The First Man in Rome

Rating:
Summary: Rome Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Review: This is the first book in a (so far) 5 book series on ancient Rome. I highly recommend the entire series. As has been mentioned previously, the level of detail (and hence research) is amazing and highly engrossing. I know some folks who have given up on this book because of the detail and sheer number of charachters (for shame Mom). To combat this, McCullough has a great summary in each of the subsequent novels and an interesting glossary, defining Latin and other hard to recognize terms (I wish Patrick O'Brien would do likewise). But this book is really focused on Gaius Marius, a remarkable general and a real man's man. While he had nowhere near the pinache or number of victories as Caesar, he was equally as facinating and deserving of the title of a founder of Rome. His victories were a result of tremendous training, a use of spies that would make Sun Tzu proud, weapons innovations, and inspired leadersip. If you are a fan of Roman history or historical novels in general you must read this book. However, throughout the series McCullough's plot lines involve the women, merchants and slaves of Rome as much as the political and military leaders - the intrigue in the bedroom is equally entertaining. This makes the book a great read for any fan of great fiction.

Rating:
Summary: First book of rome!
Review: Excellent book detailing the rise of Marius and Sulla in the lead up to the birth of Julius Caesar and the fall of the Republic. Terrific character depth brings ancient Rome to life. Sets the scene for the remainder of a mostly well written series on Rome.

Rating:
Summary: Anovel of ancient Rome.....
Review: is a very ambitious endeavor. Not only are the names and customs so diffcult, their is so much going on at all times. It wopuld be very easy for a reader top become very discouraged with the names and varying plotlines, bu this is a book wirth the effort. The historical thread picks up before th rise of Julius Caesar this gives the reader greater background in to the things that shape the life of Caesar and his choices. The reasearch is magnificent and very detailed wiothout being a hindrance to the advancement of the story. Once you get in o the flow of the story, you will forget about the names and things will fall into place. it is a story of how the political machine works in Rome. The connivings of Marius and Sulla become the central theme of the story. A young boy named Julius Caesar begins to make some heads turn. It will captivate you and leave you ready for the next book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Historical Novel Marred Only By Pedestrian Prose
Review: A Roman history professor recently made the bold statement that reading one of Colleen McCullough's historical novels of Rome would provide me with more understanding of Roman history during the period of the Revolution than listening to any fifty of his lectures. I must admit I was surprised, having always associated the author with melodramatic period romances, such as "The Thornbirds." Nonetheless, even discounting for dramatic exaggeration on the part of the professor, there is little doubt that Ms. McCullough has lovingly and lavishly endowed this novel with all the historical accuracy, research and detail that could be demanded of her subject, and should in large part satisfy even the most rigorous of historical readers, bringing the Republic during the crucial period of Marius' consulships to life. Not only are all the major political participants of this period clearly portrayed, but the day to day quality of life is revealed in detail, from the tribal customs of the Cimbri and Tuetones, the impoverishment of the Subura, to the varying struggles of Roman women to establish a viable and meaningful role for themselves within the male-dominated society of Rome. This is a tale as much about personal triumphs and tragedies as it is about the larger stage of military and political intrigue and events, including both the petty and the grandiose, and often poignantly rendered. It is the beginning of an ongoing and evolving epic series that should appeal to a broad audience that should include historians, fans of historical fiction, or even the more literary and historically minded readers of fantasy. For its depiction and recreation of Roman society and history I cannot commend it more highly, and the maps, personally-drawn portraits of some of the characters, and the almost 150 page glossary and guide to pronunciation, with its translation of the cognomenative meaning, is a delight, especially for those of us intrigued with word play and derivation.

However, as other reviewers have accurately noted---"jeffergray," "jaxjin" and "a reader from Marietta"---Ms. McCullough's prose does not always rise to the epic level of her subject, more workman-like than accomplished, often somewhat stilted, and the author's writing here would never by described as stylish or particularly masterful in narrative flow. Further, the reader should be prepared during the first hundred pages of the novel for the necessary establishment of background and events that enervate somewhat the opening pages of the narrative. And, as already pointed out by one of the reviewers above, the repeated use of letters to provide background or description of events quickly becomes a recognizable artifice far from elegant in its use. Nonetheless, the author's prose is written with the requisite craftsmanship and skill to serve and support her story, and I suspect that only the more literary-minded among us will notice the at times stiff or awkward composition, most quickly coming to ignore or overlook her sentence construction compared to the obvious captivation and compelling quality of her story.

