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Summary: A true masterpiece of historical fiction
Review: McCollough writes in the same simplistic style of fellow epic author James Clavell. The novel flows quickly, written with confidence. McCollough knows her subject, and expresses her knowledge through 1,000 fantastic pages.
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Summary: A breathtaking amalgam of James Michener and Edward Gibbon
Review: The label "epic" is often overused in modern literature. Works by authors as disparate as Steven King, L. Ron Hubbard, Michael Shaara, and Tom Clancy have received this lofty praise throughout the course of their esteemed careers. But there is a difference between "epic" and merely "exhaustive," and although each of these wordsmiths have scribed remarkable and praiseworthy volumes, it is the rare writer indeed whose creations truly earn the timeless reverence the word "epic" promises. Colleen McCullough is one such writer.When I first picked up "The First Man in Rome," first in her sweeping saga of ancient Rome, I glanced at the cover and flinched, noticing that McCullough had also authored "The Thorn Birds." "Well, I thought, if it turns out to be too mushy, I can always give it to my wife." I had just finished re-reading James Clavell's "Shogun," and was still in the mood for an historical saga. Less than fifty pages into "First Man," I decided that I would never again underestimate a book by my prejudices against the writer's resume. I won't bother to go into the plot. I will merely say that I have fallen in love, completely and unreservedly, with McCullough's story. I can't tell where her voluminous research ends, and her imagination begins, and frankly, that's half the fun. "The First Man in Rome" encapsulates so completely the magic of the ancient capital, stirs so astonishingly the pulse and the mind, that I simply cannot think of another work of fiction that measures up. It is the very best of historically based fiction, and this high praise comes from a man whose previous favorite novel was "The Killer Angels." Now I may have to revise my list. McCullough has simply redefined the historical novel. This is the very best novel I have read in decades.
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Summary: Captivating, fast-moving, Keeps you going.
Review: So captivating I finished the 1000 page book in my two busy weeks and forgot about the other books I wanted to read. Enjoy the rise of Marius Gauis, the capture of Jurgatha by the despicable Sulla, and the defeat of the mighty Germans. Better still if you can identify yourself with Marius. It makes for the fun.
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Summary: A wonderful tale full of humanity at its best and worst
Review: As an educator, I've learned so much about the day to day lives of the people in first century Rome. These characters and the amazing society in which they lived have come alive for me. I am grateful for Ms. McCollough's seemingly exhaustive research as well as for her first rate storytelling skills.
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Summary: 800 pages of Total Emersion!
Review: If you've spent any time in the Eternal City and are dying to go back--waaaay back, read this book. Use this book as your tool to totally emerse yourself in the last days of the Republic. You'll find yourself falling asleep chanting cognomenis and cursing at fellow commuters in Latin.
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Summary: Great story, well-researched, god-awful sentence constructs.
Review: I was not sure if this would be a good read after Robert Graves' I Claudius series, but I was impressed! This is a very good book--great story, very well researched. I do find myself referring to the glossary a lot, and the sentence construction is horrible. Even so, I recommend this book.
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Summary: Having corrected "Dr." McCullough's Latin, it's now accurate
Review: The two principal characters are Lucius Cornelius Sulla, an impoverished scion of one of Rome's most noble families and Gaius Marius, a *homo novus* (parvenu), whose brilliant generalship transforms the Roman Army, which turns back a huge Germanic host in the great battle at Aix-in-Provance. The rampant greed of the leading Romans is well portrayed by McCullough, who is a very nice lady, residing on Norfolk Island in the So. Pacific.
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Summary: Remember that its fiction.
Review: Highly enjoyable, full of intrigue and petty immoralities. A vivid parade of corruption and political survival. Its easy to put yourself into the period once you get past the unpronouncable names. Obsessively reseached, but like all fiction, sculpted to fit the storyline's widely known conclusion. It humanizes the history text books from college, with more than a few Ah-ha's as to why events occurred the way they did. I have read all the books in this series up to date, and will continue to do so for the sheer pleasure.
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Summary: Best Book I've ever read about Rome of the 1st Century BC
Review: You'll never learn as much and as easy as you do when you read this book. The main reason why I read McCollough's books in english is that I don't finish them in one day - this way it takes a week. Colleen McCollough describes the circumstances in Rome at this time more detailed than I thought it possible without being boring. Just read the first 50 pages and try to stop !
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Summary: Not for everyone...
Review: Those looking for a novel about the lives of average people in ancient Rome will be sorely dissapointed by The First Man in Rome. Those looking for a novel about the "power brokers" of that dynamic scene will be more than satisfied. A good analogy, I suppose, would be to compare the book to one about present-day America focusing on Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton and Jesse Helms. Mrs. McCullough certainly did her homework, the political intrigue is top-notch, the book is well paced and the writing style is excellent. Despite all this I found the book to be somewhat hard to follow (too many names like Marcus Aemelius Scaurus and Quintus Servilius Caepio to keep track of in several different story lines) and a very slow read. In addition, many of the too numerous characters are necessarily sketchily drawn. This is a book worth reading, but one should be aware of the limitations that the subject matter places upon the pure entertainment value of the work.
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