Rating: 
Summary: Not a Favorite
Review: Fortune's Favorites is definitely the weak link in McCullough's Masters of Rome series. That is not because it is a *bad* book; it is, in fact, quite good. However, it lacks the direction and focus of the other books of the series.Fortune's Favorites begins with Sulla's return to Italy from the East, and ends with Pompey's and Crassus' first "retirement" in 69 B.C. In between, we're presented with Sulla's dictatorship and debauched death, Sertorius' guerrilla warfare in Spain, the Spartacus revolt, and lots of minor incidents too many to mention. The focus constantly jumps around from Sulla, to Pompey, Caesar, Cicero, Spartacus, and a dozen lesser lights. As usual, McCullough gives us her own spins on history, spins that are entirely her own yet pleasingly plausible. Here, McCullough takes advantage of the lack of information about Caesar's early career to team him up with Crassus years before the Cataline conspiracy. She has Crassus select Caesar as an aid against Spartacus - and why wouldn't Caesar have been involved in the putting down of the revolt? From Caesar's association with Crassus comes his role as go-between between Crassus and Pompey. Again, we know historically that Crassus and Pompey, bitter rivals, reached a rapprochement in 70 B.C. - why wouldn't have been Caesar who arranged it? A simple, yet brilliant conceit that beautifully sets the stage for the First Triumvirate. Those who are on the fence about reading this one, be warned that at times McCullough tries to write a history book. There are endless pages of Sulla expostulating about his reforms, and still more endless pages about efforts to destroy them. The prose is, as always, dry and uninspired. But the overall concept is brilliant, and McCullough beautifully fleshes out Caesar's youth, Pompey's rise, and the rapidly growing decay of the Senate. Those who enjoyed the first two books in the series should absolutely continue on.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Favorite
Review: Fortune's Favorites is definitely the weak link in McCullough's Masters of Rome series. That is not because it is a *bad* book; it is, in fact, quite good. However, it lacks the direction and focus of the other books of the series. Fortune's Favorites begins with Sulla's return to Italy from the East, and ends with Pompey's and Crassus' first "retirement" in 69 B.C. In between, we're presented with Sulla's dictatorship and debauched death, Sertorius' guerrilla warfare in Spain, the Spartacus revolt, and lots of minor incidents too many to mention. The focus constantly jumps around from Sulla, to Pompey, Caesar, Cicero, Spartacus, and a dozen lesser lights. As usual, McCullough gives us her own spins on history, spins that are entirely her own yet pleasingly plausible. Here, McCullough takes advantage of the lack of information about Caesar's early career to team him up with Crassus years before the Cataline conspiracy. She has Crassus select Caesar as an aid against Spartacus - and why wouldn't Caesar have been involved in the putting down of the revolt? From Caesar's association with Crassus comes his role as go-between between Crassus and Pompey. Again, we know historically that Crassus and Pompey, bitter rivals, reached a rapprochement in 70 B.C. - why wouldn't have been Caesar who arranged it? A simple, yet brilliant conceit that beautifully sets the stage for the First Triumvirate. Those who are on the fence about reading this one, be warned that at times McCullough tries to write a history book. There are endless pages of Sulla expostulating about his reforms, and still more endless pages about efforts to destroy them. The prose is, as always, dry and uninspired. But the overall concept is brilliant, and McCullough beautifully fleshes out Caesar's youth, Pompey's rise, and the rapidly growing decay of the Senate. Those who enjoyed the first two books in the series should absolutely continue on.
