The First Man in Rome

De: Colleen McCullough

Narrado por: David Ogden Stiers

"The First Man in Rome was not the best man: he was the First among other men who were his equals...To be the First Man in Rome was something far better than kingship..."

In the first century B.C. at the height of the Roman Republic, two men set their sights on becoming the First Man - the Roman more respected than any other. Marius, a heroic man of strength and means, lacks the noble blood to contend for the First Man, but overcomes his common status when he marries into the patrician house of Caesar. Sulla, a pleasure-seeking aristocrat without money of his own, is transformed by his ambitions into a fierce and daring warrior. Together the two men will shape history as they are thrust into a raging storm - engaging in deadly political contests and waging far-off wars for a state battling to hold on to its enormous power.

Rich with unforgettable characters and unerring historical accuracy, The First Man in Rome is a vivid tale of power, treachery, and a great Republic hurtling towards civil war...

not enough

it read like a Wikipedia page being narrated with some day-time soap operas mixed in. too much summary, not enough of the tangible. I wanted more of everything. it's like she wanted to make Game of Thrones but they only gave her a 175 pages to work with, so we ended up with this.

HEAVILY ABRIDGED

I thought the character development and plot were shallow and blocky. Then it turns out it is a heavily abridged version, although it is not obviously marked as such on the Audible website. I'm displeased with Audible, not the book.

wanted the unabridged version

I thought I got the unabridged version, but this was abridged. It seemed very disjointed. It wasn't until the very end that it said it was abridged.

Good listening

The narrator, David Ogden Steers, is very good. I wish it had been unabridged, so only 4 stars, but is is a fine tale.

So boring.

It's a history lesson. The characters are flat and I felt no concern for them. Yawn.