Four more novels continue the history begun here---"The Grass Crown," "Fortune's Favorites," "Caesar's Women," and "Caesar"---and suspicion exists that the author will continue the series up to and including the ascension of Octavion and the start of the Principate. If so, "The Masters of Rome" series will provide an outstanding and more historically accurate segue into Robert Graves' "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God," a true masterpiece of historical fiction, far more consummately written if, based as it is upon Suetonius' delightful, titillating but often spurious "Lives of the Twelve Caesars," less factual accounting of the reigns of the Julio-Claudians. Any even with a remote interest in Roman history should be enthralled and delighted.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone I have gotten to read this book read the rest.
Review: I'm a Rome buff already. I read dry boring Rome things and think they're cool. This series, however, is kind of like going from tasty finger sandwhiches to a foot long sub.

I have recommended this book to 7 or 8 friends, who read it and then without hesitation bought every last book in the series and plowed right through them in order. There hasn't been one person I know who read this who DIDN'T do that.

It's a "can't stop" book. No question. So is the entire series. Colleen, I love you for writing these. :) Go back to Rome! Write me more! Please? I can't even IMAGINE what you'd do with Caligula.

But Actually, I'm really much more fascinated by the politics of the Republics. If she would roll time back even further I'd be ecstatic. But that's tangental. The point is, ANYTHING this woman writes about Rome, I'm buying.

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Introduction to Late Republican Rome
Review: It seems almost churlish to even presume to subject Colleen McCullough's work to criticism. After all, she's made enough money to live on an island in the south Pacific, and has enough clout to get a major publishing house to agree to issue a series of thousand-page historical novels on ancient Rome, of all things. You can't look at the maps (which, along with the portraits of key characters, McCullough drew herself) or read through the 130 pages of appendices-glossary appended at the end of "The First Man in Rome" without being swept away by her evident enthusiasm for her subject -- one that must have seemed remarkably non-commercial when she first embarked on it. But she persevered, introducing lord knows how many people for the first time to the intricacies and intrigues of late Roman republican history, while obviously having a ball herself and -- I suspect -- making yet further piles of money. So to even presume to criticize McCullough seems to call for the rejoinder, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich -- and also making a living off your love for history?"

Still, it's interesting to assess McCullough's strengths and weaknesses as a novelist, if only by way of tipping your hat to her for the persistence and skills that have brought her to where she is today in terms of mass readership. Her strengths are not as a stylist, word poet, or painter of verbal pictures (as opposed to those in pen, ink, and wash). At the end of the 900+ pages of "The First Man in Rome," there wasn't a single sentence that stood out in my mind as especially memorable - - which is not something I would typically say after completing one of James Michener's tomes, for example. Also, McCullough doesn't have a particular gift for writing authentic dialogue. I guess every historical novelist has to ask themselves whether they're going to try to write dialogue in the way their historical characters actually spoke, or whether they're going to write in the vernacular of their readers to make it easier to follow. McCullough plainly came down in the latter camp, and there were times when I found the modern colloquial speech put into the mouths of characters like Sulla jarring and false.

McCullough does have two things going for her. The first is a definite knack for creating memorable characters. This book is full of them -- not only the major figures like Marius and Sulla, but there are any number of vivid secondary characters as well. The abundance of memorable figures in this novel is downright Dickensian.

The other big thing that McCullough has going for her is the freshness and intrinsic fascination of her material. Even those history buffs who may know a reasonable amount about Caesar and Pompey often know little about Marius, Sulla and their contemporaries. And this book is crammed full of wonderful stories that, amazingly enough, all reflect historical fact -- the gold of the Volcae Tectosages; the fifteen-year migration of the Teutones and Cimbri; the manueverings of Mauretania's wily King Juba to preserve his power and independence; the appalling Roman defeats in their initial encounters with the migrating Germans; and the remarkable rise from poverty and obscurity to power of Cornelius Sulla.

