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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Using the lack of information about certain characters of history to write a historic novel made me feel rather uncomfortable.
Interesting take on Julius Ceasar's early life. I found this quite gripping and was quickly engrossed by the story. For a first novel, this one manages to avoid some the new author pitfalls. The twist at the end was interesting, but might be stretching the disbelief a wee bit too much.
Started off slow, but really ramped up. Lots of cool stuff will be interesting to see what happens in the following books. Admittedly I've forgotten a lot about Julius Caesar and Rome.
Den er sådan set fint skrevet og historien er spændende, men handlingen ligger simpelthen for langt fra den sande historie. Ikke at jeg ved så meget om Julius Cæsar, men nogle ting skriver Iggulden selv bagerst i bogen i en historisk note og andre ting finder man bare ud af, fordi man er nysgerrig og googler en person eller begivenhed. Og det er altså ikke små kunstneriske friheder, det er enorme kunstneriske friheder Iggulden tager sig... I en grad så der ikke sættes lid til det historisk korrekte overhoved og man må læse bogen som en ren skønlitterær bog. Det er synd og trækker en stjerne fra.
Historien er ellers spændende og indlevende og i stedet for slavisk at følge rundt i hælene på titelpersonen, flyttes perspektivet jævnligt til personer i hans omgangskreds hvilket er rigtig godt og lidt anderledes end det gængse i genren. Så det er altså synd at Iggulden har været så lemfældig med de historiske facts.
Historien er ellers spændende og indlevende og i stedet for slavisk at følge rundt i hælene på titelpersonen, flyttes perspektivet jævnligt til personer i hans omgangskreds hvilket er rigtig godt og lidt anderledes end det gængse i genren. Så det er altså synd at Iggulden har været så lemfældig med de historiske facts.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was an amazing book in spite of some shortcuts and lack of accuracy, for ones not acquinted with the history of Rome and Julius Ceasar it is a magnificent introduction to the topic. I especially liked the characters in spite of the ever-lasting notion that in real life they were rather dissapointing. But it really shows the greatness of Conn Igguladen and his writing.
Characters:
(Gaius) Julius Ceasar, Marek (Brutus), Julius (father), Gaius Marius (uncle), Cornelius Sulla, Aurelia (mother), Tubruk, Kabera, Reniusz, Cornellia (Cylla's daughter, wife) Aleksandra
Characters:
(Gaius) Julius Ceasar, Marek (Brutus), Julius (father), Gaius Marius (uncle), Cornelius Sulla, Aurelia (mother), Tubruk, Kabera, Reniusz, Cornellia (Cylla's daughter, wife) Aleksandra
What really happened in the course of history might some times be as dry as a desert. So how do you spin a bestseller out of this seemingly infertile set of dates,facts and figures ? From my limited foray into historical fiction what I have seen from most authors is : Historical accuracy be damned, I am going to pen a kickass book ! This is the stance that Conn Iggulden adopts for his retelling of the story of Gaius Julius Caesar.
Caesar's legacy is one that attains mythical status as time flows by. Whatever imperfections or personality quirks the man had is buried under a mount of glorifying portrayals. The life of Caesar as a young boy is quite skectchy in details and Iggulden indulges his artistic freedom to create an image of the man who is equal parts prophesied wonder-boy and debonair playboy who tries to get inside every other woman's trousers.He is yet to develop his fearsome reputation. Two stalwarts of the Roman republic : Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla are reduced to two pitbulls trying to get at each other's throats. There are some other supporting characters who appear nowhere in the real annals of history but serve to heighten the dramatic tension of this plot.
It is a good tale and well written with pace and thrills and maintained at the right levels. Dialog is cliched at places but it is not a dampening factor. If you are a lover of history as it is, then Colleen McColough or Robert Graves would be the authors for you. This however is simply entertainment.
Caesar's legacy is one that attains mythical status as time flows by. Whatever imperfections or personality quirks the man had is buried under a mount of glorifying portrayals. The life of Caesar as a young boy is quite skectchy in details and Iggulden indulges his artistic freedom to create an image of the man who is equal parts prophesied wonder-boy and debonair playboy who tries to get inside every other woman's trousers.He is yet to develop his fearsome reputation. Two stalwarts of the Roman republic : Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla are reduced to two pitbulls trying to get at each other's throats. There are some other supporting characters who appear nowhere in the real annals of history but serve to heighten the dramatic tension of this plot.
