Customer Reviews

Caligula

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Douglas Jackson's debut novel Caligula arrives strong to the historical fiction genre where the competition among peer authors Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, John Stack, Steven Pressfield, and Valerio Manfredi is getting very strong. There are many new talented authors writing ancient Rome and Greece novels and Jackson certainly proves he can keep up with the best.

Set in Ancient Rome this is a gritty novel about two slaves under the tyranny of one of Rome's most evil Emperors, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, otherwise known to us all as Caligula. Born bad, with a blackened heart and soul, Caligula from little boy to man is as mad as a hatter, sadistic, greedy, and cold blooded.

Rufus is a young boy with a love of animals that shows talent as he is bought as a slave and apprentice to an animal trader who travels far and wide to bring the most exotic and wildest of beasts to the arena games of the Circus Maximus. Rufus' way with animals and his ability to tame and earn their trust proves beneficial to his master, allowing the duo to exhibit and delight the blood thirsty fans of Rome, with new and entertaining animal spectacles the crowds have never seen before. Working within the gladiatorial arena, watching and learning with the best fighters, Rufus befriends a young gladiator named Cupido, whose strength and courage catches Caligula's eye and is soon transferred out of the arena to be one of the Emperor's private Praetorian Guards.

Delighting the Emperor with his natural charm with animals, Rufus is also torn from his master as Caligula purchases him to care for his most prized possession, an African elephant named Bersheba. Boy and man, both still slaves yet under the protection of Rome's elite, find a better home to earn their keep in, but equally find themselves embroiled in the many palace intrigues and plots that will threaten their lives as they overhear court secrets, fear for their lives as plots are hatched, and try to stay alive when a great conspiracy to murder Caligula becomes a cat and mouse game they never imagined possible.

Lot's of action, romance, and espionage dance across this fictional sport arena with lots of blood and guts, love and friendship, passionate dramas, and intricately woven plots to bring the reader a top notch action adventure thriller. Jackson's talent to evoke the atmosphere of ancient Rome had me feeling I was living the story and was in the picture he was creating rather than viewing it from the amphitheatre benches. While in the arena I heard the lion's roar, the fans cheering, I heard the clanging of swords, and while walking down the stone alleyways of Rome, I felt the chill run up my spine as I smelled the metallic tang of murderous blood as it dripped from daggers plunged into the hearts of those that didn't play the game. A boy and his elephant, a man and his sword, a ruler hell-bent on lust and greed, three men of Rome entangled. Book two entitled Claudius is high on my to-be-read-next list!!

Jackson has an easy style and some nice touches, like his hero's connection with animals (mainly an elephant) and a spying dwarf for a wife. I almost dropped Jackson a star for the horrid bits, like the ghastly death of the hero's mentor, but gave him the benefit of the doubt as he was after all dealing with the excesses of a cruel emperor. Jackson does his research well and spots opportunities to get behind events and trends in ancient Rome, the depravity of an Emperor and the corruption of officials. I look forward to the continuing story in Claudius in which I gather the hero, Rufus, takes his Elephant on the campaign trail to Britain... interesting. I look forward to it! Libertas

I liked this book a lot! It is a book not so much about Caligula but rather a story told from the perspective of characters living within the gaze and influence of the frequent insanely vicious Caligula, his family and his many henchmen. I found it a first rate tale excellently told. It is full of well developed characters, intrigue, suspense and lots of ancient Roman stuff. I would say a fine work of Roman historical fiction replete with Praetorians, gladiators, a lion named Africanus and an elephant! I am excitedly on to read Mr. Jackson's sequel Claudius.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I bought this book at face value based only on the title and cover. Well... not really. A friend of mine suggested I read Mr. Jackson because I was looking for another who wrote fictional books on Rome. The initial gut feeling I got when I saw the cover was a good one and you should always go with your gut. Once I read the prologue I knew I had my next book. The main character is a slave named Rufus, and Rufus has a special gift of working with animals. Because of this his life is put on a collision course with the infamous Roman emperor Caligula.

Now despite this book being named `Caligula' it really deals more with Rufus than that depraved cretin. Like I said Rufus has a special gift and he is bought (more like stolen) from his current master to serve the emperor. Caligula has an elephant and has hired Rufus to care for her. Of course this being Rome and Rome being the beautiful ancient enigma she is, nothing is what it seems. Even olives carry the hint of conspiracies. Before Rufus started his corporate job as the Emperors elephant keeper he was a slave and semi-reluctant friend of his master named Fronto.

Fronto recognizes Rufu's gifts and teaches him probably more than a master should teach a slave. Because of this they develop a bond and this bond leads Rufus to meet Cupido. Cupido is a gladiator and one of the best of his time. He's a killer through and through but to call him a reluctant killer wouldn't place you far from the mark. Two slaves with a unique friendship, haunted by their demons, and ruled by a man that is crazier than Slingblade wearing a nut-coat hanging out on the Green Mile.

Both men have to deal with everyday life in Rome as well as the brutal mood swings of Caligula. We all know how insane Caligula was but it's still a shock to read about, in graphic detail mind you, some of the things he does for sport. Despite the many duties an Emperor must perform to keep Rome running, it's one that he can't mention that is the most important. Assassination. The way nutty Caligula thought, to mention it was to make it so. So how Rufus and Cupido get caught up in such a conspiracy is pretty much the center of this story. "All roads lead to Rome", right? Douglas Jackson thrills us with numerous storylines that will make you laugh, cringe, cry, and shiver all before converging and leading us toward an "ending".

There really is so much here within these pages that you'll forgive me for not touching on them all. (NO SPOILERS)... a few things you should be on the lookout for though... who Caligula chooses for Rufu's wife, what Caligula chooses as his game of choice after dinner, his...ummmm... interrogation techniques, what was blocking the Cloaca Palatina, and his unique and brutally horrific punishment of someone who he deemed a traitor. With all of the brutality that I read and crave, even this one made me whisper a quiet "damn". I really enjoy the way certain authors end their books, and Douglas's last sentence cemented me as a fan.

After watching the TV series Spartacus and reading a book called "for those about to die we Salute the" which I think is out of print. I decided to read more about the past Roman way of life.

The above book was a pleasure to read and very informative. I will be looking for other books by this author. Thank you Douglas Jackson

Caligula (Roman Trilogy 1)

An enjoyable read with a fast paced narrative. Importantly, the novel has characters one feels some involvement with, and takes an interest in what happens to them. It is quite violent, not surprising given the subject matter, but this will not concern fans of the genre.

this is the companion book to Claudius. I read them both and they are well written, very descriptive and if you like Roman Fiction, you will like these books.

I love historical fiction! This book satisfies all my wishes--fun history, fairly good writing, and lots of action. I loved the Druid rituals described in this book and did my own research into Druids and their religion.

The follow-on book, Claudius, explores more about the Druids and is equally as fun!

Why this book was titled Caligula is not so much a mystery as a marketing ploy. Caligula is a relatively minor player in this book & the main subject characters are Rufus a slave & animal trainer & his offsider Cupido a gladiator. This book sheds nothing on the life of Caligua & I regard it as superficial & a light read much on a par with Hawk by George Green. Better off by far to get The Way of the Gladiator by Daniel P. Mannix