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A review by reunitepangaea
The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
4.0
Introduction: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Humour: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Journey: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Introduction:
This is the first book in a four-book-series called the Emperor-Series. The books deal with the life of Gaius Iulius Caesar and are really heavy on the fiction. Don't expect a biography.
The first book "The Gates of Rome" deals with Caesars youth. In the beginning, he and Marcus Brutus grow up together at the estate of Ceasars farther and are being taught in history, rhetoric and the art of fighting and war.
The introduction is great. 5/5
Writing:
Good writing means, that I don't have to stop to look a word up or have to reread a lot because of bad wording. When I read and I have to think about reading the text, I'm not enjoying myself (If that makes any sense).
All in all the writing was good. There were a few times I had to reread a sentence, because I wasn't sure if there was a typo or if I didn't really get what he wanted to say. But that happened only few times.
Writing 4/5
Humour:
Humour is very important to me. Reading without laughing is not really good reading. But it has to fit the story. And Conn Iggulden did it great. There were a few times I had to put the books down a minute, because I was laughing so hard.
I like his humour. 4/5
Characters:
We have a lot of historical characters, which he portrayed really good. Even the fictional characters were great and fit the story.
What I missed was depth. Most of his characters are just shallow. And from beginning to end I thought that Sulla was badly portrayed.
But still, most of the characters were great. 4/5
Journey:
"Journey" means how much I enjoyed reading the book. Did I stop often, because it was just boring or did I rush through it because I loved it so much.
I really loved the book, although it took me two weeks to finish. It is one of the best paced books I ever read and I deeply enjoyed it. 5/5
Ending:
Okay, this is a little hard to do with books of a series. Because there is no real ending at all. What I enjoy in books of a series is, that they have some kind of ending. Something big has to happen at the end and we have to know where the next book is taking us.
The ending of this book surprised me and made me angry at the same time. From beginning to end I thought that Marcus would me Marcus Antonius. I knew that the book was historically inaccurate, so I did not really care. And then there was the reveal, that he is Marcus Brutus, one of Caesars murderers. And that really shocked me, because it is more inaccurate than anything else in the book, but it was a great turn of events. I liked the ending very much! 5/5
So we have an overall-score of 27 points, which equals an average of 4.5. I tend to give 5 points to books which have made it to 4.5, but I will give this book 4, because of the historical inaccuracies. Sometimes they really bugged me.
Looking forward to read the next one!
Writing: 4/5
Humour: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Journey: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Introduction:
This is the first book in a four-book-series called the Emperor-Series. The books deal with the life of Gaius Iulius Caesar and are really heavy on the fiction. Don't expect a biography.
The first book "The Gates of Rome" deals with Caesars youth. In the beginning, he and Marcus Brutus grow up together at the estate of Ceasars farther and are being taught in history, rhetoric and the art of fighting and war.
The introduction is great. 5/5
Writing:
Good writing means, that I don't have to stop to look a word up or have to reread a lot because of bad wording. When I read and I have to think about reading the text, I'm not enjoying myself (If that makes any sense).
All in all the writing was good. There were a few times I had to reread a sentence, because I wasn't sure if there was a typo or if I didn't really get what he wanted to say. But that happened only few times.
Writing 4/5
Humour:
Humour is very important to me. Reading without laughing is not really good reading. But it has to fit the story. And Conn Iggulden did it great. There were a few times I had to put the books down a minute, because I was laughing so hard.
I like his humour. 4/5
Characters:
We have a lot of historical characters, which he portrayed really good. Even the fictional characters were great and fit the story.
What I missed was depth. Most of his characters are just shallow. And from beginning to end I thought that Sulla was badly portrayed.
But still, most of the characters were great. 4/5
Journey:
"Journey" means how much I enjoyed reading the book. Did I stop often, because it was just boring or did I rush through it because I loved it so much.
I really loved the book, although it took me two weeks to finish. It is one of the best paced books I ever read and I deeply enjoyed it. 5/5
Ending:
Okay, this is a little hard to do with books of a series. Because there is no real ending at all. What I enjoy in books of a series is, that they have some kind of ending. Something big has to happen at the end and we have to know where the next book is taking us.
The ending of this book surprised me and made me angry at the same time. From beginning to end I thought that Marcus would me Marcus Antonius. I knew that the book was historically inaccurate, so I did not really care. And then there was the reveal, that he is Marcus Brutus, one of Caesars murderers. And that really shocked me, because it is more inaccurate than anything else in the book, but it was a great turn of events. I liked the ending very much! 5/5
So we have an overall-score of 27 points, which equals an average of 4.5. I tend to give 5 points to books which have made it to 4.5, but I will give this book 4, because of the historical inaccuracies. Sometimes they really bugged me.
Looking forward to read the next one!