Emperor: The Gates of Rome

Emperor: The Gates of Rome provides a fictional boyhood for Julius Caesar, about whose youth little is known. The story revolves around “Gaius,” son of a senator, and Marcus, a prostitute’s boy raised as his brother. The death of Gaius's father takes them off the land and into Rome to live with Gaius's uncle Marius, a powerful consul vying with Sulla (who later became dictator) for control of the crumbling Republic. Marcus goes off to join the military while Gaius remains in Rome with his powerful relative.

The author (who has written many works of historical fiction) knows his Roman military history, which serves him well as he presents a time of civil unrest full of chaos and brutality. But sometimes he bungles the social details—like he has a slave girl initiating the first kiss with the senator’s son. And one character wishes another “Godspeed” (italics mine). The author also has a married daughter wrongly telling her father she’s no longer under his authority when in fact, she was. (Fathers could dissolve marriages and marry off daughters to new husbands at will until about 100 years later when the emperor ruled that women bearing three or more children were free from such control.) These little details tripped up authenticity. Yet the reader willing to suspend "historical-details" disbelief, will enjoy the exciting read.

SPOILER Warning. Iggulden readily admits that he took some liberties with history, and for this we can forgive him. But he erred in his attempt to mask the identity of Gaius (Julius Caesar). The title and back cover copy inform the reader that the story is about an emperor.

Three stars.