Rating: 
Summary: A Research Masterpiece, Pedestrian Writing
Review: As a life long student of the Roman Republic, I enjoyed the great depth of research McCullough displays. I myself once thought of writing a novel based on L. Cornelius Sulla, but McCollough beat me to it. Her writing style is too often turgid for this to be a great novel, but it is still a good novel.For readers who love ancient history, I must correct an error. McCollough greatly overstates the prestige of the Julii Caesares. Far from being the most august or noble patrician family, they were decidely obscure and declined by the late second century B.C. The gentes maiores were the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, and Valerii. Of these all but the Fabii were politically powerful during the period in question. The Julii Caesares would have been well beneath these families in terms of prestige.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much detail in all the wrong places
Review: I have read the first two books in this series and am presently reading the third. I find that the series has improved with each book. The First Man in Rome I found to be based on an increadibly exciting story, yet somehow Mrs. McCullough managed to make it boring. It seemed that in many instancces she overly described setting and events that were marginally important to the development of the story, while quickly passing over parts of the story that, in my opinion were far more interesting. For example, the times that the characters spend waiting for a battle to occur is often dragged to rediculious lenghts. All this seems to accomplish is a building of suspense that is often wrapped up with 50 000 men dying in less than a paragraph! It may be that I just got used to the writing style, but I have found that the next two books in the series are far more enjoyable than the first. That being said, I think it was definatly worthwhile to have read the first book and gained a background which made the subsequent novel that much more enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Wild Stuff, these Romans
Review: A delightful, gripping account of the first domino to fall leading to the end of the Roman Republic. The plot unfolds perfectly, however one must read through the next novel in the series ["The Grass Crown"] to reach that proverbial last domino. Still, "First Man" sets the stage beautifully, and is a great novel in and of itself -- drama, tragedy, and comedy all wrapped up into a neat package. The indepth, intricate portrayal of the relationship between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (as well as that between Marius and the Senate) is necessary to understand the transformation of Rome from Republic to Empire. Still, the author manages to make it vastly entertaining. The character development is superb, particularly that of the two aforementioned main characters. Notably, McCullough brings forth a particularly fantastic grasp of the most complex character of the times: Sulla. He is decadent, deceptive, ruthlessly selfish and wicked, yet likable and charming. McCullough does a superb job of painting this complex caricature... oh, she had a grasp on him alright... one feels like one knows Sulla, understands him and the fountainhead of how he came to be what he is. This is no mean feat by this talented writer. The book is one of the best (if not the best)researched historical fiction novels I have ever come across... and I have read many. Kudos to Ms. McCullough for this gift, and for all of the novels of the Masters of Rome series. The only way to improve on these brilliant tomes is to write another. I'm waiting patiently.
Rating:
Summary: Tame stuff, these Romans
Review: I seem to have made the mistake of reading a great book that wasn't the first of a series, and now I pay the price of treading back to the very first one, which leaves me disappointed. I first read "Caesar's Women", then backtracked to "First Man In Rome". While the former had me sneaking off every few minutes to catch up on some delightful reading, the latter left me rather moribund. I can only assume the series gets better, but the portrayals of Marius and Sulla could have used a touch more brevity. Sulla, in particular, whether one likes him or not, was one of the great men in history, and yet I didn't feel the author had a grasp on him. Doubtless, the next book in the series will illuminate this despot, but I haven't gotten there yet, so I cannot truthfully give this a big thumbs up. However, the author's research alone is worth the read, as it is quite stupendous. She displays a love of the time period of which she writes, and that's worth a read right there.
Rating:
Summary: Goody, meaty reading
Review: This is definitely a character-driven novel rather than a plot-driven one. I really enjoyed getting inside the heads of the various people who made up the creme de la creme of the Roman Empire. Some of those heads aren't terribly comfortable to be inside of, as in the case of the rather creepy Sulla, but it's all most educational and entertaining all at the same time. I found the political scenes could plod along, but I don't see any way McCullough could possibly get around that. If you're going to write a book about Roman senators, there is going to be a lot of politicking involved. However, the character sketches, Sulla's murderous plotting, and the hurly burly of the battlefield more than make up for the slow bits. I'd like for there to have been more in-depth characterization for the minor female characters. Just when I was starting to really get into that character, the book would switch to another point of view. This was a bit frustrating, and is my only real qualm with the book.
Rating:
Summary: The prequel to I,Claudius
Review: First I have to compliment Colleen McCullough on her research. Truely an outstanding effort and very praiseworthy. Her glossary at the end of the book is excellent and one which I have referred back to more then once for just general information. Having said that I now have to state that the entire series has been going down in quality since the second installment The Grass Crown. With the first two novels it is apparent that Ms. McCullough wrote them more or less simultaneously over a period of several years while doing her very extensive research. I read that she spent over five years researching and writing the first chapters and it shows. The attention to detail is excellent, her characters come to life, they sound and act like Romans. There is nothing modern about her dialouge, plot, or characterization. After a short while I felt like I was reading a prequel to Robert Grave's classic novels about Claudius. The only thing I felt there wasn't enough of was the biting wit that was so prevelant in Graves work. Unfortunly starting with the third installment I saw the old Colleen McCullough coming through. The bestselling author who has written The Thornbirds and Tim. It was obvious that the research was done and the dramatic stage set was built. Now Ms. McCullough is simply filling in with her trademark writing. Instead of a series of Roman novels now we have a soap opera with rather modern characters running around in togas. Instead of intruiging and fleshed out historical personas we have hero worship of Julius Ceaser and two dimensional characters. I made it through the fourth installment and gave up. More tired then disgusted - for what had been rather unusual has now become typical and could just as easily be set in New York City of today. I reccommend the first two novels highly. In my opinion they reach a level higher then the average summertime read, but after that one has mind candy pure and simple. Instead read I, Claudius and Claudius the God and his wife Messalina by Robert Graves if you want truly enertaining fiction set in the Roman Empire. Vale.
Rating:
Summary: ¡Olé!
Review: With this book, I spent long hours outside the real world. The story gets you since the begining; politics, battles, history... All of these ara mixed up in one of the best novels I have ever read. Of course, all the sequels are good too. BRAVO!
Rating:
Summary: solid background, too many characters
Review: Once more McCullough has done here research and provides a fictional account which few historians would moan about. However, her character list is overwhelming at times, sometimes a new character is examined for only a few paragraphs then disappears entirely from the book. This can be very confusing and frustrating to a reader.
Rating:
Summary: Very well done
Review: Obviously if you don't like history, you shouldn't read this book. But if you are like me, and love to learn about history, then this book is a must. Do you want to talk about diving head-long into the Roman society? Do you want to talk about the beginning of the rise of the Caesars? Do you want to talk about all the gods and their influences on the ancient Romans? Then pick up this book and read it! Rome, in all its glory, comes back to life as you flip through the pages. The whole idea behind immersing you into the Roman civilization is astounding; Mrs. McCollough does a FANTASTIC job! I almost gave the book 5 stars, but I held back because it is incredibly long and sometimes overly complex or redundant. But other than that, I absolutely loved it! I am currently reading the next book in the series: The Grass Crown. So far, it is also excellent. Read On!
Rating: 
Summary: Dull, dull, dull!
Review: In her attempt to prove she did her research, she turns what should be a fascinating period in history into a profound snore. I could hardly plod on to the end, and I won't pick up another in this series.
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