The Grass Crown

Rating:
Summary: A Crowning Achievment
Review: I had previously said that The First Man in Rome is the best in McCullough's Masters of Rome series, but I may have to retract that. The Grass Crown, second in the series, stands up to repeat readings better than The First Man in Rome does, and contains some truly wonderful conceits that bring the fall of the Roman Republic to life in a way no other writer has done.

The Grass Crown takes us from shortly after the end of the German wars to the death of Gaius Marius, a period of about twelve years. We see Marius' descent into madness (and repeat readings show that Marius' fall is, in fact, very well plotted), and Sulla's rise to power and cold-blooded tyranny. We also meet the "next generation" - Cicero, Cato, Pompey, and Julius Caesar himself, who is too prodigious to be accepted. Cicero and Pompey, however, are fully fleshed out youths; McCullough's Cicero (here and in succeeding books) is extremely convincing. The hero of The Grass Crown, however, and the most compelling character, is Marcus Livius Drusus (Cato's uncle and great-uncle of Brutus), who evolved nicely from the stuck-up arrogant snob we met at the beginning of The First Man in Rome. His efforts to prevent the Social War are moving and well-depicted.

As for McCullough's conceits, the best is the idea that Marius made Caesar flamen dialis, a priest, to *punish* him, to prevent Caesar from eclipsing him. Most historians cite Caesar's flaminate as a mark of honor and prestige; McCullough skilfully turns that notion on its head.

The Grass Crown is not, alas, perfect. It suffers from McCullough's often clunky prose, for one thing. For another, the whole series desperately needs a character guide to help the reader keep track of who is whom, and who is to become the parent or relative of which famous Roman. The huge cast of characters may be daunting for those with no knowledge of Roman history, but for the rest of us The Grass Crown is very much worth multiple reads.

Rating:
Summary: Great read, but characters too often flat
Review: I have really been enjoying this series. This volume deals with the making of Sulla during the Social Wars, but also extends to the foreign lands and intriques of King Mithridates of Pontus, who at this point is only beginning to be the thorn in the side of Rome he would become later. The settings are majestic and the cast is vast and august, but at the same time on a human scale. Family squaubles and political machinations receive equal treatment with wars, which I appreciate.

If I have any complaint, it is that characterizations are too simplistic. If a character is unsympathetic, he will be totally so. No redeeming characteristics whatsoever and as a result many of the peripheral patrician characters are totally interchangeable. Characters are generally noble, brilliant, and open minded OR Arrogant, greedy, self-serving, cruel, and stupid. Sulla and Livius Drusus are basically the sole exceptions to this, and as a result they are the most interesting characters here. Sulla is not the main character, however, this is an ensemble. Yet many reviewers here characterize him as such due to the fact that he alone is unpredictable and....interesting! But the events, settings, and intrigues went a long way toward overcoing the flaws in character development for me.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Series Continues With Worthy Second Novel
Review: It's difficult to categorize "The Grass Crown" as a sequel to Colleen McCullough's first novel of ancient Rome, "The First Man in Rome." It's more of a continuation of an epic, which is the collapse of the Roman Republic, due in no small part by the great weight of the titans striding across Italia in those days.

Where "The First Man in Rome" left off with Gaius Marius ascendant, thanks in large part due to the savage cunning and brilliant audacity of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, his right-hand man, "The Grass Crown" starts with these two friends growing apart. Their closest friend, Publius Rutilius Rufus, whose letters offer some of the most entertaining passages in the first two books, notes the growing rift between the two even at a pleasant dinner party. This gap is a sad foreshadowing of the chasm that will soon develop between these two.

Neither Marius nor Sulla is equipped to be second best at anything, and even though they share many traits, these two are too different to remain friends for long. Marius, even though he has suffered a stroke, remains convinced that he is the best general in Rome and is just insecure enough to need to prove it. Sulla, chafing at Marius's position as the First Man in Rome, is desperate to prove his place and to restore the patrician class (which Marius has undermined with his New Man successes and radical ideas).

Tragedy ensues as Sulla loses his beloved son and Marius suffers an even more debilitating stroke -- although this does bring the young prodigy Julius Caesar to Marius's side as an aide. Marius's insecurity becomes palpable when he grows resentful of the staggering potential demonstrated by Young Caesar.

Marcus Drusus, another hold-over from "The First Man in Rome," gets caught up advocating for the Roman citizenship for all Italians . . . this sounds odd to folks who aren't familiar with Roman history, but "Italy" as we now understand it is a modern invention. By advocating the extension of citizenship to all Italians, Drusus creates a firestorm among the Roman political class (the Romans were a remarkably arrogant people, and looked down with disdain even on those Italians who fought side-by-side with them against the dreaded Germans). This conflict drives much of the book, and its fall-out creates the military conflict that drives the book to its conclusion.

Both Marius and Sulla get involved in the Roman military campaign against the Italians, and Sulla manages to win the coveted Grass Crown, one of the highest awards in the Roman world. But still, Sulla feels eclipsed by Marius, and soon these two giants are at war. Sulla, violating centuries of precedent, leads his armies against Rome, and the bloody fall-out of Roman fighting Roman is almost too much to bear.

