Rating: 
Summary: Sulla! Marius! Caesar! Excellent!
Review: This book centers on Sulla who is a facinating yet deplorable character. You can't help rooting for him against Marius and I enjoyed this book immensely. As all the other Roman books as well. Wonderful history lessons. Ms. McCollough is a perfect storyteller, I live for these books! Read on!
Rating: 
Summary: Pros and Cons
Review: This book has good points, and not-so-good points. The good first.
Mrs. McCullough has definately done her research on the late Roman Republic. Her cast is huge, within Rome and without; senators, knights, slaves, rebels, and foreign despots. Keeping this all straight while reading should have been difficult, but Colleen succeeds in giving each character a voice and an opinion. The result is that each historical character comes to life. She puts a face on men and women who have been dead for over 2000 years (literally in some cases, thanks to occassional illustrations). Not only that, she sifts the complex events of the time and gives plausable reasons and reactions. This in itself is a hugely daunting task, and I believe Mrs. McCullough has acquitted herself admirably on this field.
Now for the not-so-good. With such a profusion of characters, the author just does not seem to be able to shape a believeable dialogue. It Is not simply an attempt to "Romanize" her language. Indeed, her inclusion of technical Latin would cover this attempt by itself. Rather, her characters are always transparent and seem shallow while they describe their reasons and reactions to events as they unfold. And there are some gaps in her narrative as well. None are too big so as to totally ruin her credibility, but big enough to set off a reader who is paying attention and who wonders why and how her main characters justify the attrocities they commit or causes they take up. While her characterizations are always clear, which defends against getting characters mixed up, they are also pretty flat and single faceted; this character is greedy, that one is power-hungry, another is noble-minded, another is ruthless. When the rare epiphany occurs, it usually means a total reversal of personality. Mrs. McCullough does not persuade us that her characters are conflicted, or even wrong. They simply act out the part appointed to them historical fact.
Overall, Mrs. McCullough has done well in lending color and motion to the struggles of Marius, Sulla, and the Social War in Italy. However, her writing style did not satisfy me and I found myself disinterested in her text at many points. I do not recommend this, or any of its fellow novels, as an easy or enjoyable read to a novice of Roman history; however, I would recommend it to someone who is interested in seeing how this author chooses to portray the faces and events of a challenging and fascinating era.
Rating:
Summary: another fabulous peek into Rome
Review: This sequel continues the story of Marius, one of the greatest generals that Rome had ever known, and his student and rival, Sulla. Julius Caesar is also a child prodigy in it and the familiar cast of characters from the first volume are back as well. As far as new characters go, there are the brutal "oriental" despot Mithradates, Ciciero, and the ambitious Pompey family. They are all believable and very interesting as well as embodiments of possible roman futures in a way that most history books do not explore. The characters also evolve, which adds a depth that makes it all the more believable.It is about a very sad era in Rome, with the republican institutions in precipitous decline as powerful generals rise, whose troops are more loyal to them than to the Roman Republic. The descent into barbarism is horrific and brilliantly delineated by McCullough, who has done a superb job of historical research. Just as Marius' star is waning - and his decline from the great and far-thinking man he was makes for depressing reading - so Sulla's time has arrived. I do not know of a better way to live in a different era than historical novels. This series is so masterly, so fascinating in detail, and so fast-moving in plot and action that it is one of the best that I have ever read. Warmly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: another fabulous peek into Rome
Review: This sequel continues the story of Marius, one of the greatest generals that Rome had ever known, and his student and rival, Sulla. Julius Caesar is also a child prodigy in it and the familiar cast of characters from the first volume are back as well. As far as new characters go, there are the brutal "oriental" despot Mithradates, Ciciero, and the ambitious Pompey family. They are all believable and very interesting as well as embodiments of possible roman futures in a way that most history books do not explore. The characters also evolve, which adds a depth that makes it all the more believable. It is about a very sad era in Rome, with the republican institutions in precipitous decline as powerful generals rise, whose troops are more loyal to them than to the Roman Republic. The descent into barbarism is horrific and brilliantly delineated by McCullough, who has done a superb job of historical research. Just as Marius' star is waning - and his decline from the great and far-thinking man he was makes for depressing reading - so Sulla's time has arrived. I do not know of a better way to live in a different era than historical novels. This series is so masterly, so fascinating in detail, and so fast-moving in plot and action that it is one of the best that I have ever read. Warmly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: McMullough brings the Roman's alive
Review: When first introduced to the series my want for an alive historical account of the Romans was instantly satisified. Her ability to bring together the daunting political world of the old Romans and their daily lives captures your attention and holds on tightly. But it is here in this second book where the charater of Sulla becomes so wonderously vibrant. Even though much time has passed since my last reading of the book, Sulla's corrupt beauty still remains with me.
