This is the final volume in the Masters of Rome series and
covers the time from Caesar's search for Pompey in Egypt to the battle of
Philippi, which marks the end of the “liberators” and the beginning of the
final rise of Octavian to Augustus. It is a book as much about Octavian as it
is about Caesar..
The current volume
recounts Julius Caesar's final years, focusing on his involvement with
Cleopatra, and his final campaign in Spain. As Caesar's fame and power grows,
so does the discontent of the Roman elite. Perhaps, if they had the benefit of
reading McCullough's works, they could have seen how the pressure of the
ever-expanding sphere of Roman influence, and the reforms instigated by Marius,
required the focus of a single, brilliant man to steer its vision. However, to
the powerful men of the capital city, who have watched the power of the Roman
Senate erode from absolute, to merely advisory within a single lifetime, his
ascendancy is percieved as a grave threat to their cherished way of life.
So this long time fan of Colleen McCullough grabbed this
book as soon as he saw it on sale at Goodwill. I do love Roman history and read
the entire series Masters of Rome. What a clinker for me. Maybe just because
I’ve entered my golden years but the endless complexity of the genealogy and
names previously mentioned in her series was just playing too much. The drama
was exciting. The characterizations interesting. The confrontations seem true
and on and on. But the fact is while I knew the plots and what it was all about
I couldn’t keep track much of the time of who was talking and even sometimes
about what. I started skipping parts which I never do and thought the book
would never end. Sorry about that fans of this wonderful writer but he seemed
tired and inattentive to making the story flow for me.
