Review: SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion

SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion by John Roberts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The best in the series. So far :)

I've long wanted to find out how the Roman Empire became, well, an empire. This book is a perfect peek into the Roman legion—the well-known secret (pardon the oxymoron) behind Rome's rise to historical glory. Pair that with J.M. Roberts' enviable writing (a perfect blend of wit, philosophy and drollery), and you've got a solid winner in Nobody Loves a Centurion.

I know that I have been gushing nonstop about the books in JMR's SPQR. But if you are at least curious about Ancient Rome and you want to be thoroughly entertained, I strongly suggest that you give this series a try. This book can even be read as a standalone; no wonder that some fans of this series got hooked on SPQR after reading Nobody Loves a Centurion first.

My favorite lines in Nobody Loves a Centurion:
1) "Blame it all on Alexander the Great. Ever since that little Macedonian twit decided that he had to conquer the whole world before he was old enough to shave, every fool with a sword and a decent pair of boots has sought to do the same." —Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger
2) "No man can undo history. We must seize the moment and bend the present to our will." —Caius Julius Caesar
3) "Decius, here in Gaul we are playing the highest-stakes game in the world. When you set a game in motion, you must see it through, however the dice fall." —Caius Julius Caesar

I know that I've been giving JMR four stars (from The King's Gambit to Saturnalia). It's about time to give him five.





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Review: Saturnalia

Saturnalia by John Maddox Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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



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Review: The Ersatz Elevator

The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Favorite word definition: "Ersatz" is a word that describes a situation in which one thing is pretending to be another, the way the secret passageway the Baudelaires were looking at had been pretending to be an elevator, but the word might as well have meant "the most terrifying place the Baudelaires had ever seen."



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Review: The Temple of the Muses

The Temple of the Muses by John Maddox Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



There's a great deal of running in this book, with Decius Metellus escaping from quite a number of enemies. The setting of the story was in Ancient Egypt's Alexandria, made even more exotic by the author's vivid descriptions.

The plot was okay; I liked the story's details (e.g. description of Alexandria, the dialogues, the characters esp. the Metellii) better. However, there were many many parts which I found exceedingly funny. Decius is turning out to be quite the comic.

The Kindle format of this book, however, was as imperfect as an adolescent's pimply face--there were so many typos. Hope the subsequent books in the series will have better e-book versions.



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Review: The Sacrilege

The Sacrilege by John Maddox Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger's (what a mouthful) character is getting better and better with each installment of SPQR. I like his verbal sparrings with his insolent slave, Hermes. Very very funny. And I love the way the book makes you feel--like Ancient Rome is your neighborhood (J.M. Roberts' descriptions of Roman life are delightfully vivid).

However, some of the characters seem to be one-dimensional: Publius Clodius Pulcher, for example (and his sister, Clodia). Clodius was (simply) portrayed as a mean, bullheaded (bordering on the stupid), ugly thug, and Clodia a sinister slut. Maybe it's just written from the point of view of Decius, who considers these two his mortal enemies. And so I conclude early on in this series that SPQR is more fiction than history (or a variant/interpretation of it; as opposed to S. Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series).

But those who love Ancient Rome as much as I do will surely have fun reading this. Pretty darn good fun.



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Review: The Austere Academy

The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Favorite word definition: The waning light of the sunset--the word "waning" here means "dim, and making everything look extra-creepy"--made the shadow of the coach's turban look like a huge, deep hole.



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Review: The Miserable Mill

The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Favorite insight: It is much, much worse to receive bad news through the written word than by somebody simply telling you, and I'm sure you understand why. When somebody simply tells you bad news, you hear it once, and that's the end of it. But when bad news is written down, whether in a letter or a newspaper or on your arm in felt tip pen, each time you read it, you feel as if you are receiving the news again and again.



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Review: The Wide Window

The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Reviewer's Note: I will be making a general review at the end of this series, so as not to make the same comments about each installment over and over. Each "mini-review" will just contain my favorite insights, quotes or definitions. Or maybe a comment that couldn't wait for the overall wrap-up/review when I finish Book 13.

Favorite insight: "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were a very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it might be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it."



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Review: The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A children's book without the frou-frou. Saw the film first (a mish-mash of the first three books) and I enjoyed it thoroughly. While Jim Carrey as Count Olaf (and his alters) was criticized for his very comic turn in the film (vs. the serious and "scary" Count Olaf in the L. Snicket series), I enjoyed it nevertheless. And I'm happy to say that I was very entertained by The Bad Beginning as well.

Snicket's (yes we know it's Daniel Handler) grim narration of the Baudelaire children's travails, his long and darkly lyrical sentences, and his on-the-spot definition of mouthful-ly words are, ironically, a joy to read. Despite the book's sinister way of telling the Baudelaire story, I still find myself more scared of the Grimm Brothers' "fairy tales." Somehow, regardless of Snicket's repeated warnings that there will be no happy ending for the Baudelaires, you still see a ray of light every once in a page (and you feel in your gut that there will be something nice for them eventually).

L. Snicket says this is The Bad Beginning of the Unfortunate Events series. I think it's The Formidable First. Bring on the second one.



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Review: SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy

SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy by John Maddox Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this second installment of J.M. Roberts' SPQR series. Though I was familiar with Catilina's character (the bearded suspects were no suspense for me anymore), there were a lot of very good parts in the novel; I had a good fill of history, witticisms, useful Latin adages, and plain clever humor (that made me laugh out loud a number of times).

The Catiline Conspiracy makes me look forward to the third book in this series, which is a great thing. It only means more of Ancient Rome for me.



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Review: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is an insight from The Perks of Being a Wallflower that I will paraphrase to describe what I thought of M. Pollan and M. Kalman's Food Rules: You know that something's very good when you are changed after reading it.



I can't say that it was only after reading this book that my entire outlook on food and health changed. Before this, there was D. Buettner's Blue Zones--an equally eye-opening achievement. As Blue Zones was thorough, Food Rules was concise. And I love (and was changed by) them both. However, Pollan's book came with a lovely lovely bonus--Maira Kalman's breathtaking, happiness-inducing paintings. It was like a yummy icing on a cake (which, according to Pollan's Rule No. 45, should be homemade, and Rule No. 79, should be eaten only on special occasions).



My only qualm was the lack of a bibliography or references page (so that I would know that the studies and the research quoted in the book were actually based on actual data). Yup, there was a smattering of footnotes, but I guess I was hoping that the author's assertions would be backed up by evidence (ah, the journalist/social scientist haha in me). But I will not deprive it of five stars just because of this.



And, then again, maybe the book was meant to be that way: to be as simple and as bite-sized as possible--so that readers would easily digest the book's interesting collection of info/truths/rules. And Pollan's easily understandable/applicable rules worked pleasantly well with Kalman's art: like a slice of chocolate cake and coffee (which, thanks to Rule No. 51, I now know I could enjoy in moderation as long as it comes from a plant and not a factory).







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Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Lovely, poignant book. Breezed through it (easy read), but took time to reflect on the protagonist's many reflections/quotable quotes (great thing). There were many lessons learned, and situations I could actually relate to. Themes of friendship, family, bullying, homosexuality, sex, gender, child abuse, relationships were explored.

I had struggled throughout The Perks of Being a Wallflower whether to give it four or five stars. I eventually settled for four, because I feel that I have encountered the book's format and heard the main character's voice before (They say The Catcher in the Rye, but I don't know. Maybe a cross between Catcher and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time?).

Other than that, this book is a must-read. And if you love 80s/90s music (The Smiths, etc.), then you would really appreciate it more. The Smiths' "Asleep" must have been mentioned three hundred times in Perks.



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