John Maddox Roberts Books

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John Maddox Roberts is an American author born in 1947 in Ohio. Before pursuing publishing, the author was in the army. Raised in Texas, the Army wasn’t always in the cards for Roberts. It wasn’t until he was kicked out of college in the 1960s that he enlisted. And he will be the first to admit that the decision did him good, with his enlistment eventually seeing him undertake a tour in Vietnam.

Order of SPQR Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The King's Gambit 1990 Description / Buy
2 The Catiline Conspiracy 1991 Description / Buy
3 The Sacrilege 1992 Description / Buy
4 The Temple of the Muses 1992 Description / Buy
5 Saturnalia 1994 Description / Buy
6 Nobody Loves a Centurion 1995 Description / Buy
7 The Tribune's Curse 1996 Description / Buy
8 The River God's Vengeance 1997 Description / Buy
9 The Princess and the Pirates 2000 Description / Buy
10 A Point of Law 2001 Description / Buy
11 Under Vesuvius 2001 Description / Buy
12 Oracle of the Dead 2005 Description / Buy
13 The Year of Confusion 2010 Description / Buy

Order of Stormlands Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Islander 1990 Description / Buy
2 The Black Shields 1991 Description / Buy
3 The Poisoned Land 1992 Description / Buy
4 The Steel Kings 1993 Description / Buy
5 Queens of Land and Sea 1994 Description / Buy

Order of Adventures of Conan Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Conan the Invincible ( By: Robert Jordan) 1982 Description / Buy
2 Conan The Defender ( By: Robert Jordan) 1982 Description / Buy
3 Conan the Triumphant ( By: Robert Jordan) 1983 Description / Buy
4 Conan the Unconquered ( By: Robert Jordan) 1983 Description / Buy
5 Conan the Victorious ( By: Robert Jordan) 1984 Description / Buy
6 Conan the Magnificent ( By: Robert Jordan) 1984 Description / Buy
7 Conan the Destroyer ( By: Robert Jordan) 1984 Description / Buy
8 Conan the Valorous 1985 Description / Buy
9 The New Adventures of Conan 1985 Description / Buy
10 Conan The Raider ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1986 Description / Buy
11 Conan the Fearless ( By: Steve Perry) 1986 Description / Buy
12 Conan The Renegade ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1986 Description / Buy
13 Conan the Champion 1987 Description / Buy
14 Conan the Defiant ( By: Steve Perry) 1987 Description / Buy
15 Conan, The Marauder 1988 Description / Buy
16 Conan the Warlord ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1988 Description / Buy
17 Conan the Valiant ( By: Roland J. Green) 1988 Description / Buy
18 Conan the Great ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1989 Description / Buy
19 Conan The Hero ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1989 Description / Buy
20 Conan the Bold 1989 Description / Buy
21 Conan the Indomitable ( By: Steve Perry) 1989 Description / Buy
22 Conan The Free Lance ( By: Steve Perry) 1990 Description / Buy
23 Conan the Formidable ( By: Steve Perry) 1990 Description / Buy
24 Conan the Guardian ( By: Roland J. Green) 1991 Description / Buy
25 Conan the Outcast ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1991 Description / Buy
26 Conan the Rogue 1991 Description / Buy
27 Conan the Relentless ( By: Roland J. Green) 1992 Description / Buy
28 Conan The Savage ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1992 Description / Buy
29 Conan and the Treasure of Python 1993 Description / Buy
30 Conan of the Red Brotherhood ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1993 Description / Buy
31 Conan and the Gods of the Mountain ( By: Roland J. Green) 1993 Description / Buy
32 Conan and the Manhunters 1994 Description / Buy
33 Conan The Hunter ( By: Sean A. Moore) 1994 Description / Buy
34 Conan Scourge of Bloody Coast ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1994 Description / Buy
35 Conan at the Demon's Gate ( By: Roland J. Green) 1994 Description / Buy
36 The Conan Chronicles ( By: Robert Jordan) 1995 Description / Buy
37 Conan and the Amazon 1995 Description / Buy
38 Conan The Gladiator ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1995 Description / Buy
39 Conan and the Mists of Doom ( By: Roland J. Green) 1995 Description / Buy
40 Conan and the Emerald Lotus ( By: John C. Hocking) 1995 Description / Buy
41 Conan and the Shaman's Curse ( By: Sean A. Moore) 1996 Description / Buy
42 Conan Lord of the Black River ( By: Leonard Carpenter) 1996 Description / Buy
43 Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza ( By: Roland J. Green) 1997 Description / Buy
44 Conan and the Grim Grey God ( By: Sean A. Moore) 1997 Description / Buy
45 Conan of Venarium ( By: Harry Turtledove) 2003 Description / Buy
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Order of Hannibal's Children Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Hannibal's Children 2002 Description / Buy
2 The Seven Hills 2005 Description / Buy

