| Title | : | Caesar (Masters of Rome, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0060510854 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780060510855 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 928 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1997 |
Caesar (Masters of Rome, #5) Reviews
-
This review goes for all of mccullough's historical fictions set in rome--beautiful language, unimaginable scope, and a pretty accurate history lesson. Ask me the duties of the flamen dialis in ancient rome and I'll tell you without pause. Ask me about marius' mules. No one asks me anything about rome so I have not yet had the chance to blow minds and astonish peers. But you just wait.
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This is the fifth book on the fall of the Roman Republic. Starting in Britannia in 54 B.C. it covers Caesar's exploits through 48 B.C. with Pomepy's defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus.
There is a great deal going on in this book and these events are pivotal in the tale of Rome. It covers Caesar in Britannia, his campaign in Gaul and then his crossing of the Rubicon, assumption of the title of Dictator and the eventual defeat of Pomepian forces at Pharsalus.
McCullough does a masterful job of explaining the divisive politics of the conflict between the boni (the Good Men), led by Cato and Pompey, against Rome's greatest son-Caesar. Not only is the story exciting, but she is able to describe his campaigns and strategy very well. It shows that she has an innate understanding of his tactics and strategy.
Yes, there are a few, relatively minor liberties she takes with the actual history-but they are so minor that it is of no consequence. She explains the few changes in her afterword and I agree that she did so to make the story make more sense.
While always entertaining (McCullough is a superb author), this entire series will give the average reader a bird's eye view of the conflict. Her excellent glossary is full of information for the Latin-inept and is quite detailed.
If you've ever wanted to know the whole story, yet found historians like Plutarch or Suetonis to be rather dry-then I would highly recommend you read this series. It truly will give you a sound understanding of these events and the more complex political arguments behind the conflict. She also has a talent for describing the wars that are fought and the methodology behind the actions that make Caesar one of the great generals in history.
Highly recommended. -
Caesar (Masters of Rome #5), Colleen McCullough
-
In Let the Dice FlyMcCullough compellingly manages Julius Caesar's transformation from master politician and Pontifex Maximus into autocratic general. She begins the story five years after the last book in her Masters of Rome series, Caesar's Women, not long into his second term as governor of four provinces: Further Gaul, The Roman Province (the genesis of the name for the area of France known as Provence today), Italian Gaul, and Illyricum. At this point, Caesar has proven himself a brilliant general who has doubled Rome's income and land area. He himself has cemented close ties with his legates (officers) and his legionaries, proving himself as their commander by marching, building, and fighting right at their side. He has also taken enough booty to leave the debt-ridden political days behind.
This book essentially covers the material that the first season of the popular HBO Rome series covers without the confusion -- provided the reader has read enough history beforehand. After all, McCullough has written four other novels setting the stage for Caesar's rise to the status of First Man in Rome, fully exploring and explaining the virulent and bitter opposition to him among a small group of very conservative Roman senators, called the boni. McCullough makes a very good case against these men, led primarily by Cato and a patrician enemy of Caesar's named Bibulus -- and who has ever heard of him? For them, their opposition is purely political and leads them to strip Caesar of everything: legions, provinces, and imperium. At this point,Caesar must either submit to exile or marching on Rome. Given all the years that they'd dealt with Caesar, it's rather amazing these men so foolishly backed him into this corner.
Pompey, once friend and son-in-law to Caesar, swings to the boni cause out of jealous insecurity: even as the conservative senators fear that Caesar can become a king because of his pedigree, Pompey fears much the same because his ancestors are clearly not Roman.
Let the Dice Fly shows a Julius Caesar becoming more isolated and godlike, awe-inspiring and worthy of a measure of pity, too. Unlike his Roman Senate days, Caesar has no close women confidantes or male friends even as he gathers to him devoted legates and soldiers who adore him and will fight to the death for him. Furthermore, McCullough begins to plant seeds of Caesar's fatalism. When speaking with a Celtic Druid about how he plans to live his old age, Caesar accepts the Druid's assurance that he won't live to old age. "The gods love you," the Druid says. And those whom the gods love don't live to old age. Several times Caesar comments that he wants his political enemies to continue to fight him in Rome because they make him strive harder. The last comment he makes in the book perhaps foreshadows the cause of his death: he tells a legate that the legate has too much faith in him and that he's susceptible to autocracy without opposition. It remains to be seen whether McCullough has Caesar walking to his death knowingly, but I rather suspect that she will. Perhaps she feels, as I do now, that Caesar would rather die the First Man in Rome than as a tyrannical old man who destroyed Rome's greatness.
