The Ides of March

Authors such as Steven Saylor and John Maddox Roberts have successfully woven novels around the events preceding Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 B.C. by employing suspenseful, whodunit plot lines. By contrast, Manfredi (The Last Legion ) simply retells a story familiar to anyone who’s read Shakespeare’s play. Given the universally known outcome, the insertion of a character, centurion Publius Sextius, who races to reach Rome in time to protect his friend, comes across as a misguided effort to create tension. The translation’s anachronistic-sounding colloquial speech (“What kills me is the waiting”) will jar on some ears, while the focus on action rather than character will disappoint others. Those interested in a solid work of fiction that fleshes out the well-known characters would be better served by Thornton Wilder’s far superior book with the same title. (Mar.)