Rating:
Summary: Cause for cerebration
Review: When I first picked up a hardcover copy of The Grass Crown a few years ago, I thought it was a novel about the advent of Christianity. The dust jacket illustration shows a blood-stained crown of grass. I thought this might have been a whimsical interpretation of the crown of thorns motif. I picked the book up, briefly perused the liner notes, and saw the story takes place in ancient Rome. Certain it was a historical novel about Christ, I bought it. The book, of course, is not about Jesus, but about the political and military goings-on of a pre-Christian Rome. And, much to my chagrin, it isn't the first book in the series. With some regret, I set the book aside until I could find its predecessor, The First Man in Rome. I enjoyed The First Man in Rome more than I did The Grass Crown. Then again, Colleen McCullough pays more attention to character development in the first novel. Gaius Marius's insanity is suddenly foisted upon us. I would like to have read more about his downward spiral. Then again, I get a kick out of reading about degradations, so go figure. There are also some apparent jumps of logic in the second novel. For example, in the first novel, Sulla is portrayed as deeply loving both his children, but in The Grass Crown, he only loves his son. In addition, Gaius Marius spontaneously reappears out of exile with a complete army. Where did he pick up this army of escaped thieves? I don't recall reading anything about their recruitment. They seem to have burst fullgrown from his skull, like Athena from the head of Zeus. Still, despite these points, I really enjoyed reading the novel. I liked watching the inexorable enmity grow between Sulla and Gaius Marius, and I even had a lump in my throat when well-liked characters met their timely and untimely demises. And, I especially liked the letters of Publius Rutilius Rufus. They are particularly well-written, and exude a wonderful sense of humour.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but a bit of a letdown after "First Man in Rome"
Review: When I read the first the author's series on Rome, I remember more late nights and stolen moments as read it. THE GRASS CROWN, however, although similar in tone and scope, simply didn't capture my attention as much. Still, McCullough shows her own mastery of Rome and its history and is able to weave history and narrative together into an enjoyable, well researched book, and, although I didn't enjoy it as much as the first in the series, I'd recommend it to others and will continue reading on into additional books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: With The First Man In Rome Colleen McCullough bought Republican Rome to life brilliantly. She continues this in the even better Grass Crown. The characters are much richer in this second novel and more fully drawn. The tension is much more real and there are some characters that the reader really feels for (Drusses and his wife, for example). McCullough draws the reader much further into the lives of the characters in the Grass Crown than in The First Man in Rome, and the experience is much richer for it. My only complaint is that she seems to have a bias towards young Ceaser in the way he is portraied, but then who is to say that that is what the young version of the man was like?
If you have an interest in Ancient Rome and the people who made it, or even just the history of this time, this is a fantastic read.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB!!!!!
Review: You'll be transported back to the Republic and have an iside view of history as it unfolds. McCullough will have you amazed at the balance of subtlety and intrigue involved in Roma political life!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Think Roman history is dull?
Review: You'll change that opinion once you're immersed in "The Grass Crown". Better yet, start with "The First Man in Rome" in order to fully appreciate the grandure of Colleen McCullough's series. I've been reading historical novels all my life, and been disappointed by many. But for sheer quantity of details, I've never seen the like. It truly feels like Ms. McCullough was there. It reads like an eye witness account. I especially liked her description of Caesar's mother, and the world she created and inhabited. But the story deals primarily with Sulla. His progress through life reminded me of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". His deeds and misdeeds are etched on his face and body. What a warning we receive from this description of a dictator who gained power due to the apathy of his fellow citizens. They let him have too much power and died regretting it. Think about that the next time you're tempted not to vote. These are long novels, but I couldn't get enough. Some have compared this to "I, Claudius". Not a good comparison. As much as I enjoyed "The Grass Crown", it can't compare to Robert Graveses wit and lyrical style. Still, it has charms aplenty of its own. Read it, you'll be glad you did.
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