Besides all of that, the descriptions of several of Caesar's sieges in Further Gaul are fascinating. The boni scoffed at his dispatches, claiming that he exaggerated, but modern archaeology has confirmed at least one of his more amazing claims: his legions built 25 miles of walls around a site called Alesia. McCullough describes engineering as Caesar's favorite among the wide spectrum of his gifts. -
Historically rich and deeply entertaining as the previous novels, Caesar, fifth in the Masters of Rome series, recounts Julius Caesar's most famous exploits: his time in Gaul and the civil war against Pompeius.
I am liking Caesar more and more as the series goes on. His charisma and political acumen were more prominent in this novel than before, and the strong effect he had on others was very believable. I loved how his majestic character caused opposite sentiments in his friends and his enemies: although I was of course on Caesar's side, I could equally understand the people's love for him and the Republicans' fear of him.
I was looking forward to the civil war against Pompeius, but I think I preferred the parts set in Gaul a little bit more. They were full of interesting characters and great action scenes. But I also loved how the civil war came about, and the ending .
I am so curious to see Cleopatra, Octavianus and the others - can't wait! -
-Trepidante y compacta idolatría.-
Género. Novela histórica.
Lo que nos cuenta. La legendaria buena suerte de César parece extinguirse cada vez que intenta conquistar Britania, y las noticias de la muerte de su hija afectan al líder romano, pero debe ocultar sus sentimientos. En la Galia debe consolidar sus conquistas y además pone los ojos en nuevas tierras que añadir a los dominios de Roma y a su propia leyenda, aunque tanto los galos supuestamente bajo control romano como los que no lo están, incluidos germanos y otras tribus al este de los dominios romanos, tienen sus propios planes. Quinto libro de la serie Señores de Roma.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/... -
Fifth in the “Masters of Rome” series.
The book is set around 5 years after the previous book with allusions and references to major issues in the interim period (in particular the conference at Luca between the Triumverate). Caesar is in Gaul – finally conquering the province after Vercingetorix unifies the Gaul’s (in this section it is difficult to keep track of the different tribes and their leaders). Meanwhile in the growing chaos in Rome, Clodius is elected a rabble rousing Tribune of the Plebs and is, with Pompey’s implicit blessing, murdered by Milo. Julia dies breaking the link between Caesar and Pompey who, still striving for acceptability, aligns himself with the Boni through marriage and accepts an appointment as sole consul rather than insisting on being made a dictator.
The intransigence of the Boni (particularly Cato) forces the unconfident Pompey into a civil war with Caesar, who to Pompey’s horror and disbelief sweeps through Italy with barely a battle (similarly defeating Pompey’s Spanish army) and takes a Rome abandoned by Pompey (including by mistake the treasury) and then marching with the speed and confidence that defeated the Gauls defeats Pompey (increasingly wary of the war he is fighting and the armchair soldiers of the senate critiquing him and horrified by the barbarities of the turncoat Labienius who McCullough has Caesar effectively sacking for the same reasons) in Greece. The book ends with Pompey’s death in Egypt. The description of the different reactions of the players as the events unfold is excellent although the coverage of the crucial battle at Pharsalus is surprisingly short.
We meet Octavius during the book and learn of Caesar’s growing admiration for him. -
Story: 10 (The good stuff is here at last)
Characters: 9 (Caesar’s too nice, but personalities are flawless)
Accuracy: 10 (Almost perfect)
This book was originally entitled Let the Dice Fly. I much prefer that title. Even something generic like Rubicon or Hail, Caesar would be better. I mean, what have we been reading up till now if not the story of Caesar’s life? Ah well. This is, at last, the story we’ve all been waiting for. The culmination of all that buildup (though it hasn’t really felt like that at the time). Finally Caesar is crossing the Rubicon and marching on Rome and Pompey. Right after he wraps things up in Gaul and Britain. The next two decades are among the most thrilling in Roman history. Certainly among the most famous. We get to see Caesar in Gaul, Caesar in Britain (briefly), his civil war, his Alexandrian War, his assassination, Pompey’s assassination, Cato’s suicide, Crassus’ annihilation in Parthia, the rise of Cleopatra, the rise of Octavian, the rise of Antony, the formation of the second triumvirate, the renewed proscriptions, the defeat of the “Liberators”, Antony’s Parthian Campaign, Sextus Pompeius’ war, Octavian’s civil war, and the suicide of Antony and Cleopatra. While previous books only had time for maybe two earth-shattering events (the Jugurthine and Cimbric Wars, the Social War and two marches on Rome, Sulla’s second march on Rome and the Third Servile War, the Sertorian War and Cataline Revolt) this book gives us no less than five. And the following book looks to give us eight. Things are really heating up.