Order of Gabe Treloar Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Typical American Town 1994 Description / Buy
2 The Ghosts of Saigon 1996 Description / Buy
3 Desperate Highways 1997 Description / Buy

Order of Falconer Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Falcon Strikes 1982 Description / Buy
2 The Black Pope 1982 Description / Buy
3 The Bloody Cross 1982 Description / Buy
4 The King's Treasure 1983 Description / Buy

Order of The Cingulum Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Cingulum 1985 Description / Buy
2 Cloak of Illusion 1985 Description / Buy
3 The Sword, the Jewel and the Mirror 1988 Description / Buy

Order of Act Of God Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Act of God 1985 Description / Buy
2 The Island Worlds 1987 Description / Buy
3 Between the Stars 1988 Description / Buy
4 Delta Pavonis 1990 Description / Buy

Order of Space Angel Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Space Angel 1979 Description / Buy
2 Spacer 1988 Description / Buy

Order of Dragonlance: Classics Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Murder in Tarsis 1996 Description / Buy
2 Dalamar the Dark ( By: Nancy Varian Berberick) 2000 Description / Buy
3 The Citadel ( By: Richard A. Knaak) 2000 Description / Buy
4 The Inheritance ( By: Nancy Varian Berberick) 2001 Description / Buy
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Order of John Maddox Roberts Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Strayed Sheep of Charun 1977 Description / Buy
2 King of the Wood 1983 Description / Buy
3 Cestus Dei 1983 Description / Buy
4 The Enigma Variations 1989 Description / Buy
5 Total Recall 2070: Machine Dreams 1999 Description / Buy
6 Legacy of Prometheus 2000 Description / Buy

John Maddox Roberts Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 Historical Whodunits 1993 Description / Buy
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Roberts, who primarily writes historical fiction wrote and sold his first book in 1975. This was shortly after he left the army. Even though he initially experimented with science fiction, it wasn’t until he wrote The King’s Gambit, his first historical mystery novel, that Roberts garnered fame and began his journey down a path that would see him attain success as a result of works like SPQR, Conan and Dragonlance.

John Maddox Roberts is best known for SPQR, a series of novels told from the perspective of Decius Caecilius Metellus and which explores a series of murders that wracked the Roman Republic during its final days. As a member of the ruling class, Decius has access to the most prominent aspects of Roman society. As a result, he is best placed to investigate the cases of death and murder that begin to permeate his community.

Besides SPQR, Roberts is also responsible for the Gabe Treloar books, a series of detective novels set in contemporary times.

John Maddox Roberts Awards

Even though Roberts hasn’t had the opportunity to garner any accolades of note for his literary efforts, his Edgar Award Nomination for Best Mystery of the Year for the King’s Gambit is a worthwhile achievement.

John Maddox Roberts Books into Movies/TV

There has been talk of turning John Maddox Roberts’ SPQR series into a live action television series. There has been little in the way of movement on the project, though.

Best John Maddox Roberts Books

Even if you have never heard of Roberts, you have most likely encountered his historical mystery novels along the way, especially the SPQR books, with some of the best books from the author including:

The King’s Gambit: The first book in the SPQR series takes readers back to ancient Rome. It is a time of violence, where roving gangs control the streets in a society consumed by the conflict between Crassus and Pompey.

Each new day leaves new corpses on the streets, some lynched, others garroted. The death of an ex-slave and a foreign should have been of little consequence to the powers of Rome.

Yet Decius Caecilius Metellus would stop at nothing to unveil the truth behind the murders, not even in the face of official apathy and threats of violence. Decius would soon discover a web of lies and corruption winding through the breadth of the government.

The First SPQR book is fiction that uses historical figures operating within a historical setting. The book is written from the first-person perspective, which is a little jarring seeing as it is dealing with historical figures as though they were operating in the present.

Even though the book falls within the mystery genre, Roberts provides a lot of background data on Roman history, availing information about roman customs, religions and wars.

The purpose is to give readers an understanding of the historical setting so that they have some context about the clues that Roberts eventually avails.

The plot of the novel is kicked off by a fire at a warehouse that is quickly followed by a series of murders that pique the interest of Decius. Decius’ suspicions are further raised when the case comes his way and he realizes that he is expected to simply stamp it closed. When Decius decides that the case might require additional investigation, he attracts the wrong kind of attention.

The Sacrilege: In the past, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger has used his skills to reveal rot and corruption. When a corrupt patrician in a female disguise infiltrates a Secret Woman’s rite and a set of brutal slayings follow, the young senator choose to leap into the fray once more and avail his investigative skills to Rome.

But this time, the senator isn’t working alone. With the help of a dangerous criminal, Decius follows a trail of clues that reveal a conspiracy within the lowest and highest levels of society.

This book builds upon the lore of the SPQR series as it delves into Roman religion.

When Does The Next John Maddox Roberts book come out?

John Maddox Roberts doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Year of Confusion and was released on February, 16th 2010. It is the newest book in the SPQR Series.

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