Emperor: The Gods of War [Hardcover]

Conn Iggulden admittedly set an ambitious goal for himself in his four volume "Emperor" series, a work of "a-historical historical fiction." Iggulden has acknowledged his numerous departures from the historical record in his books, and he repeatedly recommends Christian Meier's magnificent biography, "Caesar," for those who want a more accurate account.

I do not fault Iggulden one iota for deviating from the historical record -- he's writing fiction. The question becomes, how good is the story he tells? Why should we seek out "Emperor" in the face of so many novels about Julius Caesar?

Fortunately, Iggulden had the confidence to break from tradition and give us his own take on Caesar and his times. For those looking for a more "historical historical fiction," you should check out Colleen McCullough's awesome "Masters of Rome" series that starts with "The First Man in Rome." Hers is much more of a "you are there" walk-through of actual history.

Iggulden takes a hand grenade to the historical record to tell a more focused story of friendship, betrayal, love, war, and conquest. Caesar and his childhood friend, Brutus, rise to prominence together in books 1-3, but in Book 4 the relationship is strained. Brutus, perhaps incorrectly, interprets Caesar's use of Mark Antony and Octavian (one day to be Augustus) as insults -- how can Caesar honor anyone before Brutus, who has been there from the beginning and done more to help Caesar than anyone?

This betrayal leads Brutus to join Pompey's forces in the infamous civil war that ends up at the titanic Battle of Pharsalus. Can Brutus' friendship with Caesar survive this betrayal? Can it be revived? Can Brutus look past Caesar's colossal pride and see his childhood friend?

For anyone who hasn't lived under a rock, you know the answers. (Iggulden may deviate from history a bit here or there, but he doesn't completely rewrite it.)

Iggulden writes with the same economy and clarity that he brought to the first three books. But the sheer scope of Book 4 -- the civil war, the death of Pompey, Caesar's time in Egypt, the betrayal by Brutus, Caesar's triumphant return to Rome and his imperial ammbitions, the jockeying for position by Brutus, Octavian and Mark Antony, the birth of Caesar's son by Cleopatra, and the assassination -- make the 380-odd pages of "Gods of War" seem a bit thin. I felt like I was reading Iggulden's "Highlights from Caesar," and that's not good.

Iggulden has written an entertaining series. But he chose to write about one of the defining periods of Western Civilization -- the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire. You cannot give the people who shaped these events short shrift, and Iggulden for the most part does. Brutus and Caesar, naturally, receive some development, but Octavian gets only a few choice bits, and Mark Antony and the others might as well not even be in the book.

All in all, I enjoyed books 2 and 3 of this series much more than books 1 and 4. Book 1 was marred by a "hidden identity" gimmick that really didn't quite work, and the magical-mystical elements brought by the healer Cabrera really didn't fit into Iggulden's story. These flaws vanished in Books 2 and 3, and Iggulden rewrote history in a rollicking fashion - his description of the battles to defeat Mithridates and to beat Spartacus were much better than his handling of Pharsalus, which felt cursory. While Iggulden's battle scenes in Alexandria are fun in "Gods of War" are fun, they do not carry the rest of the book.

All in all, a slightly disappointing conclusion to a good series that didn't really strive for greatness-- unlike McCullough's titanic series. I suspect I will be much more upset when I finish Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series than I was when "Gods of War" reached its conclusion. Perhaps if Iggulden chooses a smaller project next time, I'll enjoy the books more -- it's clear he is a writer of talent and vision.

I have already read and reviewed the previous 3-books in The Conn's "Emperor" series, which deals with the Roman Republic and uses Caesar and his side-kick Brutus as the main characters. In that single sentence I just identified two of the many things terribly wrong with these books.

Like the previous 3-books in the series, they are all quite readable and are fast page turners. Being a student of this period of history, I found these books absolute historical abominations. There is virtually nothing accurate and the events are entirely misleading, the characters all kinds of wrong, and you just have to wonder why someone would write something like this, or better yet, why anyone would publish it??? Like his Mongol series, I have concluded he knows virtually nothing of these subjects and merely cranked this stuff out to sell books. Ok. I guess I am bitter because I have financially contributed to this fraud.

After dragging myself through this author's other books, I had to check out on this one after 70-pages. I picked it back up a few months later. The civil war with Pompey is entertaining to read. I just don't get why a guy who makes his living off of history shows history absolutely zero respect.

The only reason I am bothering with this review is that too many others are singing the praise of these books, and it is really unjustified. Conn's brief apologies for his historical liberties, which he pitifully and understatedly does in every book, are not accepted and do not address the majority of the issues; many of which he seems completely unaware of. Invest your money elsewhere, this author is "historical" fiction at its worst.

I can't tell you how I've waited for each and every 'Emperor' book by Conn. This one was no different! 'The Gods of War' is one of the best books I've read this year! Tying up the loose end of Brutus, Ceaser, the wars, and the chilling ending was just pure enjoyment.

I keep seeing people who don't like this series because it's not accurate... geez!! GET A HISTORY BOOK MORON! If you want a wonderful story about Rome, her citizens, her Generals, her joy and pain, then pick up this book/series!