A review by sonofthunder
Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar by Tom Holland

3.0

I really wanted to like this book. I've read several of Holland's other books (Persian Fire and Rubicon) and was much enthralled by them. So another historical narrative by Holland? Sign me up! Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous ones I'd read of his, so not really sure if it's just me who's changed, or if this book really is inferior. This book is focused on the house of Caesar - showing the rise to Empire (although it was not acknowledged as such in that time, the Roman Republic was Empire in all but name) and the rise and fall of the numerous emperors of the Caesar dynasty. I did appreciate this book for giving me a better knowledge of that time period - I now am at least a bit more knowledgeable about the emperors of the first century. Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero...some great leadership there(mostly Augustus)....some rule that was mediocre(Tiberius, Claudius) and some downright abysmal and terrifying characters(Caligula, Nero). The knowledge gained, I appreciated. But it may just be the characteristics of these emperors and their surrounding retinues, but...reading this book was a dark experience. These emperors were not nice people. They did lots of crazy, wicked things. Rome itself seemed to be a hive of degeneracy and selfishness and mad grasping for pleasure and power. I think I probably would have appreciated a bit more of the overall history of the empire at the time, but this book (most likely of necessity to keep this book manageable) focuses mostly on the person and family of the various emperors - a pretty tight focus on the city of Rome itself. And focusing on these people and their exploits was a...depressing experience. I think Holland did a good job of gathering facts and presenting the story of the Julio-Claudians, but I noticed in this book his tendency for the hyper-dramatic and his flair for presenting the filthy and the macabre parts of history. Holland seems to want to linger over the tendencies of humanity that I would prefer to spend less time on, and while that is surely his prerogative, I did not enjoy the ride. His prose in this one also seemed a bit more fantastical and purple than I necessarily appreciate in a historical narrative. I probably wouldn't want to read this again, but surely that may be more due to my own preferences than the skill of Holland as a historian and author. Many things that are done in the shadows should surely be dragged into the light, but I did not enjoy wading through this shameful period of history. The Romans are not necessarily known to be nice people, and here it seems the worst of all receive the spotlight. Hail the Julio-Claudians - brutal, selfish, self-indulgent, arrogant and power-hungry. I am grateful not to live during those times.