Through it all, McCullough writes with her usual straightforward brilliance. Rather than dazzle the reader with literary flourishes, McCullough paints an exhilirating world through precise descriptions and vivid characterizations. Her grasp of the scope of the Roman world is staggering, and her glossary and maps are invaluable.

Fortunately, McCullough pays as much attention to the female world of Rome as the male -- we get a fully realized Rome that reveals the political clout of the Roman woman even in a world that officially denied her so much power.

All in all, a heck of a read. However, this book really must be read after "The First Man in Rome," or you'll miss too much of the back story.

Rating:
Summary: Pros and Cons
Review: It's difficult to categorize "The Grass Crown" as a sequel to Colleen McCullough's first novel of ancient Rome, "The First Man in Rome." It's more of a continuation of an epic, which is the collapse of the Roman Republic, due in no small part by the great weight of the titans striding across Italia in those days.

Where "The First Man in Rome" left off with Gaius Marius ascendant, thanks in large part due to the savage cunning and brilliant audacity of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, his right-hand man, "The Grass Crown" starts with these two friends growing apart. Their closest friend, Publius Rutilius Rufus, whose letters offer some of the most entertaining passages in the first two books, notes the growing rift between the two even at a pleasant dinner party. This gap is a sad foreshadowing of the chasm that will soon develop between these two.

Neither Marius nor Sulla is equipped to be second best at anything, and even though they share many traits, these two are too different to remain friends for long. Marius, even though he has suffered a stroke, remains convinced that he is the best general in Rome and is just insecure enough to need to prove it. Sulla, chafing at Marius's position as the First Man in Rome, is desperate to prove his place and to restore the patrician class (which Marius has undermined with his New Man successes and radical ideas).

Tragedy ensues as Sulla loses his beloved son and Marius suffers an even more debilitating stroke -- although this does bring the young prodigy Julius Caesar to Marius's side as an aide. Marius's insecurity becomes palpable when he grows resentful of the staggering potential demonstrated by Young Caesar.

Marcus Drusus, another hold-over from "The First Man in Rome," gets caught up advocating for the Roman citizenship for all Italians . . . this sounds odd to folks who aren't familiar with Roman history, but "Italy" as we now understand it is a modern invention. By advocating the extension of citizenship to all Italians, Drusus creates a firestorm among the Roman political class (the Romans were a remarkably arrogant people, and looked down with disdain even on those Italians who fought side-by-side with them against the dreaded Germans). This conflict drives much of the book, and its fall-out creates the military conflict that drives the book to its conclusion.

Both Marius and Sulla get involved in the Roman military campaign against the Italians, and Sulla manages to win the coveted Grass Crown, one of the highest awards in the Roman world. But still, Sulla feels eclipsed by Marius, and soon these two giants are at war. Sulla, violating centuries of precedent, leads his armies against Rome, and the bloody fall-out of Roman fighting Roman is almost too much to bear.

Through it all, McCullough writes with her usual straightforward brilliance. Rather than dazzle the reader with literary flourishes, McCullough paints an exhilirating world through precise descriptions and vivid characterizations. Her grasp of the scope of the Roman world is staggering, and her glossary and maps are invaluable.

Fortunately, McCullough pays as much attention to the female world of Rome as the male -- we get a fully realized Rome that reveals the political clout of the Roman woman even in a world that officially denied her so much power.

All in all, a heck of a read. However, this book really must be read after "The First Man in Rome," or you'll miss too much of the back story.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Series Continues With Worthy Second Novel
Review: It's difficult to categorize "The Grass Crown" as a sequel to Colleen McCullough's first novel of ancient Rome, "The First Man in Rome." It's more of a continuation of an epic, which is the collapse of the Roman Republic, due in no small part by the great weight of the titans striding across Italia in those days.

Where "The First Man in Rome" left off with Gaius Marius ascendant, thanks in large part due to the savage cunning and brilliant audacity of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, his right-hand man, "The Grass Crown" starts with these two friends growing apart. Their closest friend, Publius Rutilius Rufus, whose letters offer some of the most entertaining passages in the first two books, notes the growing rift between the two even at a pleasant dinner party. This gap is a sad foreshadowing of the chasm that will soon develop between these two.

Neither Marius nor Sulla is equipped to be second best at anything, and even though they share many traits, these two are too different to remain friends for long. Marius, even though he has suffered a stroke, remains convinced that he is the best general in Rome and is just insecure enough to need to prove it. Sulla, chafing at Marius's position as the First Man in Rome, is desperate to prove his place and to restore the patrician class (which Marius has undermined with his New Man successes and radical ideas).

Tragedy ensues as Sulla loses his beloved son and Marius suffers an even more debilitating stroke -- although this does bring the young prodigy Julius Caesar to Marius's side as an aide. Marius's insecurity becomes palpable when he grows resentful of the staggering potential demonstrated by Young Caesar.

