A review by timgarris
The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden

3.0

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!