The flaws I have noted should therefore not detract unduly from McCullough's accomplishment. Read, enjoy, and learn.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent history, awkward writing
Review: I found this book extensively researched. McCullough even explains, in the glossaries and author's note, why she made the conclusions she did (e.g., the otherwise-unknown existance of Julilla). But the prose is thick and sometimes difficult to parse. This is partly due to the pseudo-Latinate style (many subordinate clauses, etc., which aren't as rhetorically pretty in English as they are in Latin) and partly to just a natural awkwardness of language. So, while the characters and story are interesting, especially the attempt to humanize characters like Sulla and Marius and make them heroes, rather than the villains who history books tend to make them, the book is hard to fight through (and not because of its length; the pacing isn't oppressively slow). I would recommend this to people who would like to learn more about Rome, but don't have the patience to poke through translations of ancient literature.

Rating:
Summary: This is the beginning of a beautiful...
Review: relationship that I have with Colleen McCullough's Roman Series. Anyone who loves learning about ancient history, as I do would love this book. This is much more vivid and enthralling than "I Claudius", which takes up where Ms. McCullough's series mostly likely will end. I was facscinated with all of the scheming and warring and battles and everything that goes on in this book. Sulla and Marius are thrilling to read about. We are introduced to Julius Caesar's mother, who is a great character, one of my favorites. This is a wonderful series and I've read all the books so far, can't wait for the next! Read them in order! This one is very heavy on the battles and for those of you that are not so interested in battles scenes it may get tiresome. Also, mastering the various names is tough, but you get used to it. There is a glossary and appendixes and maps to help. Really, I can't say enough, this is THAT GOOD! I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the heaviness of the battles, the next ones are better.

Rating:
Summary: The First Man In Rome
Review: I have read reviews of McCullough's Roman Series which range from the highest praise to a little critical. My rating is extraordinary for the series and extra extraodinary for the first two volumes (The First Man In Rome and The Grass Crown). Is anyone not hoping for another installment? Mrs. Augustus, who was dealt with a little in the McCullough's last Roman Series volume, may have been the most influential woman in history. Her creature, Tiberius, stood at the apex of Rome's power, but was the harbinger of Rome's nadir. There is plenty of stuff there for another volume of a great historical fiction series..

r

Rating:
Summary: Historical Fiction At Its Best
Review: Ancient history buffs have a gift from the gods in the fiction of Colleen McCullough. Drawing on the encyclopedic knowledge of a scholar and the art of a master storyteller, Ms. McCullough constructs sweeping narratives that bring ancient Rome alive. The First Man in Rome is the first in her series of historical novels chronicling the waning years of the Republic. The central character here is Marius, the powerful general and political leader whose skill and ruthless charisma foreshadowed the rise of Julius Caesar, his own nephew-by-marriage. While Caesar was endowed with the patrician blood Marius lacked, both men were driven by a cold contempt for the fecklessness of the Roman ruling class and the antiquated customs of the Republican government which threatened to derail Rome's rise to power. Collaborating with his brilliant but unscrupulous young protegee, Sulla, Marius executes a series of flawless military campaigns that establish the power base that enables him to achieve political mastery over Rome. With a eye on Rome's future, Marius moves to distribute land and a degree of power to the lower classes, who he sees as providing the social infrastructure necessary for imperial expansion. He sweeps aside the opposition form jealous aristocrats whom he considers too narrow-minded and foolish to recognize what's in their own self-interest. His autocratic style, emulated later by Sulla and Caesar, furthers the erosion of doomed Republican system which was finally to give way 70 years later with the rise of Augustus and the birth of the Imperial government. The vividness of Ms. McCullough's writing is such that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that this is historical fiction we're reading, not history. While most of her characters are historical figures and while she's faithful to historical facts as they've come down to us, the reality is that this provides nothing much more than the bare bones of a plot, and most of this novel is sheer invention. Nonetheless, Ms. McCullough's detailed knowledge of the customs, social mores, politics, military practice and administrative apparatus of ancient Rome allows her to weave a wondrous mosaic that is brings us probably about as close as it's possible to come 21 centuries later to what it must have felt like to live there. The book requires some concentration because of the profusion of Roman names - many of which sound alike - and terminology, a problem which the author tries to alleviate by providing a detailed glossary at the end. This novel is well worth the effort, however, and I highly recommend it.