Since we’re finally coming to the most famous moments in all Roman history the question now becomes how she handles it and what she brings to the table that we haven’t already seen. And the basic answer to that is unsurprising: meticulous research and character work. But also a long backstory of previous events that put everything in this book into context. Because it’s so easy to forget about Marius and Sulla when thinking of Caesar, but having followed his career every step of the way and having seen the horrors that he’s at least partly reacting against everything in the novel makes a sort of sense. Pompey’s surprising ineffectiveness seems clearly the result of a somewhat inflated presentation of his own abilities but also the same tired infighting that ruined Marius, that led Sulla to march on Rome, and that blocked every sensible plan or policy in the name of “tradition”.
McCullough very much takes Caesar’s side on all this. One of the most frustrating parts of the book is that the Optimates (she calls them the boni) are never given any real reason to hate Caesar. Jealousy, aye, plenty of that. But it seems that every reason is strictly personal and petty, even for Cicero who, let’s face it, isn’t the bravest or most militant of men. Yet after dithering for a bit he ultimately winds up going to war when he could have stayed home in peace. Would you really do that for petty, personal reasons? And yet none of these greater fears are spoken. Why does nobody say the word ‘king’? I think Cicero mentions it once in passing. But that word should be on everyone’s lips. As should tyrant, and Sulla, and a whole host of others.
That doesn’t mean you have to accept that they’re right. McCullough’s conviction that Caesar never wanted anything more than Marius did is plausible enough. Heck, my own personal view is that Caesar’s mixed signals were because he genuinely didn’t know what he wanted, only what he couldn’t tolerate to recieve. Years of war and political intriguing don’t exactly allow one to plan decades into the future. Yet his enemies had cause to fear he craved more. A new Sulla, here to rule Rome as his personal fief, forever protected and forever in power. There are plenty of things I hate about the Optimates, their reactionary nature, their bigotry, their lack of common sense, but never that they were barking at total shadows. They had cause to fear.
This Caesar is surprisingly pro-Republican. He wants no extraordinary commands but will get every magistracy in suo anno,in his year. It will all be perfect. He will rise above his peers and become First Man, but he wants the regular change of officials and elections. “If I were king, I’d have no rivals, and where’s the fun in that?” Although he’s curiously blind to the results of his own actions. By marching on Rome he’s essentially ending all that he loves. There can be no regular change of offices if every time a man succeeds he takes his army and marches on the capital. That creates obstructionist policies to block such men. And his immense entitlement deeply resents that. “They will not let me be all that I should be. That I am entitled to be.” And so his confrontation is inevitable.
Caesar continues to shine as the high point of these books. Her depiction of Caesar is perfect, and I mean that both in that she captures him accurately and she believes he could do no wrong. The greatest man Rome ever produced indeed. Caesar continues to be his ultimately unlovable self: cold, dispassionate, determined... Yet his years of unrestrained autocracy have toughened him into an even colder man. Enough so that it sometimes worries his loyal adherents. He’s always maintained a strict regard for his own dignitas, but now that dignitas is not that of a praetor or even a consul but a heroic general who is finally the greatest man alive. Now he can’t be seen to laugh, or cry, or reveal any emotion at all if he can help it. No gaps in the armor. Every person he’s truly cared for is gone. He has no equals left anywhere. He’s a man completely alone. So yes, it has hardened him.
But somehow he’s also still charming when he chooses to be. To his men in particular he’s a god. He eats as they do, works as they do, and always brings them victory. He can be stern with them but also warm and tender. And it’s genuine for all that he considers them lesser mortals. I’m reminded strongly of all the stories of Wellington and his cheerful contempt mixed with genuine love for his army. This is about as close as we’ll ever be to looking inside Caesar’s head. I don’t know how she does it.
Pompey’s a much more sedentary man. His best years are behind him, yet he’s still a wily old fox. He’s not doing bad at this politics stuff that defeated him so easily in his youth. While he’s never as in control as Caesar was, he finds himself able to manipulate events his way with relative ease. But he’s no longer the same man-of-action, having been without military command for a decade. It’s very impressive to me how these characters age into their roles. Pompey is exactly like I think of him, and in a way I was never sure he would be when we first saw the immature kid butcher. Elderly, a bit over-the-hill, insecure and nagged to death, yet still ultimately greater than his peers.
