Rome with a cast of characters including Julius Caesar, Cassius, Claudius and Cato. Good stuff.

[Bjørn Håvar Falck-andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decius Caecillius Metellus the Younger grows on me. John Maddox Roberts has me hooked on this series where he combines interesting characters, a history lesson (light) on life in Rome with traditional mystery solving/crime. And it works. After finishing book 5 in this series I'm commited on spending my time and money on the rest of the books in the series.

I'm growing fond of the main character and his attitudes and approach to life. While it's annoying that he always get out of fights due to his fighting skills, I can forgive this heroic presentation of the man as the history is always presented as written by himself at a later time. It's actually a very good balance for a believable hero.

History is not my strongest side, but whether the author gives an accurate description of life in Rome at that time or not is irrelevant for how you will enjoy these books. For me the highlight of the series is exactly this insight to our past and the wonders of Rome.

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decius' Abenteuer machen süchtig. Im Moment finde ich sonst nirgendwo die Verbindung von "prodesse et delctare" (das war nun wirklich das Ende meines Lateins...) so gut gelungen! Über die römischen Saturnalien, die religiösen Bräuche und Rom allgemein erfährt man in diesem Band ganz nebenbei eine Menge. Decius selbst, der die Abenteuer rückblickend im Alter erzählt, verleiht den manchmal etwas burlesken Szenen etwas melancholisches: Man ahnt, dass sein persönliches Glück nicht anhält, weiß (u.U. noch aus dem Geschichtsunterricht), dass sich seine Vision von der römischen Republik freier Bürger nicht erfüllt. Decius könnte als begabter Ermittler, ranghoher Adliger und selbstbewusster Römer leicht unausstehlich werden, wenn nicht seine Selbstironie und sein skeptisch-zynischer Blick auf die Sitten seiner Zeit ein Gegengewicht darstellen würden.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 5 in the series, featuring Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger a well born Roman man with a reputation as an investigator, at the time of late Roman Republic.
This isn't one of my favorites in the series. It's not as much fun & feels darker to me.
The plot is fairly straightforward. Decius' family has recalled him from his most recent exile (he gets exiled at the end of nearly every book as a result of his snooping). They want him to investigate the sudden death of Metellus Celer, who is married to Clodia, sister of Decius' old enemy Clodius. The family wants him to prove Clodia did it, but as he tells them, he doesn't work that way. He'll find out WHO did it, no matter who that turns out to be.
Along the way he becomes involved in a banned witch cult that appears to have ties to poisonings.
Lots of twists & turns & certainly held my interest.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The holiday of Saturnalia took place during the 3rd week of December in the Roman calendar. Gifts were exchanged, families came together for feasting and merrymaking, and homes/businesses were decorated. (Note: This is where the idea for the Christian holiday of Christmas came from).

But regardless of the season, Decius Caecillius Metellus must juggle his home life (he's married to the niece of Julius Caesar...a man he does not trust), his finances (there's never enough money!), his family (will his father ever stop calling him "boy"), and the swirling politics of Rome at the end of the Republic.

Nice tight stories that move the reader along in the plot. Make sure you read these books in order or key events will be confusing!