The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The First Man in Rome
Book Review: meaty but not enough blood
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a big book , and even though its a thousand pages ,including the appendix , which is a good reads itself, its not easy to put down.I enjoyed the story of the life of the hero, and all the politics & family , but was a bit disapponted with the brevity of the grand battles - one has 2 pages , start to finish, but not disapponted enough to stop me buying the next one!
Book Review: Masters of Rome
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is the first in the six part series called "The Masters of Rome" and this book starts deals with two of these men. Primarily focusing on Gaius Marius who is a wealthy but ancestrally poor man, which causes him to be slighted by the powerful men of Rome, despite his being the most able military commander of his time. The secondary character of this book is the charismatic Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Sulla is the degenerate but patrician son of an extremely poor family and despite his good name looks to be unable to even enter the senate. The lives of these two men, who are so closely related to the Julius Caesar, are related in this wonderfully descriptive and historically accurate book. Be warned; you will be hooked on these books, but on the bright side your knowledge of Ancient Rome will increase one hundred fold and learning has never been so fun!
Book Review: Unmissable
Summary: 5 Stars
Crammed with historical detail, poltical plots and enormous battle scenes. McCullough's greatest trick is to fill this book (and the rest of the series) with fascinating personalities whose motivations aren't those of twentieth century people, but are still totally believable. This is historical novel writing at its best - as good as Renault, Graves, and Patrick O'Brian.Book Review: 1st
Summary: 5 Stars
To put it simply, I couldn't stop reading. A truly remarkable work of historical fiction based soundly in historical fact. As a fan of this type of literature, I heartily recommend this example. Not a single character appears but is fully rounded and fleshed out; she happily delves back into a particular character's past then effortlessly brings you back to the current plot. The plots themselves are beautifully complex without being complicated. Her true masterstroke (amongst many) is in making each character human. The enemies of the books 'heroes' are not villains - simply differently minded. Even our protagonists are not above selfish or violent deeds. All is so well presented in the social and moral code of the time, without any modern comment, that you begin to forget you're reading a historical work.
Having finished this book, I was delighted to see that there are several more to follow. Until I get my hands on them I'm very happily reading the glossary!
Book Review: Huge scope, huge story, beautifully written, loved it!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are at all the tiniest bit interested in the history of ancient Rome, you must read the Masters of Rome series. Some of the practices of Roman society at that time were, in modern eyes, barbaric, but McCullough presents them in a matter-of-fact way, she does not judge anyone. Even the monstrous Sulla was, at times, likeable and you can't get away from the fact he was a genius. I liked that she did not just present the bare bones of Roman history, but each character comes alive at her hands. You learn why each character behaves as he/she does, and their decisions that will eventually shape the world. You can almost imagine strolling through the Subura, taking in the hustle and bustle of street vendors, touching elbows with Roman citizens from the poorest to the grandest, soaking in the smells and the hot sun, hearing the babble of many different languages. McCullough, who must have spent countless exhausting months researching this, presents her book as if to say: this was Rome - this was how her citizens behaved - these are the laws they formulated, the battles they fought, their hopes and struggles. You may not approve but that was life in 60BC - these people are not for you to judge, but take the time to learn their story and understand how the modern world was shaped.