I really like Antony. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do with him after the last book, but he’s really come into his own here. A fun-loving, cheerful, but ruthless man. And not one overly enamored of his own dignity. He’s just fine with being the butt of Caesar’s jokes, and in so doing he brings out the best in Caesar. Given their distance in the last book it was great to see that he is truly Caesar’s trusted subordinate. But he had to grow into it. Debauchery and mischief are fine, but Antony needed to learn discipline and when to restrain himself as well.
This book is preoccupied with war and victory, and as such I should probably say something about how she handles it because it’s not always her strongest suite. Oh, she handles strategy very well. The various maneuverings and positioning to get everyone lined up in place to advantage them. It’s all very well done and reliable. Probably because it’s so close to politics in a way. But the tactics are always fairly vague. She doesn’t take the fog of war approach to battles, even from the somewhat detached perspective of the commander. Instead she offers brief summaries of what happened. Battles aren’t really the climactic events you might expect them to be. Rather they’re the moment the plot shifts to a new situation.
I’m very pleased to see that she gets the druids. Most authors don’t! They always come off as mystic wizards with crazy ascetic and lone wolf tendencies. But in reality they were much like they are presented here: more than just priests, but an entire caste of people with varying religious, medical, and artistic interests. Kind of like the Magi.
Speaking of Magi, alas, she does not get the Parthians at all. Somehow McCullough’s got it into her head that Surenas is a title given to all satraps. Which is wrong on many levels. Suren is the name of one of the seven Great Parthian Houses based in, most likely, Sakastan. It was a family name, not a title. We don’t know Surena’s full name, but it’s unlikely to be Pahlavi, as she has it here, since that was the name of the Parthian language (and also the last ruling shah of Iran). I think this is based on a misunderstanding of Rawlinson’s 1875
book on them (he translates surena as commander-in-chief) but there are much more modern accounts that could have set her right including Debevoise’s
A Political History Of Parthia and the
Cambridge History of Iran. Ah well. This comes from Cassius’ account, so maybe he just doesn’t know half as much as he thinks.
I’m very pleased to see that this loooong book is finally divided into chapters of manageable size. It’s very hard to divide your reading into workable slivers of time when chapters vary from 40 to over 100 pages. More and shorter chapters is very much for me. I really need to cut down the length of these reviews. I suppose, with the books being so long, I have much more to say. -
It’s hard for me to write reviews unless a book is an utter train wreck, because I feel like others have almost always done a better and more thorough job detailing the book than I can. (Plus, in my limited time, and with three very noisy kids, I find it much more difficult these days to marshal my thoughts into order and sense.)
However, as I am now going into the sixth book in this series, and have bought the seventh so there is no delay in reading, I feel I may as well mention a few words. I like to read historical fiction to learn more about a place or time. Then, having used the fiction to peak my interest, I’ll go and read nonfiction about that era/events/people, to get the true bones of the history. With that purpose, I really dislike shoddily done fiction that is poorly researched, or poorly written, with anachronisms or misinformation abounding. Colleen McCullough does not have that problem. Her “Masters of Rome” series is meticulous and imparts so much actual history alongside its story. Despite having a minor in Classical History from LSU, I’d never heard of the original Roman gods, the numina, nor the Roman concept of death and the afterlife versus Greek. And that’s just minor details, riding on the coattails of the great historical story that is the fall of the Roman Republic!
Obviously, for a history nerd and bibliophile (especially one who might have had a crush on Alexander the Great when she was a young woman), this is close to book heaven.
However, I can easily see how others would dislike this series or find it hard to get into. For one, all those extraneous minutiae that gets me excited might turn many off, seeming like a distraction from the main story (though, frankly, I think she wrote much of it in seamlessly). Another, it can be difficult to keep up with such an enormous cast of characters, especially when several of them share the same name. For the most part, McCullough uses different cognomens to differentiate, but there are times when it does get difficult to keep all 3 or 4 generations of Metellus Scipios straight. And for some reason, there are two characters with the exact same name, one a banker who is aiding Caesar, and one politician who is against him...I think. It did get confusing, and honestly, as long as you remembered that the banker helped protect Caesar’s wealth, that was the main point.
I’ve also read some other reviews that mentioned she leaves out so many of the battles, which is especially odd when you’re writing a saga about Caesar, who is still considered a great military leader. However, she does cover the key battles for Caesar, Marius, Pompey the Great, and a maybe a handful of others. It was such a time of war and upheaval, that it would take twenty books to cover every battle, and would read far more like a military history. And, personally speaking, I find reading a battle scene to frequently be chaotic and hard to truly picture, as I have no experience with ancient battlegrounds and troop movements. So I don’t mind this omission.
