Reviews

The Flames of Rome by Paul L. Maier

csrima's review against another edition

4.0

I was impressed with the meticulous research, and I sensed the author worked to not be heavy-handed in his mentions of Christianity. I think this is an eminently readable work that does a fine job of treating Ancient Rome and her citizens. I greatly appreciated the fact that from the outset the author made clear that there were areas with no verifiable research, so no true knowledge of events, while using the space to move the story along at a believable pace.

eesti23's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The first time I read The Flames of Rome was for a Latin class in high school. I wasn't a fan of the book at the time, probably because it was a class requirement and who likes those when you are a teenager. As an adult I gave the book another go and am really glad that I did. The book is packed full of information, while still having an interesting storyline(s). There are parts of this book that are hard to read, especially the treatment of

Christians

, but the Roman times weren't all about eating grapes from a reclined position.

Note: Reading dates are a total guess.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Torture

Moderate: Animal cruelty

rlbasley's review

5.0

Paul Maier made promises at the beginning of this book on what he was going to deliver and he did not let me, as the reader down. He promised that the real story was better than the fiction and it was! I wish there was more authors like Paul Maier out there. That take as many historical facts of the time they were writing about and crammed them into a book instead of just choosing a time period and loosely (very loosely) basing their books on characters in history without much research. I think we see more of research based books today than we did in the past but Mr. Maier's book was excellent. I'm a not a big fan of Roman history but he really cleared up some areas of cross culture history that I wasn't even aware was puzzling to me until he cleared them up. I wish he would go on to write more books and I definitely intent to read the other one that I know he has out there. He is an excellent writer and I recommend him to everyone.

critter's review against another edition

5.0

The Flames of Rome was assigned reading for my Ancient Roman History class I took this semester. Much like anyone else, I typically hate whichever books or stories that are assigned for a class. However, this one really surprised me in many ways. I actually absolutely loved the narration and the way Maier portrayed the rise and fall of Nero and the events that took place during Nero’s reign.

Maier did an excellent job portraying some of the the worst and darkest actions of humanity. The persecution done by the Ancient Romans of the Christians was told in intense and graphic details. He showed what fear can do to people and the horrendous actions some take because of their fear. Much of the book surrounded the corruption inherit in Rome’s political sphere surrounding Nero’s reign. At the same time, it gave much focus to the spread of Christianity despite the cruelty in which the early Christians were shown by the Romans.

Overall, I felt that Maier created a very plausible and interesting novel that attempted to piece together the history of both Rome under Nero’s reign and the spread of Christianity. It was an intense and sometimes gruesome narrative surrounding Nero’s rise and fall.

morgoagogo's review

adventurous dark informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kandkde's review

4.0

I might have liked this one even better than Pontius Pilate. It picks up where the other one left off - in Rome. And it follows the first records of the early church (carefully documented in the back for interested people like me) and Rome's mindset of what religion was and then Rome's reaction to these strange "jews". Did you know they accused early Christians of atheism? ironic, i think. I also like the edict that was championing public morality while defaming the jews. Nowadays you hear 'morality' and you think 'christian' -- not always synonyms. The Flames of Rome talks about the first martyrs of Rome -- so there is a lot of grisly deaths. Also a lot of suicides.

It also made me glad that we had a democracy, however messed up it is currently. At least we don't have Emperor Nero!