I've been trying to read this book for three weeks, off and on, but just can't seem to get into it. DNF at 50%

Audiobook on CD, borrowed from my public library. Multiple narrators - the performances were ok but not compelling. ( )

Typically, I do not read historical fiction, but this book was an absolute goldmine of a book. It is the story of the Roman emperor Nero. The book was extremely well researched and historically accurate. It was obvious Margaret George conducted a ton of research before writing this book. The book presents a side of Nero that most of us have never heard of or read of before. The prose flowed well, like water running downhill. The narrative was easy to read and was engaging. It is a long book, over 500 pages, so it took a while to read, but it was a joy to do so.

The story is told in the first person POV, mostly from Nero’s perspective, with a few chapters told from the point of view of other characters, such as Locusta, a poisoner, and Acte, one of Nero’s lovers.

This book shows a side of Nero not often seen. Nero is often portrayed as the emperor who “fiddled while Rome burned.” But George shows several other perspectives of the great emperor. Nero was a visionary in engineering, architecture, and urban planning. He was exceedingly generous and identified with the common man more than he did with the aristocrats of the day. Nero was blessed with artistic talent and culture. He was a poet, musician, athlete, and chariot racer, who had a passion for the arts and performing on stage.

This book is part one of a two book series and ends at the great fire in Rome. I plan to read the second book in the series immediately. While this book ends at the fire, it and the second book (as I understand) can each stand on their own.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially for fans of ancient Rome and those who love a great historical fiction novel. Even though I do not normally care for historical fiction, this book may make me change my mind about that. ( )

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" Margaret George writes a biographical fiction depicting Nero in a more sympathetic light arguing that most of our sources about Nero, were heavily biased to make him look as bad as possible (per the afterward). I liked this book, however, the pacing seemed a bit off, I had a hard time finishing the last big. I think this is because this is part 1 of a two part story, and thus the end didn't have a typical climactic build up at the end, and honestly, I was kind of over Nero--you can only make murder and such gross ostentation sympathetic for so long. That said I am excited for the next installment. ( )

Mostly as a kid I remember Nero for having gladiatorial games and giving thumbs down, or having public games and torturing Christians. Second to Caligula, Nero was epitome of Roman debauchery. This faux-memoir attempts to clear that up.

This is the first book of two. This is a hefty 500 page book which feels like I already read two books. The beginning was sublime as we watch Nero navigate, with the help of his mother, Roman politics. I laughed because even Nero was getting confused at his complex family tree.

As he vanquished his rivals, I drifted and lost focus. His next "rivals" were becoming an artist - performing artist and architect. And so the book coasted to the end.

99% of the book is told by Nero with an occasional chapter narrated by someone interacting with Nero. Small quibble, I would have liked these chapters to be in a different font.

I loved the concept of learning about this vilified historical person and look forward to reading the sequel to this book and anything else this author offers. ( )

First Review: This was a really well written book, and I can’t wait to read more of Margaret George’s work in the future. There were two things, above all else, that I really liked about this book: (1) I, on several occasions, was left feeling uncomfortable, which is something you don’t always get in books, and (2) much of this book got me thinking about what I would do in those same situations (since many of us are so quick to say something along the lines of “Well, I wouldn’t do that”).
However, I did end up giving this book only four stars due to George’s statements in the afterward; it felt like she was dismissing all of the terrible and horrific things that Nero did as emperor simply because he was brought up by a terrible mother and wanted/needed to get away from her. While I do sympathize with Nero in the sense that he had an overly controlling and cruel mother, that in no way excuses his actions as emperor.
Second Review: So upon reading this book for a second time, I have lowered my rating by 1.5 stars (from a 4/5 stars to a 2.5/5 stars. This is only because upon my reread, it was still feeling - even more so than my first read - that George was trying to excuse Nero’s actions because he grew up around terrible people who just tried to kill him or someone he loved. Yes, he was an artist, but that doesn’t change what he did. I really liked where George was trying to go with the storyline, though. ( )