My only slight issue, and one that may be addressed as I begin the sixth book, is I would have liked to see a bit more of a female perspective. Yes, book 4 is titled Caesar’s Women, and it did have some insight into the women’s world, but not their hearts. McCullough addressed that issue in her Afterword in book 4, saying it’s not until around that period of time that we have nearly any surviving history of women’s lives, so I don’t begrudge her leaving them in the background. But even Aurelia Cotta, Caesar’s mother, grew less rounded as Caesar’s character developed in the series. (However, it also seems like the books grew just a trifle shorter, so maybe her editors got more cut-happy.)
If you have a penchant for ancient history, historical fiction, or long sagas about generations of strong, conquering men...or generations of conniving, self-centered men, or if you want to look for parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the current state of America, I would highly recommend this series. I am so very glad I found the first book through Goodreads.
Next, I intend to research a less biased view of Caesar to make my own decision about the necessity of his actions. -
Historical fiction at its best. This goes for the whole series. McCullough brings it all to life: the characters, the politics, the battle scenes, the cultural dynamics...She does this by weaving in an amazing array of characters, major and minor, who ground every storyline. It is enough of a feat that she writes such compelling narrative. It is even more impressive that she pulls this off while giving us a pretty serious history lesson. She often deviates from the main storyline to offer an anecdote or explanation concerning some arcane item such as the Bona Dea cult, or the function of the crossroads colleges. These threads are woven in seamlessly enough that the pacing doesn't really suffer [edit: My wife differs with me slightly on this - mileage may vary according to appetite for historical detail] . Instead the whole story is enriched along with our appreciation of various facets of the historical context.
McCullough offers a rich, immersive experience in a foreign world full of wars, loves, and political machinations. The characters are complex and compelling, causing us to care about them despite often being repulsed by their morality/amorality. This series is a must-read for enthusiasts of Roman History and historical fiction, and I believe it will reward the investment of many others as well. Give it a try. -
There's a 5 year gap between the end of the last novel (
Caesar's Women) in this 7 book series and this one: Caesar is now in Gaul and finds his ties in Rome being cut. Instead he throws himself into the Gallic campaigns which are described in minute and enthralling detail, based on Caesar's own commentaries (
The Gallic War).
McCullough manages to render the minutiae of military campaigns, including legions' rebellions, absolutely fascinating. This isn't by any means an objective look at either Caesar or Roman imperialism, and she is unashamedly on Caesar's side, but somehow it works fabulously.
Back in Rome the Senate led by the vacillating Cicero and neurotic Cato are undermining Caesar, and the book leads inevitably and inexorably to Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon. -
Continua la mia lettura della serie I signori di Roma di Colleen Mc Cullough, che volge ormai alla fine. Devo dire che questo è stato uno dei libri che ho meno amato nella serie perché io amo gli intrighi politici e senatoriali a Roma, mentre questo è un romanzo molto dinamico, che vede prima le guerre di Cesare contro i galli e poi la guerra civile tra Cesare e Pompeo. Comunque è evidente che il punto di vista di Colleen McCullough sia totalmente diverso da quello di Shakespeare nel Giulio Cesare; il punto di vista dei vincitori, quello che si legge sui libri di storia. Qui Cesare è costretto dai boni ad attraversare il Rubicone e a fare guerra contro di loro e il loro fantoccio Gneo Pompeo perché non gli viene consentito di fare ciò che è nel suo diritto secondo le leggi di Roma - leggi che un po' tutti hanno aggirato a loro vantaggio - soprattutto dopo la vittoria sui popoli gallici, e non un dittatore spietato che vorrebbe proclamarsi re di Roma e rivoluzionare il mos maiorum.
“Siamo qua. Posso ancora tornare indietro. Non ho ancora abbandonato la legalità e la costituzionalità. Però, appena avrò varcato questo fiume insignificante, diventerò, da servo della mia patria, un suo aggressore. So tutto questo, lo so da due anni. Ho fatto tutto il necessario: pensato, studiato, progettato, lottato poderosamente. Ho fatto concessioni incredibili. Mi sarei anche accontentato dell’Illirico e di una legione, però a ogni passo del percorso ho saputo e capito che loro non si sarebbero arresi: erano decisi a sputare su di me, a schiacciare il mio viso nella polvere, a fare un nulla di Caio Giulio Cesare. Ma Cesare non è un nulla, né mai accetterà di esserlo. Tu l’hai voluto, Catone. Ora l’avrai. Mi hai costretto a marciare contro il mio paese, a voltare la faccia contro la legalità. E tu, Pompeo, stai per scoprire che cosa significa affrontare un nemico competente. Nel momento in cui il cavallo Dita si bagnerà le zampe, io diventerò un fuorilegge. Per cancellare dal mio nome la cicatrice dell’illegalità dovrò andare in guerra, combattere contro i miei compatrioti e vincere. Che cosa c’è al di là del Rubicone? Quante legioni sono riusciti, loro, a mettere insieme? Quanta vera preparazione? Io baso la mia intera campagna su un’intuizione secondo cui loro non hanno fatto nulla, Pompeo non sa come si inizia una guerra e gli ottimati non sanno come la si combatte. Hanno pensato a questa situazione come a un gioco, a un’ipotesi, però mai come a un fatto concreto. Io credo che sia una partita e ho con me la fortuna, oltre al genio.”
