Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: I thought Household Gods was an interesting and unique book. If you're considering reading it for a book report, I would suggest to just read it for kicks. It is rather hard to sum up into a short paper. There is sex, violence, etc, but it is nothing like a romance novel or war book. It is informative while maintaining the curiosity of the reader. It also has a positive ending, so it won't leave you depressed or crying. (yay for that)
Rating: 
Summary: The whole is less than the sum of its authors
Review: Sometimes a collaboration works very well, in the way of a painter mixing two colors to create a vivid new tint. Alas, this is not the case with HOUSEHOLD GODS. The combined pigments of Tarr and Turtledove only succeeded in producing a lackluster reading experience. Only a few pages into the novel I concluded that Tarr must have had nothing to do with the actual writing; I could see no sign of her elegant, intelligent, and often lyrical prose anywhere. I haven't read Turtledove before, but another reviewer here said he saw very little of Turtledove in this effort, which leads me to conclude that these authors, talented and distinctive on their own, do not mix well on the page.The story itself is thin--in fact, there seemed to be very little story at all. It was more of "a day in the life" kind of approach. Nicole is both unlikeable and unbelievable, particularly in her lack of interest in returning to her two young and defenseless children. A normal mother would have moved heaven and earth to get back to them, but she gives no more than a fleeting thought or two to their predicament of being alone and untended with a possibly comatose mother and a father on holiday in Mexico. However, the historical details and fascination of the setting would have provided enough counter-balance to Nicole's irritating persona to make this a worthwhile read, had the writing itself been up to standard. Yet this book was full of fat--fluffed out with endless paragraphs of whining, repetitive introspection, really bad expositional dialogue (i.e., people saying things to each other that they would never say in real life but say anyway in order to inform the reader), and unnecessary explanations. In writing parlance, this is called "telling," and it is the worst kind of telling, because it explains things that have already been shown, implying that the reader is too stupid to understand what is perfectly obvious in context. Had this book been written with even an ounce of subtlety and intelligence in the characterizations and the prose, it would have gone a long way toward rescuing it from the negative influence of its annoying heroine. I hope that Tarr and Turtledove will, in the future, stick to what they do best--writing solo--and leave the collaborations to others. Some marriages were not meant to be.
Rating:
Summary: Increadable fiction, irritating Character
Review: This is one of the finest works from Turtledove and a fine first exposure to Tarr that I have read. However, I must say, the main character absolutely drove me insane while reading it. Completely ignorant of history, her anger and dislike of men spreads into her outlook in life in a way that is depressing to say the least. Even Titus, her neighbor, one of the sweetest men she could have wanted in her life, is constantly the target of her anti-man feelings. She is completely ignorant of the history of the Roman Empire even going so far as being astonished at slavery, attitude toward women, and the brutality of life. The story is increadable when it is in Carnuntum, but is so absolutely droll and aggrivating in modern times. Often while reading it, I had hoped that she would have a large building fall on her head while she complained about her life in modern times. She even goes so far as to convince herself her life in Carnuntum was a wretched existance. And outstanding book, but will someone please slap her around.
Rating: 
Summary: I adored this book- even with a stupid main character!
Review: This book was a total pleasure to read. In fact, I read the last 300 pages in one (very long) night. I was most eager to finish it. I do agree with other reviewers that Nicole, the main character, is far too ignorant about her history, most notably in the scene where she insists that the children drink water instead of wine. But come on, did she really think that the Roman Empire was a time in which women were equal to men? What was she thinking? Regardless, it was a treat to pick up this book. I enjoyed learning about the goings-on of day to day life in A.D. 170. The collaboration of Tarr and Turtledove is really brilliant. They seem to complement each other beautifully. In the end, I walked away from this book feeling really grateful to live in the present. But why do we not get any sort of follow up on Umma? I was so hoping that Nicole would go to some sort of archive and trace her family back to Umma, but no such luck. However, this did not sour the experience for me in the slightest!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Two of the best historically minded SF writers team up to write a compelling read. I found it difficult to put down once I began. The main character is very real and three dimensional and entirely human, and if her fantasy of what 2nd Century CE life was exploded, she managed to cope with all of it and grow. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Even worth the price of a hardcover
Review: That is rare praise from me because I will ignore books until they come out in paperback. This was a gift that I finally got the time to read and I was very pleased. Aside from a few historical issues I had, the story is paced appropriately so that I was never bored with what I was reading. The characters were nicely paralleled between the Roman Empire and modern day LA yet clearly not the "clone" design that is often dreadful to read. None of the descriptions seemed unnecessary and the events followed smoothly. I have the book in my fantasy/sci fi/horro collection simply because of the "time travel" component. If those categories don't appeal to you, this is good solid fiction from a woman's viewpoint even if it was co-authored by a man. Tarr and Turtledove have done an excellent job -- here's to furture collaborations.
