Rating: 
Summary: An oustanding read!
Review: I have read all of the 'Masters of Rome' series and I have to say this is the crown jewel of the series. Ms. McCollough's writing only gets better through each book. If you are a fan of history you will love this book or any other in the series.
Rating:
Summary: The Best!!!
Review: I finally finished---the thus far incomplete---Masters of Rome Series. And what a finish! Caesar(Let the Dice Fly) was an excellently done fictionalization of one of the most brilliant strategists in the history of the world. This book, compared to the previous four in the series, moves along at incredible speed. Caesar's cunning and abilities never ceased to amaze me. Out-numbered (often four to one or worse) he succeeds by using his agile mind for tactics and wipes away all opposition in front of him. This included Pompei and the Senate in Rome (who were trying to steal his dignitas). The incredible amount of research done by Mrs. McCollough shines through and she gives us some insights into her understandings of Caesar and Rome at the end in her Afterword; some interesting reading in its own right. I particularly liked the hobbling of Pompei by the Senate bureaucrats. He wanted to starve and wait Caesar out, something that might have worked. But the Senate wouldn't hear of that! They all but ORDER Pompei to attack Caesar, the Senate men having no to little understanding of what Caesar is capable of. Of course, Caesar wins (as history tells us) in his usual stunning way (out-numbered three to one). And Pompei and the Senate continue their exile until Pompei is betrayed in Egypt and beheaded. This is where the story leaves us. Mrs. McCollough notes in her Afterword that her next book will be entitled 'The October Horse.' I'm hoping that will come out soon. She's already written and published another historical novel, though: Morgan's Run. I hope she hasn't given up on this series!
Rating:
Summary: Bringing the past to life.
Review: The Masters of Rome series is unquestionably my favorite series of books. Colleen McCullough is a formidable storyteller, who manages to combine historical scholership and accuracy, with the excitment and pace of an action adventure novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A sloooooow read, but interesting to fans of Roman history
Review: First of all, let me say this is a slow read. Not that it's dull. But McCullough's enormous attention to detail is matched only by her lack of prose-writing flair. She does okay, but for the most part the writing won't have you begging for more. Like I said, there's a lot of attention to detail. Meaning literally dozens of names to keep up with: characters, tribes, political offices. And being ancient Rome, there's only a handful of names to go around for all the characters. Unless you come into the book with a good handle on Roman history circa 50 B.C. you WILL be confused. She uses so many Roman terms that have little or no English equivalent or are too confusing that she has to provide a glossary! NOT a good sign for a novel. And worst of all, the real drama comes after hundreds and hundreds of pages; when Caesar crosses the Rubicon the book's almost over. And that leads me to the worst thing of all: the book is about 650 pages but it only covers about five or six years in Caesar's life, and it ends several years before Caesar dies. Most disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Veni, Vidi, ..Maybe!
Review: Another in the quality series of books about the Roman Empire from McCullough. This one, however, lacks the depth of character so evident in the previous novels. In saying this, it is still an enthralling read, and I look forward to the next in the line.
Rating:
Summary: The author needs to improve her military skills.
Review: As an avid reader of strategicial and tactical warfare I found the Master of Rome series lacking significantly in descriptions of the battles themselves. The author describes (quite well) the political nature of the Roman society and brings to life the characters in her books, but seems to lack an understanding of the way a Roman army fought (and won). She's great on sieges (which were important in the Cesears conquests) but fails to the deliver on the battles themselves. Apart from that I found her books to be exceptionally good.
Rating:
Summary: Sad and enjoyable, but not as good as the others
Review: This book is the saddest of the series, there are many deaths of beloved characters. Right from the start you are taken aback by sadness, but at the same time, it's all fact. Miss McCullough is wonderful at conveying what Caesar was like in battle and "circumvallation" and I was, as usual, enthralled by him. I only wish there was some more character involvement and intrigue like the other books. For those of you that are not as enthusiastic on battles, you may find this a slow read, but I truly enjoyed it up to the very last sad page. I can't wait for the October Horse to come out and Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra, which this book sets you up for. At the same time, I am dreading Caesar's own death, which, I fear, will be in the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic 1st Century BC Fiction!