All’improvviso rovesciò indietro la testa e rise.
«Il dado è tratto!» gridò. Incitò gentilmente Dita con i talloni e cavalcò attraverso il Rubicone, verso l’Italia e la ribellione. -
This 1997 novel is the fifth in McCullough’s Masters of Rome series, and deals with events in Rome from 54 to 48 B.C. At root in the many events which she so engagingly presents in Caesar’s Gallic campaigns and the evolving political situation back home in Rome is the issue as to whether Caesar seized ‘the purple’ in becoming Emperor as a function of his own unbridled ambition or through events within which he himself was but a bit player, forced into actions by forces arrayed against him.
The Battles of Gergovia, Alesia and Uxellodum as well as the final defeat of Vercingetorix round out his large success on the battlefield, which ironically enough led to the diminution of his political stock back in Rome. The ‘boni’ or upper class, was a small group of largely idle rich who held oligarchic sway over the purportedly ‘democratic’ Senate which was in practice anything but representative. These established powers, through their fears of Caesar’s successes for Rome, may have by their refusal to work with him actually brought about the end of the Republic.
The end of the first triumvirate, the deaths of Julia and Crassus and Caesar’s falling out with Pompey all worked as well to lead to the failure of his attempts to be elected consul a second time, the opening of the Civil War and the battles of Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus. The fleeing of the was to be expected but what was not, and was never part of Caesar’s intention, was Pompey’s shameful assassination in Egypt.
Again, McCullough balances the poignancy of the personal stories with her attention to historical detail and erudition in her research to present a highly readable and at all times engaging recounting of these tumultuous years.
Highly recommended. -
Al nivel, altísimo, del 1o de la saga.
Una verdadera delicia.
Absolutamente imprescindible. -
Caesar is the fifth in McCullough's Masters of Rome Series about the late Roman Republic which entranced me from the first book with its picture of a world surprisingly modern in some respects as well as truly alien as only the past can be. A lot of the appeal of this book and this series is her ability to crack the stodgy marble image we have of Romans, and that's epitomized in the book's subtitle: Let the Dice Fly! The more commonly known quote of what Caesar said when crossing the Rubicon and touching off a civil war was "the die is cast." But McCullough chooses another version from an ancient source saying: "'The die is cast' is gloomy and fatalistic. 'Let the dice fly high!' is a shrug, an admission that anything can happen. Caesar was not fatalistic. He was a risk taker."
And that's McCullough's Caesar in a nutshell. I wasn't a fan of Caesar before reading this series, and I'm still somewhat resistant. My idea of him was formed by Shakespeare where Brutus and Cassius strove to save their republic from a tyrant. As a "small r" and "small d" republican and democrat, it's hard for me to allow myself to admire a dictator. McCullough's Caesar seems too good to be true and I believed she had Mary Renault syndrome. Renault obviously loved her Alexander the Great to the point of near worship. McCullough seemed in love with her Caesar from the minute he appeared in her series. Early on in this novel she even has Caesar inventing the book--stitching together rolls so he could read by turning pages. Ridiculous I thought! Except when I looked it up I found apparently there are credible sources for this--McCullough didn't make it up. I mentioned my near irritation about how unbelievably gifted Caesar is in these books to a friend who is a Classicist--she teaches Latin for a living. Her response? "Caesar is awesome."
McCullough's picture of Caesar is of someone who didn't want to end the republic or become king, but wanted to strive to be the best among equals--only he had no equals--only jealous rivals. That does reconcile me to him a bit. And he's certainly fascinating enough to propel me through the 600 plus pages. And in this book we begin to glimpse the most famous aspects of the story of Julius Caesar. Marc Anthony, Brutus, Cato, Octavian the future Augustus are here. And the young Cleopatra appears towards the end of the book. So I'd say for me, at least, McCullough has succeeded in weaving a great spell for another book. -
"But you are a king, Caesar! It's there in the way you move, the way you look, the way you treat others. You are an Alexander the Great given accidentally given power by the electors. After you, it will fall to ashes."