It is a good tale and well written with pace and thrills and maintained at the right levels. Dialog is cliched at places but it is not a dampening factor. If you are a lover of history as it is, then Colleen McColough or Robert Graves would be the authors for you. This however is simply entertainment.
Too much emphasis on blood shedding. Characters are flat. But my main problem is the shocking lack of historical accuracy. Of course, historical fiction is a mix of fiction and history. As a writer, one has to walk a tight rope in doing so successfully. Colleen McCullough did an outstanding job with her Men of Rome books. But rewriting history completely just makes The Gates of Rome just a work of fiction. What I find worse, it is disrespectful to people who were once alive and played a role in history. Take for instance the mothers of Gaius and Marcus. In reality, they were two strong ladies, each in their own right. In the book, Aurelia is given to erratic behaviour due to a mysterious illness, and Servilia (Marcus' mother) is depicted as a whore who abandoned her son. How disrespectful can one get! It doesn't matter that these people lived more than 2000 years ago! Respect is a timeless quality! I had bought the whole series, but I stop reading it.
As fiction, it was entertaining enough. As history, it was very poor. Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy is a much better example of how to write historical fiction set in this time period
It has been a long time since I have read a historical fiction novel though I really do enjoy them, especially the increased perspective I gain from the historical setting. I have especially enjoyed some of the series that have a more religious bent. This is however the first time that I have read a book set in Ancient Rome. Though what really peaked my interest in this book (and series) were the historical figures that it followed and the fact that I got the book for free from Good Reads.
The story of this series is very intriguing as it deals with the youth of two young men who grow up as brothers. One is the son of a noble with an estate of his own. The other is the orphaned son of a noble and his mistress who has been adopted into his friends family. The book covers their childhood friendship as they face bullies together and begin their training to enter the military at age 14. After this time the politics of Rome spills over into their lives and they are forced to go their separate ways remaining friends and pledging their support one to the other. This back story of young men who grow into their historical roles of Julius Caesar and Brutus is intriguing just in it's potential. I recall reading the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar in high school and know the end of the story, but what brings them to that point? This should be an engaging series of books that will be very enjoyable.
This first book was a good step in the right direction. The presentation of these two childhood friends and the development of their relationship is really well done. And it is a very real relationship as well. They have their difficulties and they overcome them. They fight over the same girl, there are disparities in their social status and they have different personalities. Through it all they remain close friends. The one downfall of this story is that some times the action of the story pushes the relationship portion from the forefront. Now most of this action is necessary however I wish that the author had been better at maintaining the relationship portion of the story in focus even while the action was occurring. In spite of that, this story is an excellent read.
There were a few things that bothered me about this book. Mostly it was the in depth description of the gore and violence that the characters experience. The author also did not hide the decadence and depredations of this society which I truly did appreciate but some of the experiences were described in a little too much detail. Not as awful as some others that I have read but at some points it was a little much.
I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to finding the next three (already published) in the library.
The story of this series is very intriguing as it deals with the youth of two young men who grow up as brothers. One is the son of a noble with an estate of his own. The other is the orphaned son of a noble and his mistress who has been adopted into his friends family. The book covers their childhood friendship as they face bullies together and begin their training to enter the military at age 14. After this time the politics of Rome spills over into their lives and they are forced to go their separate ways remaining friends and pledging their support one to the other. This back story of young men who grow into their historical roles of Julius Caesar and Brutus is intriguing just in it's potential. I recall reading the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar in high school and know the end of the story, but what brings them to that point? This should be an engaging series of books that will be very enjoyable.
This first book was a good step in the right direction. The presentation of these two childhood friends and the development of their relationship is really well done. And it is a very real relationship as well. They have their difficulties and they overcome them. They fight over the same girl, there are disparities in their social status and they have different personalities. Through it all they remain close friends. The one downfall of this story is that some times the action of the story pushes the relationship portion from the forefront. Now most of this action is necessary however I wish that the author had been better at maintaining the relationship portion of the story in focus even while the action was occurring. In spite of that, this story is an excellent read.
There were a few things that bothered me about this book. Mostly it was the in depth description of the gore and violence that the characters experience. The author also did not hide the decadence and depredations of this society which I truly did appreciate but some of the experiences were described in a little too much detail. Not as awful as some others that I have read but at some points it was a little much.
I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to finding the next three (already published) in the library.