SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion

This, I presume, is the final book in Roberts’ SPQR series; it ends more or less with the assassination of Julius Caesar, and this book was published in 2010 and there hasn’t been another one. At the onset Caesar taps Decius to supervise the adoption of his new calendar, which is not at all popular with the rest of the population (since about 2 ½ months are skipped to have January begin shortly after the winter solstice—no Saturnalia that year, for one thing). For one thing, up till then Rome had had a calendar that was proclaimed annually by the priesthood, and this one was based on astronomical work by *foreigners*. (I did note one error—in describing the new calendar to Decius, the head of the committee of astronomers said there would be seven months of 31 days, four of 30, and one of 28, though every fourth year the last would have 29. It’s true that this is the “Julian Calendar” that was used in Europe for the next 1600 years or so, but that’s not the way Julius Caesar set it up. His original setup had six months of 31 days, five of 30 and one of 29, with the last getting a 30th day every fourth year. And he renamed the ancient month of Quinctilis “Julius” for himself. It was his successor Augustus who took another day from February, added it to the ancient month of Sextilis, and renamed it “Augustus” for himself who created the long-lived version: one we still have except for the Gregorian modification that only even-century years divisible by 400 would get the extra day. Anyhow, someone starts murdering the for-eign astronomers, though nobody seems to know the reason. Decius investigates and does solve the case, though he narrowly escapes being another victim himself. A decent conclusion to a pretty good Roman mystery series—not as good as Lindsey Davis or David Wishart, imho, but better than Steven Saylor.

I like the aging Decius--I found the incessant ogling (& schtupping) of frankly rather dull femme fatales earlier in the series alternately boring and annoying. This sadder, wiser, doomier Decius is a more compelling character to me--and the Republic is in its death throes, so the tone is appropriate. Rest assured that he's still a repartee-slinging wiseguy, though. Plus, I enjoy Callista, who pops up a lot in this book. [SLIGHT SPOILER] Her eleventh-hour transformation into an action heroine is a bit of a stretch, but it's fun, so I can roll with it.[MORE SPOILERS, although these events are mentioned in passing, not really as part of the narrative...]That said, I kept wondering if I had somehow missed a book in the series. His family is _dead?_ His father is dead?!? And this happens off-screen? Not to mention Milo! I really liked Milo--he was such a thug, but such a pal. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't mind it when some of Roberts' books, like this one, occur in the interstices of history. After all, that's how most Romans would have experienced their lives. And I could forgive him skipping Decius's marriage to Julia, but the extermination of his entire family--that didn't rate a novel, or at least part of a novel?So here's hoping that he writes an SPQR XIV and gives us a little more back story. Plus, I'm really hoping the series continues into the Augustan reign--I've always hated that guy, but I think Decius (and maybe Roberts too) hates him even better--more precisely, sardonically, and snarkily, which should be fun.

The flaw in this mystery set in ancient Rome is that is that people will want to read it for its historical depiction of the events just prior to the Ides of March, but the actual murder mystery is quite peripheral to the historical setting. In his better books Roberts manages to link the historical events with the murder more intimately.This is the thirteenth novel in this series, I have read them all. I've also read many of the other Roman mystery and non-mystery novels by Robert Harris (very good), Steven Saylor (much less good), Collen McCullough (also very good), Lindsey Davis (a bit lightweight), and David Wishart(quite stinky). Roman historical novels are fun and there are still a number of series I haven't yet read.Saylor apparently is a homosexual. All his books revolve around homosexual themes, characters or events. This gets a little dreary for the heterosexual reader. Harris is quite brilliant and his scholarship is good. I'm just starting Conspirata. All these writers take a shot at the Catiline Conspiracy. McCullogh is original and interesting but she cannot depict a battle. Her strength is in domestic scenes. This is a serious flaw in a history of the late Republic. Davis writes light romances set in Rome. OK but a little predictable. Wishart has a tin ear for dialog. So on balance Roberts is at or near the head of the class in this genre.The only other criticism of Robert's books I would make is that they are not very good value in terms of words per dollar. All his books are short and can be read in one or two sittings. McCullough on the other hand needs at least five hundred pages just to get near to the point of her story.

Caesar is a dictator and he's implementing a lot of changes. One of them is introduction of a new calendar. The honor of introducing this new calendar to the public goes to Decius, who knows that Romans won't like it. However when Caesar commands you have to obey. So while our here tries to explain the benefits of a new calendar to already unhappy citizens the astronomers who developed it are starting to die. Caesar sees it as a personal insult and orders Decius to find the killer.

A magnificent addition to SPQR series, "The Year of Confusion" harks to John Maddox Roberts interests with ancient science and ancient religion. One of the astrolgers who are to set up the new Julian calendar is killed in an unusual way. The puzzle is first rate, the ambientation original. And I just love Hermes and Julia, Decius' indispensable helpers! Only, there's a slight anachronism. Unless he was VERY ahead of his times, the dead Demades wouldn't have argued about the distinction between astrology and astronomy. The boundaries dividing astrologic baloney and astronomic science began to become clear only in the XVIII century, after the works of Galileo and Newton. Such a dispute was very unlikely to have occurred in 46 B.C.!

It is Caesar's last full year as Dictator of Rome and Cleopatra is there with him. In the background there are rumblings of discontent. Caesar is determined to rationalise the eccentric Roman calendar with the aid of imported astronomers and astrologers. It proves an unpopular project and Decius (the pivotal figure of all the SPQR novels) is given the thankless task of ensuring its success. However two of the astronomers are murdered and as more killings follow, Decius needs all his deductive skills to uncover the culprits in a complex web of deceit.I have read all the SPQR novels - which vary from good to excellent - and would class this among the best. My only reservation is that the very large cast of colourful characters can at times become rather confusing: a list of dramatis personae - as in the Lindsay Davis books - would have been a positive asset. Nevertheless an excellent, entertaining and absorbing read.

Each of the SPQR novels contains minor mistakes - mistakes a good editor would and should have caught. Mostly the novels are well researched. It is a good test: if a historian doesn't run away screaming, they cannot be that bad.However, this last novel is flee-ridden with historical errors and - which is even more surprising - inconsistencies with prior novels of the series.The most important mistake: Caesar did NOT shorten a year arbitrarily. The author confuses Caesar with Pope Gregor.First, it would not have made sense astronomically nor mathematically. The author's calculation (3 months less, plus three additional months in the next year) doesn't add up (had Caesar shortened the first year, he would have had to extend the following year by 6 months!). Secondly, contrary to the allegation in the book, Caesar timed the calendar reform to minimise the effect on religious festivities.This mistake also affects even the title of the book. The Romans referred to the year of the reform as the "Last Year of Confusion" - ie as having ended the previous chaos.As mystery, the novel also has some serious shortcomings.

Uma das melhores histórias do Maddox, se não a melhor. Bom enredo, personagens críveis e a boa prosa de sempre.