Questo quinto volume è andato meglio del precedente, nel quale si indugiava, un po' troppo per miei gusti, sulle avventure amorose di Cesare; d'altro canto, però, il focus, com'è naturale che sia, è ritornato sulle guerre, che per me è comunque un punto a sfavore.
Nulla da dire sulla storia e la saga, bellissima, fatta bene, istruttiva. Il finale di Pompeo è ricco di pathos. Però questo Cesare è troppo perfetto, troppo di ghiaccio. Troppo tutto. Avrei preferito un approccio un po' più umano, almeno nel privato. Sarà che sono stata viziata da come la McCullough ha gestito splendidamente Silla e altri personaggi, persino lo stesso giovane Cesare del terzo volume.

This series makes you live and breathe Ancient Rome. I love all the detail, and there’s a lot of detail. Once again I’m in awe of McCullough's research and ability to turn history into this intriguing saga. Love her humour too.

At first, I thought this book would be an extensive, dry historical epic. I was pleasantly surprised, I could not put the book down and read through it at least 3 times. Fantastic book!

Groaned when I realized that this was fiction rather than factual book, especially having read many books on the subject recently. In the event this book which overs the period of the Gallic Wars, the crossing of the Rubicon and the death of Pompey, was very interesting. It even explains the complicated politics of the time in Rome. The book nicely sets up Caesar's meeting with Cleopatra. Interested to read the next book.

A far better book than the boring previous one, thankfully. However, the odd few sexually graphic passages in McCullough's books always seem to me to be very out of place somehow. As usual with this set, the brilliantly written prose is somewhat let down by the lack of editing / proof-reading as there are countless printing mistakes. Also as expected from McCullough, this is remarkably well researched, and despite the size of the book, the story flows quickly. Recommended for all historical fiction fans.

I really enjoyed this series, but I thought this was the weakest book of the group. The portrayal of Caesar was just too exaggerated. In the previous books the great historical figures were brilliant, but human. The story also felt rushed? I don't know how else to put it.

This was the book in the series that made me love Caesar! Here he was fully fleshed out and his military and political acumen in full display. Caesar here is powerful, autocratic, determined, pushed to the edge by a Senate bent on ruining him. You get the sense of the aura of power and intimidation of this mighty man. I could understand why the Senate feared him. This book follows his conquest of Gaul (which was thrilling) and ends with the civil war with Pompey Magnus. Poor Pompey, he had my sympathy with the constant harassment from Cato and the Senate. As always there was an intriguing cast of new characters as well.

One of the many books I have read over the summer was Caesar, by Colleen McCullough. As part of a series called “The Masters of Rome”, which describes Roman life and follows Rome’s system of democracy, it comes as no surprise to me that Caesar was the most impressive of these novels, as Caesar was, undoubtedly, the most influential figure of the Roman Republic. Not only does Caesar prove a fascinating character, he also represents the epitome of the Republic (and at the same time its last influential figure before it degraded into the Roman Empire). McCullough has, after four previous books, proved her unrivaled interest in Roman politics, and as such, the book Caesar focuses a lot of his groundbreaking qualities.
tAs a man who was born in the Roman Republic, with impeccable ancestry and a legendary heritage from two of the greatest First Men in Rome, Caesar was often viewed as more than human. By the time he was thirteen, Caesar was the chief priest of the Roman state religion, by the insistence of Gaius Marius (First Man in Rome), who enviously acknowledged Caesar’s brilliance and desired to bind him to life to a position that would ban him from politics. Four years later, Caesar had freed himself from this predicament legally and was accepted into the Senate after getting a grass crown in battle. From here, Caesar would strive to climb the ranks and by the end of the book, Caesar is the uncontested First Man of Rome. Knowing beforehand the ending of the book makes it no less interesting, as I discovered after delving into the complexity of Caesar’s character. One of his famed qualities was his admiration of legitimate actions, his perfect record. Only once did Caesar ever unlawfully pursue power, when crossing the Rubicon (the river that separates Italian Gaul from Italy and Rome) with his army. Caesar revered law, even when his rivals focused on nothing but his demise. At the end of the day, Caesar is quoted saying, “no matter what my enemies do, I will always come up on top. Because I want it more than them.” McCullough does everything in her power to bring Caesar’s insurmountable ambition to life.
tAs a politician, much of Caesar’s influence relied on public opinion, and Caesar never faltered. Having been blessed with an extraordinary memory, Caesar is described in one scene as “greeting every single person on the street”. In an era where women had rigid standards of life, Caesar’s mother veered for independence by becoming a landlady, and as such, Caesar grew up knowing many of the people of the Subura. In doing so, Caesar recognised the power of the Roman mobs, which were overlooked by most politicians. The author mimics Caesar’s method of forging slow relationships by observing crucial aspects of his life earlier on, like in the previous books. All of these details contribute to Caesar’s zinc of power in this novel. Caesar is constantly applicable to the middle classes and “Head Count” of Rome; the lowest class which still held the right to vote, but at the same time is constantly removed from mediocrity in seemingly insignificant details. He famously stated, “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” Caesar was, before all things, a revolutionary military man who defeated Further Gaul, and Colleen McCullough makes it abundantly clear that his soldiers, “his boys”, worshipped him and suffered through a decade’s worth of hard work, exhaustion and battle for him; anything for Caesar.
tOne of the best examples of Caesar’s impeccable image is his personal relationships. Caesar’s most famous partner is Servilia, his mistress (but never wife) for more than two decades. When Caesar’s second and inconsequential wife dies, Servilia desires to become Caesar’s third wife, but Caesar famously tells her, quote, “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”. From here stems his battle between logic and emotion, which peaks after the death of the three most connected women in his life: Julia, his only daughter, Aurelia, his mother, and Rhoda, his Gallic mistress. As a reaction to this tragedy, Caesar sees himself “free”: when he discovers Rhoda’s body, who was murdered by his political enemies, he said, “I am glad that out of all three deaths, I only had to witness this one.” Caesar viewed his love as an obstacle to his ambition, and while he mourned his daughter, his future image always, always came first.
tIf there was any one lesson from this book it was that no matter how many people tried to thwart Caesar, ruin his reputation and tarnish his image, the spotlight was always and always will be on Caesar’s triumphant story: Caesar’s personal relationships, Caesar’s political opponents, Caesar’s Rome. I would go so far as to say that I have never read such a detailed analysis of character before. Colleen McCullough unveils all the different layers of Caesar’s complexity, the man behind the legend. As hard as I try to summarise the entire novel into a page-and-a-half worth of notes, the book is exponentially more captivating. It may have been overly lengthy and informative for some, but it was a fascinating read. My only other recommendation is that you read the whole series all together.

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.

This is actually book 5 in her Master's of Rome series. This novel covers his conquest of Gaul of the Long-Hairs through the beheading of Pompeius in Alexandria.
Since this is the Caesar book, I was hoping it would include his Triumph in Rome.
I am not likely to read the other books in this series.

Una etapa crucial en la trayectoria de Julio César

Una interesante novela (quinta de una saga de siete: Masters of Rome) que permite apreciar el despliegue político-militar de Julio César del año 54 al 48 AC, incluyendo el paso por el Rubicón, la experiencia del primer Triunvirato y el estallido de la guerra civil en medio del declive del Senado. La obra concluye con la batalla de Farsalia; la huida de Pompeyo al Egipto Tolemaico y su asesinato allí.

Este 5o livro na série "Primeiro Homem de Roma" continua a excelência no rigor histórico, na ficcionalização cuidada, interligando os eventos e as personalidades conhecidos (e menos conhecidos) numa trama intrigante e consistente.