Rating:
Summary: A lovely, lovely book
Review: I am currently doing my Masters degree specialising in the Romans, and I genuinely feel that McCullough has a truly remarkable gift for transporting her readers back to ancient Rome, yet not in such a way as to alienate the characters. Rather, they come from the pages in such a way as to captivate one's interest and have us laughing and at other times crying. Her writing style is simply breathtaking at certain places in the novel, Sulla's death being the one that immesdiately springs to mind. And despite the cold ferocity of it, I enjoyed her account of Sulla's dictatorship. At many other places in the novel there are scenes that stay in the reader's mind long after the book has been put down, and this set against a beautifully described ancient Rome from the point of view of one inhabiting there. Superb! So, why didn't I give this novel the full five stars? Well, few things are perfect and I did have some quibbles with this novel. Firstly, the introduction to young Caesar throws McCullough's original genius off course a little. If we look at some of the characters she has previously dealt with, they are wonderful because they are so human. I loved one scene in this book where Pompey the Great is so eager to meet his third wife that he runs to her home, knocking everyone he encounters over with the smell of fresh roses! There is none of this delightfully human charm in Caesar. He is dignified, cool, calm, heart-breakingly handsome, wonderfully intelligent, in possesion of great wit, ect. And as Caesar grows, the other characters diminish. I don't say this lightly. As soon as McCullough begins to concentrate on Caesar we see other characters reduced to gibbering idiots in the face of his genius. And all I can think is, What a shame! As I can understand her reasons for wanting to concentrate on him but it's becoming more like a Caesar biography than fiction. This is a very irritating factor in the last two books, as this becomes far more marked. Another quibble I had with the novel was quite simply that I didn't like some of the characters. If Caesar was the greatest general, give him his due - but poor, poor Cicero! He gets a very rough deal here! As do Pompey and Young Marius. Was this really nessecary? One thing that was very good about the book is the way that McCullough starts to prepare the stage for 'Caesar's Women.' We are given some early insights into Servilia and Brutus, both very important characters. Caesar's friendship with Crassus is explained here, as is his hatred of Bibulus. McCullough also lets us peep at a young Mark Antony, in a rather bizarre scene where Caesar takes a swing at the child's behind! Funny to think this child would one day become Caesar's leutenent! The character of Caesar's Aunt Julia is lovely as well.
Rating:
Summary: Get passed the cover
Review: I cringed when I first saw the cover of the third book in Colleen's series. Who designed that foul cover? It looks like the cover to a cheap romance novel by Danielle Steele! Please Colleen, if you read this, do NOT use the same artist again! Okay? Whew! That's off my chest, now I can move onto what was actually IN the book. Again, the author does a wonderful job of diving you into the life that was Rome and being Roman. The plots are twisted and multi-layered. Those sections revolving around Caesar and the women in his life are very intriguing and kept me reading (no doubt why the next book in the series is entitled "Caesar's Women"). I also enjoyed the 'non-Hollywood' version of Spartacus. It is very refreshing to read how his rise from obscurity placed him at the head of a slave army. Interesting reading for those who aren't upset by what they 'think they know' through the big screen. A well done book and I can't wait to dive into Caesar's Women and then onto Caesar. Braviso!
Rating:
Summary: A disjointed effort
Review: I have now read all five books in the Masters of Rome series, and this is the first time I gave one of the wonderful books in this series four stars. Although this book is pretty good, it is worse than the other four: "First Man in Rome", "The Grass Crown", "Caesar's Women", and "Caesar". The main reason for this book falling short of the others is that it does not have a central character or characters. The characters in the forefront in this period are Sulla, Pompey the Great, Lucullus, Crassus, Sertorius, and Spartacus. Caesar, no matter how much the author wants to focus on him, does not have much to do. Instead of trying to tie him into the experiences of others, it would have been better to focus on Pompey and Crassus, for example, with Caesar lurking in the background. I think the greatest problem for the author is how to deal with the book after Sulla's death. "The Grass Crown", ended with Marius' death with stage now set for Sulla to take over. It was an appropriate ending but when Sulla retires and then dies in "Fortune's Favorites", the thread of the story begun in "The First Man in Rome" ends. So, McCullough came up with the theme of "fortune's favorites", which works OK but not well enough. Since she has to continue with the story after Sulla's death, a hodge-podge of characters and events abound. Caesar's exploits are interesting but they take attention away from the people who were actually doing something. As I said before, I feel that Pompey should have been in the center of the novel, with both Lucullus and Crassus vying with him to be the First Man in Rome. Pompey, at the start of the book, looked promising but his war in Spain against Sertorius is quite dry (I admit I do not like military campaigns but enjoyed them in "Caesar") and not enough is said about it. Everything that leads to his consulship is squashed into the last hundred pages or so and then all the credit and attention goes to Caesar. This is contrary to historical evidence and the point could have been made more subtly. Another person who was emerging as a potential First Man in Rome is Lucullus. The author mentions his vices as well as his unwavering loyalty to Sulla, attachment to his brother, Varro Lucullus, and fairness, but it is not enough. The author barely scratches the surface of this complicated man and does not even go into details to describe his campaign against Mithradates, which made him a virtual god in the East. I was eager to see how McCullough would handle Spartacus. I can't say that I am