Rating: 
Summary: Roman Holiday
Review: I picked up this book since the storyline was so compelling.
Unfortunately, the writing is insipid and the main character unconvincing. I found it hard, if not impossible, to identify with Nicole, much less like her. As others have noted the strength of the work lies in the details provided of daily life in the second century Roman Empire. This makes it worthwhile to spend the time to read such a long book. It would take several scholarly works to glean all of the wonderful insights that are highlighted in this work.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely captivating and beautifully written!
Review: This is a time travel book into the past and is absolutely amazing. It is one of the best books I've read, and I'm very well read. The book is from a woman's point of view, and, from a historical point of view, seems exceptionally well researched. I felt I was living the life of the heroine, seeing everything, feeling everything she was feeling. Very dimensional. The wonderful aspect of time travel is seeing how one must cope after having lived in a culture and time that is far removed from the place traveled to. Comparisons are being made to the different ages and cultures, while at the same time, there is the survival aspect. The human aspect was very intense and well expressed. I hope these authors will co-author again!
Rating:
Summary: Amusing, but at least one factual error
Review: I kept describing Nicole/Umma's difficulties in adapting to life 1800 years ago to my husband and children, a sign that the story was compelling. But as other reviewers have stated, the protagonist was unbelievably dense. Her interior dialogues made for some awfully clunky writing. The most fascinating thing that I learned was that it takes 20 minutes to get from West Hills to the Getty Museum. Going to the new Getty, that might be possible--at 2 AM. To the old Getty, where one can actually see the ancient statuary described in the book, you'd need far longer. Can't help but make me wonder what other glitches got by, and what kind of cars the authors drive.
Rating:
Summary: interesting idea - quite disappointing...
Review: Being fascinated with historical accounts and imaginings of ancient life, I couldn't wait to begin this book!
Disappoinment set in as I quickly realized that there was nothing redeeming, warm, charitable, open or remotely insightful about Nicole, with whom I was to spend invaluable free time during the course of finishing this book. ...The idea is fascinating! A 20th century woman, waking one morning to find herself faced with incomprehensible lifestyle change in the body of a 2nd century Roman tavern-keeper.. what opportunity in this idea, what a chance to create a wonderful world for a reader to want to curl up & become absorbed in! I would have loved to care about this character..
but alas.. Nicole never rounds out to anything more than an angry, embittered, man-hating, judgemental, self-righteous spoiled brat who inflicts her simple beliefs on the undeserving. Wine? I won't be serving that! Prostitution? you won't be doing that! Telling ME what to do? you WON'T be doing that! How stupid you all are!...on and on ad nauseum. I felt as though the authors were insulting readers' intelligence by creating such a shallow, one dimensional character, and also by seemingly assuming that we all require an endless, "bang-it-into-your-head", simple buildup to understand anything.
..Life is horrible in the 20th century, and if only I could be in the 2nd century where everything was wonderful!...drum roll, please? Having said all that, I did enjoy the historical aspect of life in ancient Roman times. The book brings the reader there, but only to observe the surface.. I would have liked to dive deeper into exploration of this foreign world along with the company of a character I could've cared for. All in all, it's better than television.
| 
