I am constantly amazed how human nature has changed very little, if at all, in the 21st century compared to the 1st century BCE. The battle scenes described in Caesar's conquest of Gaul still move at a fast pace (for his century) and make as exciting reading for us as they must have done for Romans. His speed of movement apparently amazed everyone as did his tactics (which apparently are still studied at military academies). Then we remember that this was one of the first instances of ethnic cleansing aimed at the suppression and destruction of an entire people and culture, and the resemblance to modern history becomes uncomfortably clearer. Also clear is the political history which comes into play in the second half of this book. A small group of extreme (dare I say fanatical) elitist politicians so stubborn and resistant to change that they are willing to destroy an entire system of government. So many parallels to modern history that, as I said at the start of this review, it is obvious, for better or worse, that not much has changed in the last 21 centuries of human history.

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.

McCullough is a very good writer and her characters are very interesting. Caesar, however, isn't the best. He is too perfect and everyone is aware of it, so this book dragged more than the others. Of course, it probably hurts that anyone knowing Roman history knows that Caesar triumphed against the Senate, which is a bit of a spoiler. But she still made it fun by making the characters entertaining and well flushed out. I'll take a break from the series for a while, I think, but I'll go back to the next book before too long.

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 with Pompeius' sudden death was great. A pity I already knew about his end!.

I am so curious to see Cleopatra, Octavianus and the others - can't wait!

De hombre a leyenda podría definirse este libro que nos sumerge en lapso temporal en que César marco la tendencia para la historia, no solo con sus hechos y personalidad, sino hizo de su nombre una firma, un título.

Good Read

Knowing nothing of ancient Roman history save Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, I feel much more educated and entertained. The author's research and story telling combination makes this history enjoyable to all.

Throughout the fifth book of the series the reader witnesses Caesar's golden years. His triumph, the time when he truly was "The First Man in Rome". Regardless of whether it's the campaign in Britain, the Conquest of Gaul or the Civil War, it is delightful and inspirational to read about his war tactics, battle plans and political games. And while parts of the book are without a doubt pure historic fiction, it is clear that the author was deeply interested and passionate about the topic.
In fact my favorite part of the book was Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon river. I liked the way his doubts and thoughts were described, and how he justified his actions. But most importantly, this decision changed the course of history, and was the first step towards the future Roman Empire.

Van 5 de la série, lo malo, no he podido parar de leer, espléndidos,de mi total gusto y se me van a acabar, por dónde seguiré ? Colleen McCullough, grandiosos, a veces me recuerda a Dostoyevski ( perdón por comparar) pero tienen la capacidad de sacar un libro de una sola frase. Para mí un deleite, solo me queda leerlos" Todos" nuevamente.

It was like reading De Bello Gallico, but with more character. I have tried to read her Masters of Rome series several times with a number of false starts. I don't know why it wasn't working, but I finally picked up Caesar (having skipped the first four, shame on me). Maybe it's because I finally read De Bello Gallico in Latin this year, but something in the story captured me. By the time I was done, I felt like I'd run a marathon, and I had a number of other texts spread out across my kitchen table, but it was worth every minute of it, and now I have to get the other ones back from my students so I can devour those, too.

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.

Poor Pompey. And Cato is still a dick.

A perfect antidote to the current political situation. Pompey as Trump. But who is our Caesar?