‘A towering work of Roman historical fiction. Highly entertaining and compulsive.’
Robert Fabbri
‘The Masters of Rome series is a tour de force, a brilliant recreation of the twilight of the Roman Republic as Caesar and Pompey vie for power. This is historical fiction at its finest.’
Sharon Penman
‘A powerful story told with the verve of a novelist and the commitment of a historian.’
The Sunday Times
‘Incomparable… Engrossing… Breathtakingly detailed… A triumph.’
Chicago Tribune
‘A truly astonishing work.’
Time
“An awesome and epic new work... This is an absolutely absorbing story—not simply of the military and political intrigues that went into the final days of the Republic but also of what it was like to live, love and survive at this pivotal point in our civilization... A master storyteller... A 900-plus-page novel that is every bit as hard to put down as it is to pick up.’
Los Angeles Times
“Splendid in conception... The narrative sweeps along as does the force of history... Colleen McCullough understands the undercurrents of human emotion. She reveals people as they are... Exceptional.”
Washington Post Book World
“McCullough is terrific... Her characters quiver with life.”
The New York Times Book Review
“A treat for those who troll bookstores searching for real historical fiction... As compelling as any novel of contemporary power seekers.”
Houston Post
“Political infighting and power plays; the slaughters and strategies of war; plots thick and nasty... A grandly meaty historical novel... Rich with gracefully integrated research and thundering to the beat of marching Roman legions.”
Kirkus Reviews
“A great Goliath of a novel... Perhaps the most thoroughly researched historical novel ever written... A genuine tour de force.”
Milwaukee Journal
“An intricate characterization of an age, agile in its movement from the minute details of household management to the precise composition of the military colossus Rome repeatedly mustered to repel the Teutonic hordes... An accomplishment so edifying as to be compelling.”
New York Daily News
“The most spectacular of her books... A fascinating history lesson that shows the timelessness of human ambition and misbehaviour... The best work McCullough has ever done.”
Sacramento Bee
“An exciting story of tangled lives and epic events... This novel really grabbed me after a few pages, and I savored it to the end... Republican Rome may be distant in time, but through McCullough’s talent for storytelling and intimate knowledge of the Roman life style, the world becomes alive and pertinent to the contemporary reader.”
Pittsburgh Press
“Crosses battle lines and boundaries. Deaths, births, prophecies, political alliances and rivalries create a whirlwind of drama. McCullough intermingles the high and the low-assassins, soldiers, wives and mistresses — to weave an intriguing tapestry of a great empire.”
Washington Times
“A serious historical novel that edifies while it entertains... McCullough tells a good story, describing political intrigue, social infighting and bloody battles with authoritative skill, interpolating domestic drama and even a soupgon of romance... Fascinating reading... A memorable picture of an age with many aspects that share characteristics with our own.”
Publishers Weekly
“Admirable... Colleen McCullough is an energetic yarn-spinner... Her research is extensive enough to win her half a dozen PhD degrees, and she throws nothing away... A bestseller of higher aspiration.”
Newsday