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Summary: Wonderful
Review: The First Man in Rome is one of my all time favorite reads, for several reasons. Being a fan of Tom Clancy, I love detail, which is something that this book does incredibly well. The whole Roman world comes to brilliant, bustling life. Another reason is that the characters are all wonderfully real, which adds greatly to the felling that your reading about real people (which you are). The other things that make this book one of my favorites include: its immense length (for the most part, I hate short books), the very interesting period of history, and the fact that McCullough is a fantastic writer. In short, this is one of the greatest books that I have ever read.
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Summary: Gloria in Excelsis! Historical fiction is back!
Review: There's never been anything quite like Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. Yes, it's long, and not aimed at fools...but it's complete, brilliant and endlessly fascinating. She takes you inside the lives of ordinary and extraordinary Romans, and shows you why they were Masters of the World.
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Summary: A wonderful book, one of the best in the series
Review: I throughly enjoyed "The First Man in Rome". It is a great historical novel with timeless appeal. So far, I have read three novels in the Masters of Rome Series, the other two were "Caesar's Women" and "Caesar: The Novel". Of these three, "The First Man in Rome" is the best.I especially enjoyed the characters in this novel. While "Caesar", for example, was completely devoid of character development, this novel is overflowing with wonderful and well-structured character portraits. I was particularly impressed by Sulla. Instead of portraying him as a wild psychopath that he undoubtedly was, Colleen McCullough turned him into a psychopath with a tender side. Her description of his childhood and especially his relationship with his tutor brought tears to my eyes. Although Sulla is quite despicable in his action, McCullough uncovers a complex person under all the madness. A great achievement! I also appreciated her depiction of Gaius Marius. In history class, I learned that he was extremely lucky but rather unremarkable in his talent. That never sat well with me because I thought that even if he wasn't a genius, he must have been capable enough to secure the number of consulships that he had. McCullough very nicely goes into Gaius Marius' head and examines how and what is driving him. Not all the characters were well-developed. Julia or Julia Major was extremely boring and could have used more complexity because she appears to be such a paragon of virtue that she does not seem human. Jugurtha also suffered because in the book he is too one-dementional. That's too bad since he is quite fascinating. Most other characters are sublime: from Metellus Numidicus (Piggle-wiggle) to Scaurus to Saturninus to Julilla or Julia Minor to Drusus to Aurelia. At first, I was against the idea that McCullough create Julilla but after reading "The First Man in Rome" I realized how well she served the author's purpose. Also, her ordeal is quite heart-breaking. I was a little bit disappointed by Colleen McCullough's depiction of the political scene. Everyone who read Masters of Rome series said that the best political novel in the series is "The First Man in Rome". I disagree. Although McCullough writes wonderfully about political squabbles in Rome, she mostly uses letters and dialogues between characters to relate these events to the readers. Although she is extremely good at letter- and speech-writing, in "Caesar's Women" she actually describes what goes on as it happens. This helps with absorbing the atmosphere and also captivates the readers better. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Roman political history or Ancient history in general. The Masters of Rome series is superb and I hope Colleen McCullough will continue to add on to the series for many years to come.
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Summary: LOVE IT YOU SHOULD TOO!