Marcus Drusus, another hold-over from "The First Man in Rome," gets caught up advocating for the Roman citizenship for all Italians . . . this sounds odd to folks who aren't familiar with Roman history, but "Italy" as we now understand it is a modern invention. By advocating the extension of citizenship to all Italians, Drusus creates a firestorm among the Roman political class (the Romans were a remarkably arrogant people, and looked down with disdain even on those Italians who fought side-by-side with them against the dreaded Germans). This conflict drives much of the book, and its fall-out creates the military conflict that drives the book to its conclusion.

Both Marius and Sulla get involved in the Roman military campaign against the Italians, and Sulla manages to win the coveted Grass Crown, one of the highest awards in the Roman world. But still, Sulla feels eclipsed by Marius, and soon these two giants are at war. Sulla, violating centuries of precedent, leads his armies against Rome, and the bloody fall-out of Roman fighting Roman is almost too much to bear.

Through it all, McCullough writes with her usual straightforward brilliance. Rather than dazzle the reader with literary flourishes, McCullough paints an exhilirating world through precise descriptions and vivid characterizations. Her grasp of the scope of the Roman world is staggering, and her glossary and maps are invaluable.

Fortunately, McCullough pays as much attention to the female world of Rome as the male -- we get a fully realized Rome that reveals the political clout of the Roman woman even in a world that officially denied her so much power.

All in all, a heck of a read. However, this book really must be read after "The First Man in Rome," or you'll miss too much of the back story.

Rating:
Summary: Sulla - The Making of a Dictator
Review: McCullough's greatest triumph in the Masters of Rome series is not Julius Caesar, but his predecessor--Lucius Cornelius Sulla. One of Rome's most mysterious, dangerous, and influential Great Men, Sulla is already a fully formed character in First Man in Rome, and continues to fascinate in Grass Crown. A Patrician who rose from the slums, a deviate who espoused a conservative philosophy, a homosexual who doubled as a lady-killer, and a staunch defender of the "old ways" who nevertheless became the first general to march on Rome itself. In one of McCullough's greatest scenes, Sulla, invading Rome to "save" Rome, and infuriated by the insula dwellers who are raining garbage down on his troops, grabs a torch and threatens to burn the city to the ground. It's a breath-taking moment, because the way McCullough has portrayed him, there's not a single doubt that he'll do exactly what he says. And the citizens of Rome know it. They stop. Immediately.

The Grass Crown contains all the usual elements of McCullough's books that make them such good reading: excellent history, plenty of Latin from the time period, and dialog in place of speechifying, but without a strong central character, her books can become a bit diffuse. Not so here. The action is taut, fast, and even when old Marius totters onstage for his final slaughter and madness, the figure of Sulla remains looming in the background. You know he'll be back, and when Sulla shows up things *happen.*

If it's complex, vivid, thoroughly engaging characters from history you're looking for, this is where you'll find them. And none better than the man who would set himself up as the model for the Emperors who would come after him. When they get around to making movies out of these books, I'm hoping they start with Sulla's story.

Rating:
Summary: Similar to first, very similar
Review: Once again, the historical content of this book is masterful, but the many side plots and the language makes one aware that McCullough wrote these books (as she admits) extremely quickly. While it is understandable to want to include POV characters such as the undeniably important Mithridates of Pontus, one must wonder at some of her other choices: the lengthy account of Livia Drusa's affair (which has important implications, but could have been summed up in a paragraph or less), much of the content about Aurelia, and the almost-interminable Italian-Roman wars seem drawn out and slow the main thrust of the book, which is, after all, focused on Sulla and (to a lesser extent) the aged Marius, young Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Cicero. The book holds few surprises, and, as in _The First Man in Rome_, some of the puns pass completely over the reader's head, not due to lack of knowledge of the Romans, but because they make no *sense*. Although the Latinate style is less pronounced than in the first book, the sentences do become unwieldy at times, and I had to read several paragraphs over to grasp their meaning. The subject matter never fails to be interesting, but I would happily read a textbook on Rome, so I can't exactly claim an unbiased opinion. ;) It would be nice if McCullough would write a book without flashbacks, though, especially when they return to information the reader already knew... These books need patience to get through, but I don't regret that I did.

Rating:
Summary: Full of Intrigue, Grabs One's Attention.
Review: Sulla is the character you'll learn to like and hate. From a nobody clutching to the First Man in Rome's robe, he marches on to face the deviant and cruel Mithradates VI of Pontus. Finally, he defeats Marius in the Civil War and destroyed all that constitutional Rome stood for.

Hero and villian, all in one. You'll certainly enjoy the ambiguity you feel for this character.

Rating:
Summary: Slightly disappointing but still good
Review: The Grass Crown is not as good as the First Man in Rome. The style is still the same. The author should have tried something new in the mood.

The part about Mithradates killing his wife in cold blood and the invasion of Rome by Sulla can still rivet you though. Romans are very similar to modern Americans in many aspects, just a little blunter. I think you will enjoy it somehow.

Rating:
Summary: Ancient History in modern form
Review: The Grass Crown, like the others in this excellent series, transports the reader to Rome in the last years of the Republic. The people, usually caught in marble, are set free to roam the ancient world inventing most of what we commonly call western civilization. By using fictional devices but remaining true to the historical sources, Ms McCullough brings the lessons of the fall of the republic to life. There are lessons here for modern politicians and generals as well