I've been amazed by quite a few historical fiction already, but none of this specific genre. Rome is one of my favorite places ever since I was young. I aced my third year in high school where we had Greek, Roman, and Egyptian History. Those 3 are my main interest, kindly include Russian History but I haven't read anything about that though. I know that this novel is high on the inaccuracy, but the author made a note in the end anyway. He said that he intentionally had to do the inaccuracy to make the plot a lot better. I honestly didn't mind the inaccuracies, even though I'm a semi huge history buff. I found the novel really interesting despite the issue. I know most of the people who hated this didn't like the inaccuracies, so I guess that goes to show that people have different opinions. I now conclude that I love reading about military and war fiction/non-fiction. I'm also currently reading The Thousand Names by Django Wexler, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Both focused heavily on war and military. I will surely read more of the genre.This has to be one of my favorite reads of 2015. I'm now reminded to make a top-something reads of 2015 shelf. Something about the setting and characters really made me enjoy this novel. It felt very, historical. It delivered the setting it was supposed to. It felt like living in Rome at some parts. The characters were really great. Gaius, Marcus, Renius, etc were awesome. Almost all of them were fully developed and contributed a lot more to the plot than possible. 4/5 stars. Highly recommended to those who can stand the historical inaccuracies. That was the only problem I saw that might hinder you from enjoying this. Aside from that, this was near perfect. I didn't rate this a 5 because it didn't blow me away, unlike the other 5 star novels I've read in the past. Another note too that this felt a bit like a young adult/coming-of-age kind of novel. You'll be reading about Gaius and Marcus' journey from childhood to manhood. It's not that annoying to be honest, unlike some YA books I've read. It read more like a historical fiction book, just like it was supposed to.
Sigh. I have very mixed feelings about this book.1. While I'm glad people are still showing interest in ancient Rome, don't we have enough fictionalizations of Julius Caesar? Aren't there other events in Roman history, other charismatic Roman personalities that we could focus on? Between Shakespeare and HBO, I'm all Caesared out. Write me a novel about Elagabulus. That would be bad-ass.2. Dude. The writing is simplistic and awkward, and at least half the text described violent encounters in fairly graphic detail. Thus, you would think it would be geared towards middle-school boys. However, it is just sexy enough (not porny, but sexy) that, as a teacher of middle school boys, I don't feel comfortable recommending it to them. FAIL.3. The treatment of male sexuality vs. female sexuality kind of bothers me. It is good for Caesar to have lots of random meaningless drunken sex before he gets married; he feels he wouldn't be ready for marriage without all that experience. But he is so glad he gets to deflower his future wife himself; he gets immense satisfaction out of being her first. DUBBLE STANDERDZ--U HAZ THEM. (I concede that MAYBE he was trying to reflect the double standards inherent in Roman culture, but I didn't get the impression that he was trying to do that with the rest of the book, either, so why start now?)4. Dude, Roman history is bad-ass enough. You don't need to be fussing about with major plot points and historical events. And Cabera? Is weird.So, while the author seems like a nice enough guy, with good intentions, I'd much rather go read I, Claudius again.And yes, FTC, I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads Program.
What do You think about The Gates Of Rome (2004)?
Action-packed historical dramaConn Iggulden seemed to like my review of his "quick read," Blackwater, almost as much as I enjoyed reading that book. Being in a one-to-one conversation gave me the opportunity to ask him if he would recommend his Emperor series to anyone who had enjoyed the shorter story. He was very honest in admitting that he didn't know but advised me to walk into a bookshop, pick up The Gates of Rome, read the first chapter then decide whether to replace it on the shelf or buy it.That's almost exactly what I did. In fact, what I actually did was to buy the whole series and read the books back-to-back.This is the first of a series of four historical that describe the life of Julius Caesar and his best friend, Brutus, from boyhood through to his violent death. Knowing what happens in the final pages of the final book does nothing to damage the reader's enjoyment of the set. The action starts in the opening pages as Gaius, as Julius is known in his youth, and his friend Marcus, later known as Brutus, are captured and bullied by older boys from the neighbouring property.As Gaius grows up, he has an early introduction to the Roman Senate and shares some very tough training for his military manhood with Brutus. His mentor is his father's estate manager and his trainer is an even tougher ex-gladiator. These men follow and support Julius and Brutus through most of their lives.Violence, death and political treachery abound and the first book ends with Julius embarking on a voyage as a junior officer on a Roman military ship in North Africa as Brutus heads off to the colonised lands of Greece.After reading the first chapter in the bookshop, I bought the book. Before I'd finished The Gates of Rome, I'd bought all three remaining books in the series and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the same course of action to any friend.
—Lance Greenfield
Amazing book. I got the rest of the series before I even finished this one. Historical fiction is fast becoming a favourite genre of mine. This book is the life and story of Gaius Julius Caesar and his many close friends and advisers. This book will take you from the very beginning of Gaius early life, from a boy to soldier and all else in between. The events that unfold after the death of his father at the age of 15 shifts the future of the young nobilitas. His uncle Marius from his mothers side (in real life it was his fathers side) takes him under his wing and protection and teaches the young boy life lessons that he will take with him in his journey through the adversities that he will face. You will experience the path that the young Caesar took to make history. Highly recommended read. Straight to the Favourites shelf.
—Kingley
Okay, so I get that many people are upset with this book, and I will be the first person to agree that it is NOT historically accurate.However, I chose to ignore this while reading the book. Because when I read a book, I don't read it for accuracy. I read it because it's entertaining. And this book was definitely entertaining.It starts off describing Caesar's early life in his home outside Rome. He grows up with Marcus Brutus (yes, I know, this is historically inaccurate). The story continues from there with their inevitable splitting into two different paths in life. It all takes place within the context of the civil war between Marius, Caesar's uncle, and Sulla.I'd like to point out that Sulla is one of the hottest antagonists I have ever read. But that's not the point. Also, he's not really that historically accurate either. (view spoiler)[In real life, he wasn't really assassinated, but he gave up his dictatorship peacefully in order to live out his days with his gay lover/actor. (hide spoiler)]
—Nicki
