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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Claudius the God starts where I, Claudius left off, at the scene of the assassination of Caligula. The first four chapters are dedicated to Herod Agrippa, the Jewish king who grew up in Rome. Claudius calls him a 'scoundrel with a golden heart'. He then continues to relate how he managed to clean up the political and financial mess that Caligula left behind and undertook some major works in Rome (two aqueducts that doubled the water supply in the city, the draining of a lake, and the harbour of Ostia). Leading up to the invasion of Britain, Claudius gives us the historical background of the Celtic tribes, the Druids, Stonehenge and the British women with their "fierce tempers".
Beautifully written and totally engrossing, historical fiction does not get much better than this.
Beautifully written and totally engrossing, historical fiction does not get much better than this.
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although at first I had given this a much higher rating but as I have sat on this more and more, my opinion on this book has fallen. While it is a good book; however, I believe it is nowhere close to the quality of the book before it.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting enough that I finished it, but not engrossing like some historical novels. You really end up just feeling sorry for Claudius throughout everything, and he's definitely not much of a heroic figure (not that it was a heroic time in Roman history, by anyone's standards). The "autobiography" feel continues, although this includes a strangely long section recounting the history of King Herod, of biblical fame, since he was a close associate of Claudius. I feel also like a lot of the book is Claudius justifying his actions to his detractors and trying to prove himself to posterity, but since that's actually still pretty "in-character" with it being an "autobiography" I guess it fits.
From a little external reading it seems like the book as a whole is pretty historically accurate, so I felt like I learned a lot, but it wasn't fascinating or gripping like I prefer historical fiction to be.
From a little external reading it seems like the book as a whole is pretty historically accurate, so I felt like I learned a lot, but it wasn't fascinating or gripping like I prefer historical fiction to be.
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Great, now I have to go and read some actual (ie non-fiction) Roman history to find out if I just learned something or if I just read through two books worth of Days or Our Lives, circa 41 AD.
I read [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170385969s/52251.jpg|4232163] and [b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167094189s/18765.jpg|4232388] back to back as I really wanted to follow through to the end of the prophecy with which "I, Claudius" opens. Also, both the style and content of the books was extremely compelling and I really wanted to find out what happened next! The books content shows no sign of their publishing age (1934/1935), I guess because the referenced events are orders of magnitude older and there was no attempt to modernise the story, merely translate (OK, and perhaps add an element of excitement and intrigue).
I listened to these books, the Recorded Books version read by Nelson Runger. The performance was quite well done and I had no problems with it.
I read [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170385969s/52251.jpg|4232163] and [b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167094189s/18765.jpg|4232388] back to back as I really wanted to follow through to the end of the prophecy with which "I, Claudius" opens. Also, both the style and content of the books was extremely compelling and I really wanted to find out what happened next! The books content shows no sign of their publishing age (1934/1935), I guess because the referenced events are orders of magnitude older and there was no attempt to modernise the story, merely translate (OK, and perhaps add an element of excitement and intrigue).
I listened to these books, the Recorded Books version read by Nelson Runger. The performance was quite well done and I had no problems with it.
(Almost) as good as the first one, but more sad. And I missed Livia.
This book and the one before it come at you with such an onslaught of information that it is difficult to stay on top of what's going on; less so in this second book. Just let it wash over you and enjoy the story.
This guy's life was nuts, and so perhaps was he. Graves makes history fairly exciting and a lot more interesting than any textbook I was tortured with at school. Though it has been embellished with artistic license, this story is true and has been well researched by the author who drew from a great deal of source material.
This guy's life was nuts, and so perhaps was he. Graves makes history fairly exciting and a lot more interesting than any textbook I was tortured with at school. Though it has been embellished with artistic license, this story is true and has been well researched by the author who drew from a great deal of source material.