Spqr Xi: Under Vesuvius by John Maddox Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was supposed to read this book two months ago, but a very disappointing discovery (with the Amazon Kindle version) prevented me from doing so. So I had to order the actual "physical" book from Amazon and wait for, argh, months.
As soon as I started reading the first few pages, I realized one thing (and one thing only): Under Vesuvius was worth the wait. Period. Decius (yes the protagonist) is now praetor peregrinus in this book, a position with real power (meaning he now has imperium, or the power to summon and lead armies at will). One of the many things I like about the SPQR series is how the reader learns about the Ancient Roman public career (i.e. the cursus honorum or the path of honor) through the main character. Decius, who belongs to one of Ancient Rome's greatest and most powerful families, started as a very low-ranking official in the series' first book (Decius commanded the night watchmen in the squalid Subura district, looking out for fires and such), then became quaestor (The Catiline Conspiracy,), senator (The Sacrilege,), diplomat (The Temple of the Muses), Caesar's "secretary" (Nobody Loves a Centurion), aedile (The River God's Vengeance), then at last, praetor. I feel as if I am one of Decius' clients, monitoring (and looking after) his career, wishing always the best for this very delightful character.
I won't discuss the merits of Under Vesuvius anymore, because fans of Decius will know what I'm going to write about. But let me just say that I feel very sad, because the next book I'm going to read will be the second to the last in the (existing) series :( Hurry up hurry up with SPQR XIV, Mr. Roberts. Please. After all, XIII is a very unlucky number, innit?
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