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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Good read.Last 100 pages were exceptionally good. Surely will read it's next part.
I would not go so far as to say that The Gates of Rome is a romp through Roman history, but it does amble through Julius Caesar's early years with style and grace. It is not, as has been pointed out by most of the other reviews, strictly historically accurate. But nowhere on the cover is it described as such. Nor does it doesn't matter. It feels right. The trappings are correct even if some of the details are not.
It has the right mix of action, sex and violence. They are combined into a compelling, swiftly moving narrative that allows little breathing room. And yet there is enough character development to give it heft and elevate it above most 'historical' fiction.
It has the right mix of action, sex and violence. They are combined into a compelling, swiftly moving narrative that allows little breathing room. And yet there is enough character development to give it heft and elevate it above most 'historical' fiction.
The ONLY thing that bothers me about this series is the reference to crops of corn. I might be wrong but I believe that is a crop from North America. Other than that, this was an awesome book.
I had an itch to scratch in reading some Roman historical fiction, plus I always wanted to give Conn Iggulden a try despite mixed reviews. This was about what I expected. Historical mishmashing combined with cliched dialogue and thin characterization. Still, the pacing was good and the setting well described. I have his first Genghis Khan book and this made me want to read it more, even if I wasn’t impressed. Yet when it comes to Rome, I might look elsewhere next time.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book covers a a very meaty subject and probably doesn't use enough pages to do it. The characters were poorly developed and were their relationships. I didn't connect with anyone and couldn't see how any of them actually connected with each other. Too bad because it had great potential.
Promises were made, and now fulfilled :)
Looking forward to the second book.
Looking forward to the second book.
I love this book as much as I did 10 years ago when I got the series for my 18th birthday. So familiar but exciting to read, pure awesome storytelling.
Excellent way to star out a series. The tale of two brothers trope set on fire!
Introduction: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Humour: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Journey: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Introduction:
This is the first book in a four-book-series called the Emperor-Series. The books deal with the life of Gaius Iulius Caesar and are really heavy on the fiction. Don't expect a biography.
The first book "The Gates of Rome" deals with Caesars youth. In the beginning, he and Marcus Brutus grow up together at the estate of Ceasars farther and are being taught in history, rhetoric and the art of fighting and war.
The introduction is great. 5/5
Writing:
Good writing means, that I don't have to stop to look a word up or have to reread a lot because of bad wording. When I read and I have to think about reading the text, I'm not enjoying myself (If that makes any sense).
All in all the writing was good. There were a few times I had to reread a sentence, because I wasn't sure if there was a typo or if I didn't really get what he wanted to say. But that happened only few times.
Writing 4/5
Humour:
Humour is very important to me. Reading without laughing is not really good reading. But it has to fit the story. And Conn Iggulden did it great. There were a few times I had to put the books down a minute, because I was laughing so hard.
I like his humour. 4/5
Characters:
We have a lot of historical characters, which he portrayed really good. Even the fictional characters were great and fit the story.
What I missed was depth. Most of his characters are just shallow. And from beginning to end I thought that Sulla was badly portrayed.
But still, most of the characters were great. 4/5
Journey:
"Journey" means how much I enjoyed reading the book. Did I stop often, because it was just boring or did I rush through it because I loved it so much.
I really loved the book, although it took me two weeks to finish. It is one of the best paced books I ever read and I deeply enjoyed it. 5/5
Ending:
Okay, this is a little hard to do with books of a series. Because there is no real ending at all. What I enjoy in books of a series is, that they have some kind of ending. Something big has to happen at the end and we have to know where the next book is taking us.
The ending of this book surprised me and made me angry at the same time. From beginning to end I thought that Marcus would me Marcus Antonius. I knew that the book was historically inaccurate, so I did not really care. And then there was the reveal, that he is Marcus Brutus, one of Caesars murderers. And that really shocked me, because it is more inaccurate than anything else in the book, but it was a great turn of events. I liked the ending very much! 5/5
So we have an overall-score of 27 points, which equals an average of 4.5. I tend to give 5 points to books which have made it to 4.5, but I will give this book 4, because of the historical inaccuracies. Sometimes they really bugged me.
Looking forward to read the next one!
Writing: 4/5
Humour: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Journey: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Introduction:
This is the first book in a four-book-series called the Emperor-Series. The books deal with the life of Gaius Iulius Caesar and are really heavy on the fiction. Don't expect a biography.
The first book "The Gates of Rome" deals with Caesars youth. In the beginning, he and Marcus Brutus grow up together at the estate of Ceasars farther and are being taught in history, rhetoric and the art of fighting and war.
The introduction is great. 5/5
Writing:
Good writing means, that I don't have to stop to look a word up or have to reread a lot because of bad wording. When I read and I have to think about reading the text, I'm not enjoying myself (If that makes any sense).
All in all the writing was good. There were a few times I had to reread a sentence, because I wasn't sure if there was a typo or if I didn't really get what he wanted to say. But that happened only few times.
Writing 4/5
Humour:
Humour is very important to me. Reading without laughing is not really good reading. But it has to fit the story. And Conn Iggulden did it great. There were a few times I had to put the books down a minute, because I was laughing so hard.
I like his humour. 4/5
Characters:
We have a lot of historical characters, which he portrayed really good. Even the fictional characters were great and fit the story.
What I missed was depth. Most of his characters are just shallow. And from beginning to end I thought that Sulla was badly portrayed.
But still, most of the characters were great. 4/5
Journey:
"Journey" means how much I enjoyed reading the book. Did I stop often, because it was just boring or did I rush through it because I loved it so much.
I really loved the book, although it took me two weeks to finish. It is one of the best paced books I ever read and I deeply enjoyed it. 5/5
Ending:
Okay, this is a little hard to do with books of a series. Because there is no real ending at all. What I enjoy in books of a series is, that they have some kind of ending. Something big has to happen at the end and we have to know where the next book is taking us.
The ending of this book surprised me and made me angry at the same time. From beginning to end I thought that Marcus would me Marcus Antonius. I knew that the book was historically inaccurate, so I did not really care. And then there was the reveal, that he is Marcus Brutus, one of Caesars murderers. And that really shocked me, because it is more inaccurate than anything else in the book, but it was a great turn of events. I liked the ending very much! 5/5
So we have an overall-score of 27 points, which equals an average of 4.5. I tend to give 5 points to books which have made it to 4.5, but I will give this book 4, because of the historical inaccuracies. Sometimes they really bugged me.
Looking forward to read the next one!