disappointed with the way she presented Spartacus' plight and origins, but I am disappointed that she painted a rather one-dimensional picture of him. I was surprised that she deemed Crassus a capable general. It was more likely that Crass was just lucky and Spartacus' army less numerous and well equipped than McCullough would like the readers to believe. This factor especially contradicts Crassus' military disasters later on in "Caesar". Again, giving all the credit of what Crassus did during his consulship and his cooperation with Pompey to Caesar is not well supported historically. Caesar's adventures themselves, especially against the pirates and in Bithynia at the court of King Nicomedes, are interesting. I especially liked the description of his stay in Bithynia where for the first time in the series a human Caesar emerges. But soon enough, he becomes a demigod. According to McCullough, he basically controls what goes on in Rome and advises the consuls, very correctly, what to do and how to do it. It is hard to sympathize with someone who is so much better than anyone else. McCullough makes Caesar so patronizing and arrogant that no matter how many tragedies befall him later on in the book, I stopped sympathizing with him. The good news is that she returns him to the realm of the living in the next two books. I was extremely disappointed with depictions of certain characters. Cinnilla, Caesar's wife, is non-existent. There is a mention of her here and there but she remains completely invisible. Perhaps that was her role in Caesar's life, still, there should have been a LOT more effort made on the author's part to describe her. Caesar's Aunt Julia is barely present throughout the novel so unless the reader read "The Grass Crown" it is hard to understand what she meant to Caesar. Metellus Pius "The Piglet" is an intriguing character but McCullough does not elaborate on the change in him during the time Pompey arrives in Spain. Something MUST have happened but McCullough is extremely vague about what it is. Finally, a note on the Eastern kings. WHERE ARE THEY? In "First Man in Rome", McCullough spent at least part of the narrative on Jugurtha. In "The Grass Crown", there was extensive information on Mithradates and Tigranes. In "Fortune's Favorites", Mithradates and Tigranes are barely mentioned. Ptolemy Alexander, prior to his assuming the throne of Egypt, gets some attention but not enough is said about what occurred with his Queen Berenice. Mithradatis Nysa also gets some mention but her story is abruptly ended and not picked up later on. It would have made this book a lot more colorful if the view of the Eastern kings was presented. I really liked this book but I am very passionate about these series and wish that "Fortune's Favorites" could live up to the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: I was very impressed by this book. Luckily the author has written a good summary of the two previous books, "The first man in Rome", and "The Grass Crown". So, it was possible to understand the events leading to the beginning of this book. I like the way the author presents this book and the characters. Being this a historical novel, I appreciate the efforts the author has made to incorporate as much fact as possible into the story. The characters are very real and extremely interesting. The book, though it lacks a central plot, seems to be more like an account of events and dates, but I really enjoyed this change in "content". I had already read "Ceasar's women" and I enjoyed that one very much also. I acknowledge Colleen McCollough as a serious writer and I appreciate her quality and precision in her narratives. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: A worthy addition to a great series
Review: If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be hooked on series about ancient Rome, I would have thought they were crazy. I've never been a big fan of Roman history or culture; I always thought of them as highly overrated. Well, this series is changing my mind. All of these books completely immerse the reader in a world separated by ours by two millenia, but I for one was amazed by how many things haven't changed. I didn't think this book was quite as good as the ones before, perhaps because I didn't find Caesar as interesting as I did Sulla or Marius (I did read McCullough's disclaimer about Caesar's intelligence, looks and physical prowess, but I still find him a little too good to be true). I'm currently halfway through "Caesar's Women" and can't wait for "Caesar".
Rating:
Summary: too complex to fully enjoy
Review: Once more, McCullough has populated her well researched historical novel with too many characters on whom too little time is spent for the audience to understand and appreciate. The main characters are intriguing and the pace makes one want to continue, but sometimes those minor characters are too minor or too interesting to be so shortly dealt with.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: One of the most powerfull books ever written! From the first glance of Old Ceasar through to the Consulship of Julius and Caesar....ahem......the story curve and intricate relationships push this story, weaven by a master of history to the epoch of our time, and again history and those that lived it, live again. Ken Dyer
Rating: 
Summary: Middle Entry in Roman series
Review: Right off, I have to say this wasn't my favorite in the (to date) five-book McCullough Roman series, and I think this is due to its position as the middle volume. So instead of the joy of the first two, and the deep characterizations of the latter two, this book just kind of sits around, wanting to be loved but not quite making it. Sulla is decrepit and old, Pompey bursts on to the scene, Crassus turns up, and Cinna, Carbo, and Young Marius are put away. Still, there is always good research from Colleen, so don't, by any means, bypass this baby, as it does figure prominently in the reasons for the fall of the Roman republic, which is, after all, what the author has been writing about. The ambitions of Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, in that order, make for good reading, and a lesson that once broken, the republic could only lead to an eventual empire (gosh, sounds familiar doesn't it). I'm nitpicking on this book, but still worth at least 3 stars.
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