Review: i really have enjoyed reading this book , the author is very precise in its documention and information with dictonary in the back w/ glosarry for all the latin words, my only complaint is that it takes colleen 2 years between books you should know i have the whole series.outstanding caracters in this book are marius , sulla,julia, julia father, ohhh barbarian invasion.....soooo enjoy a very good read
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Summary: The best historical fiction I have ever read
Review: Nothing prepared me for the complexity, depth and shear sense of reality that Colleen McCullogh's The First Man in Rome provided. I have read a lot of historical fiction and was used to authors routinely ignoring the real nitty gritty of daily life in previous ages in order to get on with their story. McCollogh manages to infuse a lively plot with a significant amount of period lore, domestic detail and even hitorical exposition without ever losing the reader's interest. Her characters and their story - taken straight from history - manage to be both larger than life and believably human at the same time. Among the devices she uses to achieve a kind of verisimilitude are imagined conversations, letters, and maps (drawn by her own hand). Where there are unknowns in the historical record, her inventions are based on careful research and are, if not correct, certainly plausible. I can't praise this book (and the four that follow it in the series) highly enough. Standing in the remains of the original forum in Rome last year, I felt as if I had actually experienced that place before. So much of the story told in these books takes place in the limited confines of the forum and the nearby Palitine and Capitoline hills, and her description of the space was so accurate - even with the passage of two thousand years - that it was easy to imagine how it must have looked then. Anyone who loves historical fiction - that is, real history presented in novel form - owes it to themselves to experience this book. It is both a work of scholarship and a great imaginative achievement written by a master of language. No story totally invented could be half as interesting as this tale of real people that McCollough brings to life in these pages. A great book.
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Summary: One of the best Historical NOvels
Review: I finished THe First Man In Rome in one day I couldn't put it down. I neglected my chores and homework to read All 1,000 pages. I am an avid reader,expecially of historical novels (being my age that's hard to belive)This is definatlly one of my true favorites. My favorite charecter was Sulla. A very flawed man man with a certain brillance. i was sorry to see this book end
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Summary: Amazing epic!
Review: Well, I can't praise it any more than it already has. For me the whole series is an incredible work of art, and I was heartbroken when she stopped at 'Caesar'. (By the way, you can get her 'latest' book: 'The Song of Troy' from Amazon.uk. It's basically the 'Illiad' made easy, but it's a bit short. It was published in 1998, but I have yet to see it in the States.) I have read all the comments and critiques and would like to answer them; 'It's not Graves.' Ok so that is one I can't really argue with. (Apples not oranges? I like both.) 'It's too long.' I wished it would never end. However, the historical fiction I have read that was shorter has usually missed the history bit. 'Too many long names.' Ahm...? 'Not about the common people.' Do I really need to point out the lack of histories we have about the common people? (But, if you enjoy fiction set in Roman times, try 'Lindsey Davis' or 'Steven Saylor'. These are mysteries, by the way, and they make for a short, fun read.) 'I disagree with her.' That's great! We all have our interpretation of history, and for that matter historians disagree a lot. However, this is her interpretation after how much research I could not imagine. On a final note, this series is not for romance seekers. (I have read to much 'historical fiction', which turned out to be just that!) These five books are a fictional representation of historical facts, and if you liked 'I Claudius', then this is for you.
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Summary: Marius ambition saves Rome but dooms Republic government
Review: "Fictionalized" novel based on historical account of Marius, uncle of Julius Caesar. This very "non-Greek" Roman uses marriage to further his ambition of being Consul for seven terms recognizing him as "First Man of Rome." Military strategy, battles, governmental insights particularly fascinating. Highest recommendation.
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Summary: Masterfully Done - Historically Accurate
Review: As a scholar of ancient civilizations, I find so many historical fictions books completely without basis and wholly inaccurate. Having read this book all the way through once (having started and stopped several times due to the myriad of characters to remember) now, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can't wait to read the 2nd installment in The Grass Crown. The portrayals of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla are believable and completely in line with the personalities and other traits as I understand them from my studies. Ms. McCullough has outdone herself yet again. The Thorn Birds can never be unseated, but this book is a close second. The myriad of maps, definitions and other reference materials only added to the enjoyment of the book (if not also the length and weight). Kudos
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Summary: Good, accessible historical novel.
Review: The style is quite straightforward and conversational, and it lacks the depth of Graves (but then doesn't everything?) but this is a good historical novel which conjures up the atmosphere spirit of Late Republican Rome superbly, and that has to be the most important thing. As an aside, I can't agree with McCullough's view of the principal characters though - I've always thought that Sulla was a far more talented and admirable character than Marius, while McCullough depicts him as an untrustworthy degenerate. When studying for a degree in Classics I came to the conclusion that Marius was the perfidious one!
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