•
The fifth book in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, Caesar describes the lead up to and bulk of Julius Caesar's great civil war, which left him the first man in the Roman world. The tension is gripping as Caesar does his best to avoid all-out conflict, but soon finds that it is inevitable.
The novel is equal parts character study, political manoeuvring, and military action, beginning with Caesar's war in Gaul (present day France and Belgium) and ending with his victory over his great rival, Pompey.
Like the previous books in the series, Caesar is a masterclass in character development, as it sees the character of Caesar himself reach the apex of his journey to power. The antagonists of the novel, including Cato, Pompey, and other of Caesar's opponents are equally as compelling, allowing the reader to become invested in both sides of the novel's main conflict.
Although the novel is a work of historical fiction, it very accurately adheres to actual historical events, and is a great and entertaining way to learn about this crucial period in Western history.
The next and penultimate book in the series, called The October Horse, deals with the aftermath of Caesar's claim to absolute power and the consequences that it will have for him. I greatly look forward to this next entry to the series -
Caesar is another gold star writing performance for Ms. McCullough, well researched and as close to history as a writer of historical fiction can get. The Characters came to life, I really enjoyed getting to know them, everything from battles to the historical settings was great. I had a hard time puuting it down. This is a must read for all caesar buffs, amatuer historions or anyone who loves history.
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Brilliant. Rich. Thrilling. I love Colleen McCullough so, so much. Masters of Rome has surpassed A Song of Ice and Fire as my favorite book series of all time, and I'm growing sadder by the day knowing that I only have two more of these lovely, enchanting novels to enjoy. Maybe if I limit myself to one page per day I can make them last the rest of my life?
At any rate, this book was a masterpiece. I don't know what else to say. -
"I," said Caesar, "am Rome, Publius. Pharsalus has proved it."
The epic series written by Colleen McCullough, all the books that preceded this one, all the men and women who came and went in these tales, all the politics and the tactics and the wars so far, they all seemed to have existed for this very moment, the moment when Caesar stood proud at Pharsalus. McCullough's fifth book in this mammoth of a series is the one that brings out the Caesar that people of the present remember him as, a great general, a man loved by his legions, a man who willed his luck in his favour, a man of ambition, a man utterly in command. Caesar is the hero of the book, almost a superhero, even a god as some wonder, and now recede the names of Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla as only one remains at the centre-stage - Caesar! His exploits at Gaul mark the beginning of the book, but they take up many chapters for it was no easy campaign. McCullough brings that era alive, those men and women of Gaul who wanted to take a stand against Caesar despite their internal differences, who almost had a chance, almost. Caesar was tactically brilliant, but he also carried Caesar's luck, something that never failed him in those tough years at Gaul. His victories at Gaul are what make him all the more powerful and his enemies back at Rome fearful.
And then comes the politics, the scheming and the plotting without which you have no Roman tale complete. McCullough's books in this series have dealt in detail with the shrewdness of what went on in the Forum as much as it has captured the violence of the battles fought by Rome - and both are equally frightful! It requires some other skill-set altogether to survive the politics, to be many steps ahead of your enemy, just like a game of chess. Caesar excels here too, quick with his mind as quick as he is with his commands. While the politics continues, led by the 'boni', it is another great general whom Caesar will finally have to face - Pompey the Great, an ally once, an enemy now. This is the book that holds that great battle, that contest between two men who had proved their worth on the battlefield many times, and who believe they can outsmart the other. Ahh, to have lived in those times!
The battle between Caesar and Pompey became a turning point not only in their lives, but for Rome too. McCullough's study goes into enough details as to why these great men did what they did, why they were beyond words and debates, why a battle was inevitable. McCullough does not diminish Pompey to make Caesar shine, and lets the former remain as enigmatic and powerful as we have come to know him from the previous books. But she does allow Caesar to stand apart from the rest, to grow into the giant of a man that has become an iconic figure of history, one who can teach many of us even now to be bold and brave, to let your mind and heart come together and to yearn for greatness if you truly believe you are destined for it... and then march onto it! -
“Quando César está no comando, não há um único homem que duvide da vitória.”
