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constantreader471's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
4 stars for an excellent historical fiction book about the young Julius Caesar. This book was first published in Spain. The translation was very well done. The book goes back and forth between variuos time periods in Caesar's early life, showing the influences that shaped him, including his Uncle Marius, a Consul and victorious general, his mother, and his best friend, Titus Labienus.
Caesar takes on Dolabella, who was governor of Macedonia. Caesar agrees to be the lawyer for a group of Macedonians, who accuse Dolabella of raping a teenager, exorbitant taxes for road repair which were siphoned off into Dolabella's pockets and plundering a sacred temple.
But Dolabella is a senator and member of the optimates (elite of Rome). He proceeds to buy off all 52 judges. Earlier time periods explain how Caesar tangles with Sulla, a ruthless dictator and mentor of Dolabella. How Caesar survives multiple attempts to kill him makes for a rousing story.
One quote: "Sulla had bent laws and pressured senators to obtain command against Mithridates. He'd battled his way across Greece and Asia and all the way back across the Italic peninsula. Now, with Rome finally under his control, he dammed well wasn't going to lose it all to a cursed Samnite rebellion. "Victory or death!' he howled at the top of his lungs. Hundreds of men around him answered his cry: "Victory or death! Victory or death! Victory or death!' Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a selfish, social-climbing senator, a shrewd military strategist, a pillager of sacred temples. he was willing to purchase loyalties, break promises, and betray anyone to achieve his aims. He was a miserable corrupt, politician who would stop at nothing to satisfy his persona ambitions But there was one thing that Sulla was not: he was not a coward.."
Thanks to KATHLEEN QUINLAN at Penguin Random House Publishing for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#IAmRome #NetGalley
Caesar takes on Dolabella, who was governor of Macedonia. Caesar agrees to be the lawyer for a group of Macedonians, who accuse Dolabella of raping a teenager, exorbitant taxes for road repair which were siphoned off into Dolabella's pockets and plundering a sacred temple.
But Dolabella is a senator and member of the optimates (elite of Rome). He proceeds to buy off all 52 judges. Earlier time periods explain how Caesar tangles with Sulla, a ruthless dictator and mentor of Dolabella. How Caesar survives multiple attempts to kill him makes for a rousing story.
One quote: "Sulla had bent laws and pressured senators to obtain command against Mithridates. He'd battled his way across Greece and Asia and all the way back across the Italic peninsula. Now, with Rome finally under his control, he dammed well wasn't going to lose it all to a cursed Samnite rebellion. "Victory or death!' he howled at the top of his lungs. Hundreds of men around him answered his cry: "Victory or death! Victory or death! Victory or death!' Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a selfish, social-climbing senator, a shrewd military strategist, a pillager of sacred temples. he was willing to purchase loyalties, break promises, and betray anyone to achieve his aims. He was a miserable corrupt, politician who would stop at nothing to satisfy his persona ambitions But there was one thing that Sulla was not: he was not a coward.."
Thanks to KATHLEEN QUINLAN at Penguin Random House Publishing for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#IAmRome #NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
carmenffr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Murder and War
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Death
caqui_caqui's review against another edition
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
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