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The King’s Gambit

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The King’s Gambit

By: John Maddox Roberts
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder - the glory that was Rome.

In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, highborn commander of the local vigiles, was determined to investigate. Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threats, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

©2007 John Maddox Roberts (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Historical Mystery

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All stars
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I didn’t expect much as I don’t know the author and chose it because the reader was John Lee. It turned out quite interesting as it was my first experience of a Roman criminal investigation. I might have a look at the next books of the series.

Started slow but finished with a bang!

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An excellent story. Having listened to Mike Duncan’s podcast The History of Rome it was easy to follow the characters and place them into the overall historical context. I found the narration really good. The matter of fact delivery gave the impression of listening to a detailed report on actual events. This may sound somewhat geeky but I thought it brilliant.

Very enjoyable

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Very enjoyable! John Lee is, as usual, magnificent.

My sole gripe is that the Latin is mispronounced. It could presumably have been easy to get right. A Decius person is very different to a Dekius person.

Mispronounced Roman fun!

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I have listened to the whole series at least 3 times, I love the stories and the characters portrayed!!!!

Brilliant

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I chose this book as I like the narrator John Lee, and was not dissapointed. Indeed, given some of the previous reviews I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the story.

Entertaining

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Its fun, gives you plenty of insight into history, and paints pictures of some of the giants of history.
A bit too detailed for a supposed tale told from memory a lifetime later, but its overall a fun book. As a history buff, its extra fun hearing some of Rome’s giants as mere background characters, or humans doing mundane stuff.

A roman Sherlock Holmes.

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I am very fond of anything set in, or about, ancient Rome, and the SPQR series is none of my favourites, which I first read in paperback several years ago. Seeing this, The King's Gambit, available for free in the Audible Plus programme, I decided to revisit it and how glad I am that I did.
Set in the final decades of the Republic when Julius Caesar was still a young rising star in the political world, the main protagonist of the story is also still young and making his slow climb through Roman society, currently serving as a minor official, the Highbury commander of the local vigiles. When a warehouse burns down and the bodies of a foreign merchant and a recently freed gladiatorial slave are found separately murdered, soon to be followed by that of one of the richest man in Rome, Decius investigates, despite warnings to quietly drop the case.
The novel has a slow start but, once past the initial pages, is so rich in details of p!ace and time, it is completely captivating, and the characters very personable, especially a young rogue, Milo, also aiming for power and fame but this time in the street gangs so prevalent in Rome.

A great read, though possibly the least of the stories to come, and well performed by John Lee, who seems to slip effortlessly into the persona of Decius, telling of the events from his perspective of investigator. I'll continue now with the rest of the series.
Recommended.

"You constantly underestimate these people."

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I love all of these spqr books. Great characters, brings Rome to life and balances plot and action with historical context.

Roman fiction at it’s best

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I have seen these books often over the years but only recently started to read or listen to them.

The underlying plots will be familiar to Roman history buffs but will probably be accessible to any reader. Possibly more accessible to a relative newcomer as the storyline is approached quite obliquely and I struggled sometimes to mesh the storyline with my understanding of real events. The quirks of Roman law and society are well explained where necessary but not in a patronising way - just enough.

The characters are well performed and the narration is good after the first few minutes.

I am still not really clear on the basis of the personal enmity between our hero and Clodius but perhaps that’s just me.

Engaging story and lovely ending.

A good start

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I found this an interesting and educative story. However, it’s undermining by the Vaudevillian narration.

Could have been good

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