Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: This is the first book I have ever read by Colleen McCullough so I was able to open this book with no expectations. The novel was descriptive, precise, and extremely thought provoking. She is a wonderful writer. It was obvious to me (even before I knew anything of the writer) that much investigation had been done in preparation for this book. She entertained me enormously. I have read many reviews here that hint they were not especially pleased with Richard Morgan's last great love, I on the other hand beleive the choice was perfect. I also enjoyed her descriptive narratives about all the little things, such as making Brown Bess, and the art of sharpening saw blades. How can a book really take you back to the time period without giving a person a glimpse or two of the way things actually were? I cannot wait for the sequel to this novel. I have found out that the settlement on Norfolk Island did not last,which makes me wonder what direction she will take for the sequel. I am waiting impatiently for the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Job Colleen, Now Back to Caesar....
Review: First off, I am a big fan of Colleen McCullough. I am desperately waiting for the next novel in the First Man of Rome/Caesar series. Having said that, I was only slightly disappointed that this wasn't the book I had been waiting for. McCullough shows us what life must have been like, for any emigrant from England, in the late 1700's. Her character, Richard Morgan, (a testament to Darwin's theory) along with beautiful descriptive passages of Australia and Norfolk Island, keep us reading. She takes us to a continent most American have never seen and allows us a glimpse. I recommend this book to any McCullough fan, lover of historical fiction, or armchair traveler.
Rating:
Summary: Best book in eons!
Review: Thanks Colleen for leaving Rome and writing this wonderful rich story of the first fleet of convicts to come to to Australia. Rich ,deep background info is built in layers so that the storytelling is so descriptive everything is clear as can be in the readers minds eye.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: Having read most of Ms.McCullough's books, I was looking forward to Morgan's Run. Although the book got off to a slow start and the detailed descriptions made for very slow reading, I was not disappointed. One of the reasons I like reading Colleen McCullough's books is that her reasearch is very thorough. She describes in detail how people performed everyday tasks. Her descriptions of life in the jails and aboard the convict ships show the hardships of the times and what these people really had to endure. Alot of other books, and especially the movies, paint too romantic a picture. You could almost smell the stench of the prison hold. I liked the character of Richard Morgan. And, even though he may be bigger than life and almost too perfect, isn't that what a hero is? Looking forward to the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Really Enjoyed it...
Review: The first Colleen McCullough book I read was "The First Man in Rome" and I absolutely fell in love with it. I read each subsequent "Masters of Rome" book trying to recapture that love but none of them quite hit the spot. Finally, my perseverance has been rewarded. The only reason I gave "Morgan's Run" four stars is that I'm reluctant to give any book five. I love a book that's packed with detail and Ms. McCullough obviously does an exhaustive amount of research. Richard Morgan was just a good person that you couldn't help but cheer on. Perhaps he is a little too enlightened and kind-hearted to be true but it's a novel, why not. I once more eagerly await Ms. McCullough's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: A huge read
Review: This is the first of Colleen McCullough's books that I have read, and having visited Norfolk Island, I was interested in the history as well as the semi-fictional side to the novel. It is so thoroughly researched with so much historical detail, I must admit it is very hard going, and had I not had an interest in Norfolk Island to begin with, I don't know if I could have finished the whole book. However, once the main character starts to build a life for himself on the Island it becomes a far easier read and for me, held more interest.
Colleen McCullough is currently suffering failing eyesight and I sincerely hope she manages to write a sequel to this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Lengthy, tedious, disconnected, poorly written.
Review: I found this book extremely difficult going. The story, while somewhat interesting unfolded excruciating slowly and the writing style did not flow smoothly. Additionally too many extraneous characters with little or no development cropped up incessantly. Frankly I lost all interest in the characters and the story by the middle of the book and I had to force myself to get there. A cardinal rule I've employed in reading books is that I abandon them if they fail to please and by 2/3rds of the way through this book I gave up on it. I only made it that far because of previous efforts which were far better on McCullough's part.
Rating:
Summary: Slow going
Review: I have to admit that I abandoned the book halfway through. Although I was expecting a story about the hardships of settling in the penal colony of Australia, I reached the novel's midpoint and Morgan was still on the convict ship, sailing past the coast of Europe. I grew tired of reading about fouled bilge pumps, shipboard diseases, and the quarrels among the ship's officers.Richard Morgan was a cardboard cutout of a protagonist. His personality radically changed, according the situation at hand, from a quiet tavernkeeper's son to a rum-sotted grieving father to a wise leader of men. Morgan seemed to be no more than a vehicle for the author's detailed treatises on 18th century England and Australia and their history, public health issues, criminal justice system, and shipboard life. If you are a historical novel buff with a preference for the factual over the fictional, then perhaps this novel is for you. It did not appeal to me.
Rating:
Summary: "Richard Morgan Went Through A lot"
Review: This book of Colleen McCullough's takes us on a long journey by one man who endured many a hardship in his life, yet his endurance was very strong. Richard Morgan, son of a Bristol tavern-keeper, devoted husband, and loving father, sober and hardworking craftsman. By the machinations of fate and the vagaries of the 18th century English judicial system, he is consigned as a convict to the famous "First Fleet," which set sail, bearing, as an experiment in penology, 582 male and 193 female felons sentenced to transportation, in May of 1787 for the continent that Captain Cook had discovered only a few years earlier. Richard Morgan was a convict who stood out, not only for his strength and his calm determination to let no man bully him, but also for his intellect, fair-mindedness, common sense, and willingness to help others. To these qualities must be added a certain innate dignity that hinted, even at the most terrible conditions, at a life marked by tragedies that would have broken most men. I enjoyed this book pretty well. Some of the parts tended to drag a little bit, but as a whole, it was a very worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: I was sorry to see it end!
Review: I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars! I loved the characters and the insights into the period's shocking treatment of virtually inocent people. No wonder our American founding fathers included so much protection for accused criminals! Colleen McCullough is a wonderful writer and this epic flows quickly. Don't be put off by it's size - you won't want to put it down!
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