The events of the prior books in the series seemed more evenly split between Rome and the battlefield, whereas this book was almost entirely about war (for necessary historical reasons). It was a very good book but hard for me to get through. Still, I'm looking forward to the next book, as it will cover the period I'm most familiar with.

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.

*4.2 stolen Roman Eagle Standards out of 5*

This series just keeps killing it! So far, this is the most ultimate and complete Roman historical fiction series that I have encountered.

The author (RIP) puts so much time, care, and research into every page. You can tell that she lived and breathed these characters and events. She does have clear bias towards some characters, most notably she is in love with Julius Caesar, and depicts him as pretty much a demigod amongst men. Whereas she doesn't give characters such as Pompey, Cato, and Cicero their due entirely, in my opinion. This isn't to say she is without nuance - she definitely paints a 3d portrait of the world these figures lived in and puts some real flesh onto their historical bones, if you will.

Can't wait to keep going with this enthralling epic series, on to the next one!

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.

I never thought I would be so heavily invested in a book about Rome but wow. It takes a long time to read each one because very long books, very small print. Also requires further investigations on the side for proper understanding. I need to take a break before the next book in the series with an easier read. Then on to book 6 The October Horse. Excellent super interesting book.

Outstanding only Conn Iggulden came close with his highly palatible Emperor series.

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 n  A Political History Of Parthian 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.

Note to self! When reading historical fiction resist the temptation to research the subject until you've finished the book!
The standard doesn't drop for a moment in this stunning, epic First Man In Rome series, doing complete justice to the eponymous hero of this the 5th installment. Caesar is a titan, literally striding the known world, rising in power and influence despite making significant enemies.
McCullough is fully committed to telling Caesar's story, meticulous in her research and never shy in developing her own original insights. And above all else, it's a cracking story.
Just don't spoil the ending for yourself!

4 out of 5 just because I found some battles a bit hard to understand what was going on, and Pharsalus was criminally short.

Everything else was flawless. Caesar is still insufferably perfect, but by this point in the series you have to find endearing McCullough's determination in painting the guy as the noblest figure even while killing thousands of Gauls. I wasn't expecting getting out of this feeling so much empathy for Quintus Cicero, but here we are.

Teen Octavius wasn't as creepy as Baby Caesar, I feel robbed :(

Caesar's war in Gaul, crossing of the Rubicon, and civil war against Pompey. One of the most epic periods of Roman history masterfully told in fictionalized narrative, and so far my favorite book in this series.

Definately one of the best books in this excellent series, dealing as it does with Caesar's Gallic Wars and the Civil War. Though it is, like its predecessors, a long book, it is unputdownable. The story is rivetting and so well told. Truly great storytelling.

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.