Review: This novel relates the exploits of one Gaius Julius Caesar, covering the time period November 54 BC to September 29, 48 BC. The setting is the ancient Mediterranean Roman Republic and its Provinces, enemies and allies. The novel explodes during Caesar's Gallic War (specifically, Gallia Comata -> Gaul of the Longhairs -> roughly modern France). There are numerous battles; power plays to control Gaullic tribes and Caesar tries to enlist some of Gauls on his side. At one point, Caesar constructs a type of military fortification known as a circumvallation; essentially a series of walls over 10 miles long, in this case, around the city of Alesia. After this, there is the run up to the Civil War. The political intrigues of the Senate and People of Rome (the Roman Government) are described. It was fascinating to read of the power plays used by the Romans; the planning behind the campaigns for political office, the running of the courts and the relation of Rome to Italia and the Provinces. The noble ruling class (patricians) constantly worries of how it will maintain itself apart from the influence of the plebeians (commoners); the plebeians are potential rioters and clients (in Roman terms, this meant for a plebian to owe political and economic allegiance to a patrician). Then, Caesar crosses the Rubicon (a river separating the Provinces which he administers and Italia proper) sparking the Civil War. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pomey the Great) heads the anti-Caesar side. As Caesar advances toward Rome, Pompey panics and decides to abandon Rome and evacuate the Government to Greece... The general tenor is the novel is fascinating; however one can become loss in the great detail of geography that McCullough provides. Fortunately, there are about 5 maps in the novel depicting the various areas. Also, the narrative includes details concerning the inner workings of a Roman military camp, Roman military logistics and the legal/constitutional setup of the Roman Republic. Again, McCullough provides a rather extensive glossary of terms, which the reader will find very helpful. Given that much of the novel consists of military campaigns (there is a fair amount of politics involved as well; the military and the political often clash and mesh with each other), one learns the great importance of food. There is a constant concern that the Generals must find (and obtain by force, if necessary) food to feed their troops. This factor comes up in several different contexts; the sieges, being far from Rome, the problems when the local area suffers from a famine and so on. Also, the fact that the soldiers expect and get much personal wealth (and Caesar personally), by looting defeated cities and tribes of all their silver and gold is a concept that may be very familiar to the modern reader. Yet, that was one of the big draws to getting involved in wars. My one negative criticism of the novel is the seeming adoration with Caesar himself that McCullough puts into the story. It seems that Caesar will win every battle, win every discussion and outplan or outplan his foes. There is a feel that Caesar's victories at almost predestined at some points. Historical Accuracy: The novel has as its source material to primary documents written by Gaius Julius Caesar himself ("The Gallic Wars," and, "The Civil War"). Due to the fact that Caesar was writing the Gallic Wars as something like a series of status reports to the Senate of Rome, there is a possible tendency that he inflated his victories. Especially, since the Gauls of this time period left no written records about themselves, one must rely on others descriptions of them. In the, "Author's Afterword," McCullough explains in about 4 pages what changes she has made to actual history of the events. For a history student, this is extremely informative. I expected that McCullough would have been much more liberal in her dramatic retelling but I am quite impressed with her fidelity to the facts. McCullough ends her Afterword by stating: "The next book will be called, 'The October Horse.'" I look forward to reading this next installment in, "The Masters of Rome," series.
Rating:
Summary: Caesar was not a nice guy.
Review: Colleen McCullough did it again. This book is easy to read, wonderfully written, and usually accurate with one exception, Caesar was anything but a nice guy. The Historical facts show Caesar to be more like Hitler and Stalin than anyone else. He displaced entire populations, he sold the people he defeated into slavery, women and young girls were used as concubines for his solders (anyone remember what Milosevic's soldiers did to girls as young as 12). Though very interesting reading, Colleen McCullough needs to remember that young people who read these 'Historical' accounts, will believe them to be 100% accurate. It must be remembered by future generations that Caesar had a very dark side. Those who commit GENOCIDE, such as Caesar, are not hero's but the Devil come down to earth to reek havok on the unsuspecting.
Rating:
Summary: worth the time and effort
Review: I have read the whole series so far and very much enjoyed this latest edition. I found it more interesting in a historical sense, yet not quite as exciting as a story compared to the first three books in the series. You have to be a little more willing to work in reading this one, but the insight into what Caesar may have been like is well worth it. Moreover, it does pick up speed and gets plenty exciting in the end.
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