Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
William Morrow (1997), Edition: 1st, 664 pages
Description
Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML: Rome 54 BC: Caesar's legions are sweeping across Gaul, brutally subduing the tribes who defy him. But, in Rome, his enemies are plotting his downfall and disgrace. Vindictive schemers like Cato and Bibulus, the spineless Cicero, the avaricious Brutus. Even Pompey, Caesar's former ally. But all have underestimated Caesar. When the Senate refuse to give him his due he marches upon Rome, an army prepared to die for him at his back. Rome is his destiny â?? a destiny that will impel him to the banks of the Rubicon, and beyond, into legend. Please note: This ebook contains all the original maps and illustration.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
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
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 she even has Caesar inventing the book--stitching together rolls so he could read by turning pages. Ridiculous I thought! Except 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.
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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 she even has Caesar inventing the book--stitching together rolls so he could read by turning pages. Ridiculous I thought! Except 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.
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LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Even though I think the portrayal of Caesar was pure hero worship, this book was absolutely gripping and exciting. I understand the paranoia of the boni, but they really did drive him to this decision. One of the things that the author drives home is that Caesar does everything by the book. He
The treatment of Caesar is mostly heroic. He has very few flaws. Interestingly, he is drawn as having an inner personality that is separate from Caesar. In his inner monologues he actually refers to this personality as I, not Caesar. This is how he copes with the deaths of the people he loves and the blind thwarting of his plans. He allows “I” to cry, but not Caesar. One thing that is not gone into at all in this book is an actual mental ailment that he suffered from – epilepsy. But rather than being looked at as a weakness or a disability, it is thought of as a sign of being touched by the gods. It is strangely absent.
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wanted what he thought was due him, but he wanted the Senate to give it to him legally. Instead, they blindly fought him on every side. The treatment of Caesar is mostly heroic. He has very few flaws. Interestingly, he is drawn as having an inner personality that is separate from Caesar. In his inner monologues he actually refers to this personality as I, not Caesar. This is how he copes with the deaths of the people he loves and the blind thwarting of his plans. He allows “I” to cry, but not Caesar. One thing that is not gone into at all in this book is an actual mental ailment that he suffered from – epilepsy. But rather than being looked at as a weakness or a disability, it is thought of as a sign of being touched by the gods. It is strangely absent.
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LibraryThing member trekbody
This is just a fantastic novel - one of the best I have read in my life. The beginning was tough due to the names of the characters - if Vercingetorix gets you down, you may have a tough time. The bit of work is worth it, a wonderful piece of historical fiction.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
Probably my favourite historical fiction series. Really meaty and engrossing.
LibraryThing member surreality
Plot: The first half closely follows Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, while the second half deals with the civil war up to Pharsalus. The two central plots give the story better momentum than the previous two volumes and provide a framework for the omnipresent side plots. Overall the book is
Characters: The cast has narrowed down, which makes it relatively easy to keep everybody straight. Caesar is too idolized and perfect to really enjoy him. Everybody gets plenty of attention and it's made plain why they take their respective sides. Dithering between sides is glossed over.
Style: The book had moments when it got lost in details, especially towards the end. Good descriptions of battles and senatorial debates. Information from the past books is brought in little bits that are just manageable without becoming too obnoxious. The prose is nice and fluid to read.
Plus: There's a constant feeling of movement about the book. The usual attention to detail and consideration of small gossipy incidents.
Minus: The maps should have been collected at the back. A family tree is missing, while the drawings don't add anything. Caesar is too perfect and his motives aren't questioned enough.
Summary: This book is entering well-known territory and can be read without knowledge of the previous volumes. Solid narration, but the characterization is a touch too black-and-white.
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streamlined in comparison to its predecessors. Characters: The cast has narrowed down, which makes it relatively easy to keep everybody straight. Caesar is too idolized and perfect to really enjoy him. Everybody gets plenty of attention and it's made plain why they take their respective sides. Dithering between sides is glossed over.
Style: The book had moments when it got lost in details, especially towards the end. Good descriptions of battles and senatorial debates. Information from the past books is brought in little bits that are just manageable without becoming too obnoxious. The prose is nice and fluid to read.
Plus: There's a constant feeling of movement about the book. The usual attention to detail and consideration of small gossipy incidents.
Minus: The maps should have been collected at the back. A family tree is missing, while the drawings don't add anything. Caesar is too perfect and his motives aren't questioned enough.
Summary: This book is entering well-known territory and can be read without knowledge of the previous volumes. Solid narration, but the characterization is a touch too black-and-white.
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LibraryThing member nillacat
First class research, first class recreation of an alien culture. Her Caesar is a super-man, whose passions, intellect and temperament are quite unbelievable. She describes him as possessing terrific charm, and her character does possess that charm, so that you do believe in him, and sympathize
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with him, and cheer for him. Show Less
LibraryThing member santhony
Book five in McCullough's Masters of Rome series, this is the story with which most are familiar: Caesar;s Gallic campaigns, Pompey's rise to power and his clash with Caesar. The triumvirate and the Roman civil wars. Despite being well known, McCullough paints a richer tapestry than previous
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portrayals. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarysGirl
McCullough is a wonder! Historical detail is staggering. Puts you in the twilight of Republican Rome from the first page - the power people, the pulsing life of the city, the religion and much more.
LibraryThing member amerigoUS
I had a hard time getting into it at first. I kept on picking it up and putting it down and picking it up again. But I've liked the Masters of Rome series so very much up to this point that I just persevered. Then at about 130 pages or so, either I or the author (I don't know who is responsible!)
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got into the swing of things - and I could barely put it down! Filled with political manipulations and intriguing characters, McCullough handles it all with such ease, such familiarity after so many years of writing that I feel she is literally living and breathing these characters and their politics at this point. Show Less
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Except for some of the exposition scenes that led up to battles, this was a good book. Almost as good as the Sulla one, but not quite because although Caesar was a brilliant military man and strategist, he was really kind of boring on the personal front. Good book, though.
LibraryThing member jerry-book
This book follows Fortune's Favorites. In that book Sulla had tried to restore the ancient ways with rule by the Senate. It was not to be. Caesar is able to form a triumvirate of Pompey, Crassus, and himself to dominate Rome. Pompey and Crassus benefit from the arrangement but Caesar benefits most
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of all. After his consulate, he takes a pro-consul a command in Gaul where he becomes a war hero and makes his fortune. He is able to secure two five year pro-consul ships. His alliance with Pompey breaks down due to the death of Crassusisšoôook Show Less
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
Although I read this out of order with the series, it was easily accessible if one knows a bit about the history surrounding the Roman civilization. Overall, a satisfying read, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I would not pick up the other books in the series based on this one.
LibraryThing member robeik
McCullough devotes a book in her series on one of the great men of all history, Julius Caesar, and those main players in the his rise to ruler/dictator/king/Greatest Man of Rome - Pompey Magnus, Cato, Cicero and Labienus, etc.
Do you need some dedication to get through this book. It does drift off
If I have one quibble it's the poor quality of the maps in this (and other books in the series). It's a pity that the publisher did not employ a cartographer to redraw these.
Do you need some dedication to get through this book. It does drift off
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occasionally to lecture on an aspect of history. However, one can only admire the natural charisma and energy of Caesar.If I have one quibble it's the poor quality of the maps in this (and other books in the series). It's a pity that the publisher did not employ a cartographer to redraw these.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997
1998
Physical description
10 inches
ISBN
0688093728 / 9780688093723
Local notes
FB Spanning the years 54–48 BC.