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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MaxKaladin" data-source="post: 2496064" data-attributes="member: 1196">A few years back I hooked onto historical mysteries and more historical fiction in general.  My favorites have been the various mystery series set in ancient Rome.  My favorites include:* SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts.  This series revolves around Decius Caecilius Metellus, member of a powerful family in Rome and eventually a Senator (he starts out too young for the office, as I recall).  It is set near the end of the Republic around the time of Julius Caesar and many historical characters (including Caesar himself) pop up from time to time.  Decisu has a knack for solving mysteries and tends to get called on when questions need to be answered.  One of the things I love about the books is the wit of the main character, who does not take himself or Rome too seriously.  Great Books.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR_%28series%29" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR_(series)</a>* Falco series by Lindsey Davis.  This series is about Marcus Didius Falco, a plebian in Vespasian's Rome (70s AD) who is a private detective (yes, the romans had them -- they were called informers.  The first books are written in a very "Sam Spade" "noir" style though not with language that breaks the suspention of disbelief.  Falco is pretty cynical and has a whole cast of regulars ranging from his friend Petronius through his colorful family to the inhabitants of his neighborhood.  Often the side stories about family problems or something are as entertaining as the mysteries.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Didius_Falco" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Didius_Falco</a>* Colleen McCullough wrote her "Masters of Rome" series, which is a big epic series of novels that follows a huge cast of historical characters for most of a century before and immediately after the fall of the Roman Republic.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Rome" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Rome</a>* Harry Turteltaub (pseudonym for Harry Turtledove) has his "Wine Dark Sea" books about the Greek cousins Sostratos and Menedemos set in the 300s BC a decade or so after Alexander's death.  The cousins are merchants from Rhodes and each book covers a years merchant voyage.  They're not action filled books but they're a fascinating look into the ancient greek world -- Turteldove/Turteltaub is a scholar who has extensively researched the period.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.N._Turteltaub" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.N._Turteltaub</a>Just my two coppers.</blockquote>

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