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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book on Ceasar, it started off a bit slow but then I couldn't put it down. There's a lot of fighting and action and I really enjoyed how the character's were brought to life.
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Enjoyed it as a fiction, although the note at the end about historical inaccuracies albeit honest...don't do justice to the realities
A fictional telling of the coming of age of Gaius Julius Caesar. Despite Conn Iggulden taking liberation with actual history this story is compelling, realistic, engrossing, and impossible to put down. I intended to read this one over several days as a relaxed read after a flurry of finishing other books, however, once I started into this one I simple couldn't put it down.
I enjoy historical fiction and so I’m fine suspending disbelief when authors impute thoughts or feelings to real people for the sake of a story. That’s not what happened in this book, since the author conflated time to bring Marius and Caesar (as an adult) together for the sake of drama. In reality, Caesar was barely a teen when Marius died.
Then there was the odd, mystical Cabera, who has apparent supernatural healing abilities. His unnecessary presence felt cut and paste from a YA fantasy.
And that wasn’t the only jarring YA aspect. The first half of the book consisted of a fictionalized account of Caesar’s childhood, with Marcus Brutus raised as his brother. (In reality, Cato the Younger raised Marcus Brutus.)
Not that you would know they were children by the stilted, bland and adult-like way they spoke, even to each other.
I can’t say I regret the time spent reading this one, but I’m also not in a hurry to continue reading this series.
Then there was the odd, mystical Cabera, who has apparent supernatural healing abilities. His unnecessary presence felt cut and paste from a YA fantasy.
And that wasn’t the only jarring YA aspect. The first half of the book consisted of a fictionalized account of Caesar’s childhood, with Marcus Brutus raised as his brother. (In reality, Cato the Younger raised Marcus Brutus.)
Not that you would know they were children by the stilted, bland and adult-like way they spoke, even to each other.
I can’t say I regret the time spent reading this one, but I’m also not in a hurry to continue reading this series.
This book has a decent and flowing narrative and may be a good read for the casual reader who is not overly interested in factual accounts of Ancient Rome. As a historian with a passion for the time period, I could not overlook the historical inaccuracies in the book. I understand that authors need to take some liberties with the facts in order to fit their story, but Iggulden's account of Caesar, Marius, and Sulla was way off the mark, and greatly diminished the enjoyability of the book. I would recommend Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series over Iggulden's Empire series.
I feel divided about this book. It doesn't really do much wrong. But somehow, it just feels a little too right to me. The writing and pacing is all very formulaic, and just happens to be applied to this historically interesting character and setting. It's -good-, but it's not really unique. But I found it intriguing enough that I'm going to keep on reading, and hope that the series develops more of its own voice as it goes on.
There is one very odd and annoying habit this novel has, though, that must be pointed out. For some odd reason, the author just skips over several major events that he builds towards. Battles, confrontations, romantic relationships... after pages and pages of buildup, either they don't happen for some reason, or they're skipped entirely and the story picks up after they've occurred. It's really weird and broke me out of the flow of the book several times, leaving me to wonder just what this story was actually about. I feel like this should have been a good third longer, at least. The other books in the series are of similar length, so I'm worried that Iggulden did not stretch things out any more in those volumes. I guess I'll see!
There is one very odd and annoying habit this novel has, though, that must be pointed out. For some odd reason, the author just skips over several major events that he builds towards. Battles, confrontations, romantic relationships... after pages and pages of buildup, either they don't happen for some reason, or they're skipped entirely and the story picks up after they've occurred. It's really weird and broke me out of the flow of the book several times, leaving me to wonder just what this story was actually about. I feel like this should have been a good third longer, at least. The other books in the series are of similar length, so I'm worried that Iggulden did not stretch things out any more in those volumes. I guess I'll see!
Really happy with this book - I see many have slammed the story of historical inaccuracies, so I think its fair to read this as fiction based on history, rather than in any way accurate. Nonetheless the story is pretty strong and what I especially liked was the vividness of the prose. There was enough detail to make the story clear, without bogging the world down in the particulars.
Only a couple of beefs with the novel. First it was too obviously the first of a series, the two MCs had barely begun to do anything worthwhile (relying for most of the book on relatives and seniors) before the book ends. Second the prose was occasionally clunky, engaging in head-hopping and at times during combat requiring a reread to reduce confusion.
In the end I really liked how easy it was to grasp the action and story-line of the novel. I was never bored reading the Gates of Rome. The ending was a little cheesy, but kinda good cheese.
Only a couple of beefs with the novel. First it was too obviously the first of a series, the two MCs had barely begun to do anything worthwhile (relying for most of the book on relatives and seniors) before the book ends. Second the prose was occasionally clunky, engaging in head-hopping and at times during combat requiring a reread to reduce confusion.
In the end I really liked how easy it was to grasp the action and story-line of the novel. I was never bored reading the Gates of Rome. The ending was a little cheesy, but kinda good cheese.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good start to this historical epic adventure.