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: Best Book I've ever read about Rome of the 1st Century BC
Summary: 5 Stars
You'll never learn as much and as easy as you do when you read this book. The main reason why I read McCollough's books in english is that I don't finish them in one day - this way it takes a week. Colleen McCollough describes the circumstances in Rome at this time more detailed than I thought it possible without being boring. Just read the first 50 pages and try to stop !Book Review: Bling
Summary: 5 Stars
As I placed Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome down on the table when I had finished it, I felt anticipation at the thought of reading the second book, Fortune's Favorites. McCullough manages to incorporate the historical events of this Roman era with the typical day to day pastimes of Senators, wives, and slaves. It seems that dozens of plots occur in this rich text that are all intriguing and different, but at the end of the day she is able to tie them all into to one another and the protagonists of the tale. As a student of the Roman arena, I found myself drawn in by the history. Then questioning whether or not these events major events occurred as she so well stated. I even found myself researching the authenticity of the story, relieved to find that my worries were unwarranted and aside from liberties she may have needed to take in conversations among the characters, found that I could enjoy and learn simultaneously from the text that I read. In addition, I have never seen a better portrayal of Gaius Marius. In his character are all the traits of kindness, pragmatics, and genius on the battle field. However, the perfect "right arm" to him in the novel is Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Following the events that history has placed as her guidelines for the story, McCullough has taken what she has been dealt and turned it into straight flush.Book Review: Boring and overly-hyped
Summary: 1 Stars
I was very excited to read this book after reading many of the glowing reviews on this site. I enjoy nothing better than a big, long historical fiction with lots of detail about the time period. Boy, was I disappointed! I will give just about any book a real chance to get going by reading at least half but this book was so boring that I was unable to read even a quarter. It actually put me to sleep! This never happens to me. First problem was the Roman names. Way too many of them are introduced early on and are too similar. Very confusing. I also didn't care for the author's writing style which included long passages of the character's thoughts that would give background and/or show their character or motivation. A good idea when it works but I think it was being overused. Live action and dialogue is generally more captivating to the reader and should be the main device to further the character's development. I could give further examples of the problems with this book, but the main one is the only one that really matters so I will repeat, it is simply BORING.Book Review: Boring!
Summary: 1 Stars
Am I the only person who didn't like this book? I normally love historical books, but this one was incredibly boring. It was a struggle to get through it. That the author did her research is undeniable. The problem is, she seemed to be more concerned with showing off all her research than with writing an interesting story. In a historical novel, this is inexcusable. It read more like a bad textbook than a novel. She did a good job with The Thorn Birds, but this was terrible.Book Review: Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Great book. The depth of McCullough's scholarship and research is profound. The author brings to life a fascinating world of the last generation of the Roman Republic. Fair warning should be given to those with only a "mild" interest in the subject matter, this book is long and you may it very tiresome to trudge through about 150-200 pages of "set up" material and many will become bored or frustrated. I loved this book, I love the series.