“A Gália-dos-Longos-Cabelos começou a interrogar-se sobre quem seriam realmente aqueles romanos, com os seus minúsculos exércitos, formados por soldados esplendidamente equipados que se comportavam como se fossem um único homem, que não caíam sobre o inimigo como uma massa indisciplinada e ruidosa, nem se lançavam como loucos para o frenesi da batalha. […] antes de César, os romanos não passavam de bichos-papões, que só serviam para assustar crianças.”
“Parecia tão cansado, tão triste, tão sem vida. Não se suicidou. Apagou-se como uma lamparina cujo azeite fora completamente consumado.”
“Parece-me que o mais interessante no fato de se professar uma filosofia é que esta permite que o seu seguidor encontre, em todas as situações, circunstâncias atenuantes para a sua própria conduta.”
“Os deuses torturam aqueles que mais amam.”
“Nada sei do amor, exceto que é algo que tem de ser ganho.”
“fazer amor com ela era como um prolongamento da música. Ele era o vento sibilando nos céus, ele era o viajante num oceano de estrelas – e restaurava as suas forças na canção do corpo de Rianone.”
“Os soldados podem sentir respeito pelo inimigo, mas não afeição, tampouco piedade. O ódio é um sentimento primordial para se ter um bom exército.”
“é assim que funcionam as democracias: dão a oportunidade de idiotas descerebrados escolherem os seus candidatos e depois ficarem se perguntando por que elegeram um imbecil.”
“a lembrança das nossas crueldades é um péssimo consolo na velhice!”
“Não sabia conversar, embora falasse pelos cotovelos.”
“- Às vezes – disse César, cansado -, desejo que nós simplesmente surgíssemos em algum lugar e germinássemos. As mulheres são uma complicação com a qual nós, homens, não precisamos sofrer.”
“Mas a verdade é que os deuses de todos os povos amavam os homens que se distinguiam pela sua superioridade.”
“Ninguém sabia melhor do que César que, por detrás da sorte, havia oceanos de muito trabalho e profunda reflexão.”
“o prazer magnífico de se saber vencida, de enfrentar um homem e ser lisonjeada por ele, e dominada, e punida, e escravizada. Sem perder minimamente a consciência de todas as suas próprias capacidades e inteligência, o que mais poderia uma mulher querer do que um homem que lhe impusesse respeito?”
“Os governos nunca têm dinheiro suficiente, porque os governos não ganham dinheiro, todos eles o gastam!”
“não encontrei nos escritos de nenhum filósofo nenhuma prova de que as mulheres possam ter prazer na relação sexual. O sexo é um prémio para os homens”
“Havia chicoteado o cavalo, sem perceber que, afinal,. O cavalo era uma mula.”
“As mentiras têm a sua utilidade, mas é uma estupidez construir uma carreira baseada na mentira.”
“Para travar uma guerra, o principal é ter dinheiro.” -
Tried to finish this before the new year but didn't. This might be my favorite book. It’s got all the great historical hits: Alesia, the dissolution of the triumvirate, crossing the Rubicon, Pharsalus. Maybe this is fucked up but I get a big shit-eating grin and clap like a seal as I read about stupid Rome falling into its 2nd civil war in as many generations. We’re all in on the joke, we all know what’s going to happen, and that just ADDS to the serotonin this book gives me. It’s like eating mac and cheese and binging your favorite TV show on a rainy day. Everyone should find a book they feel about like this.
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Gallic wars and the Civil War. Engrossing and well written. Excellent maps. It’s important to have this in print because you can’t read the maps on an ebook reader.
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I am a sucker for Historical Fiction. Ancient Rome is my favourite time period. This book, although fictional, followed history very accurately and it was a helluva fun read! I am on to my next Colleen McCullogh Rome book!
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El libro queda cortado al final. Después del asesinato de Pompeyo, no se habla más de César. No se describe su vuelta a Roma ni su asesinato.
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Poor Pompey. And Cato is still a dick.
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You can either pick up tomes and tomes of history to learn about the greatest military general that ever lived, or you can read this 600 page piece of fantastic writing! My review is of course biased because of my admiration of Caesar, but it's a brilliant book nonetheless.
The book begins with Caesar's conquest of Britannia, follows his conquest of Gaul and ultimately ending in the civil war with the great Pompey Magnus. The dramatization is captivating and entertaining and at the same time, the history is quite accurate (unlike many other shows and movies where it's not). The battles have been described in as much detail as a novel would permit with illustrations where necessary. For the few minutes each day that I read this book, I was living in ancient Rome.
This is by no means a history textbook and not having *any* knowledge of the Roman empire will make this a difficult read. But if history, and in particular Roman history interests you and you don't want to bury yourself in thousands of pages of literature, Caesar by Colleen McCullough is the book for you.
