Caligula: The Tyranny of Rome by Douglas Jackson

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third Roman Emperor, is better known by another name: Caligula, a name synonymous with decadence, cruelty and madness. His reign was marked by excess, huge building projects, the largest gladiatorial battles Rome was ever to see - men and animals killed in their hundreds - conspiracies, assassination attempts and sexual scandal. Rufus as a young slave grows up far from the corruption of the imperial court. His master is a trainer of animals for the gladiatorial arena. Rufus discovers that he has a natural ability with animals, a talent for controlling and schooling them. It is at the arenas that Rufus meets his great friend Cupido, one of Rome's greatest gladiators. It is his growing reputation as an animal trainer and his friendship with Cupido that attracts the cruel gaze of the Emperor.Caligula wants a keeper for the imperial elephant and Rufus is bought from his master and taken to the imperial palace. Life here is dictated by Caligula's ever shifting moods. Caligula is as generous as he is cruel, he is a megalomaniac who declares himself a living god and simultaneously lives in constant fear of the plots against his life.Technorati Tags: Caligula, gladiator, Rome, Roman Empire, novel, Douglas Jackson,

Cleopatra, Last Queen of Egypt

Cleopatra was, Joyce Tyldesley, archaeologist, author ("Daughters of Isis"), and popular consultant for TV shows on ancient history, concludes, "an intelligent and effective monarch who set realistic goals and who very nearly succeeded in creating a dynasty that would have re-established Egypt as a world super power." Roman historians, though, saw only "an unnatural, immodest woman who preyed on other women's husbands. From this developed the myth of the sexually promiscuous Cleopatra ... a harsh legacy indeed for a woman who probably had no more than two, consecutive sexual relationships."

Readers who enjoy not only history but how it evolves into myth will find a feast in Tyldesley's book. You may be disappointed to find out that the Queen of Egypt did not first appear to Caesar unwrapped from an Oriental carpet, and it's unlikely that Cleopatra succumbed to the bite of an asp, but Tyldesley's theories as to what most likely did happen are at least as interesting as the folklore.- Allen Barra, The Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Star Tribune.

Technorati Tags: Cleopatra, Egypt, biography, Tyldesley

Empress of Rome: Den of Wolves, Luke Devenish

Review by Stephen Davenport

"Luke Devenish is best known as a script writer for Neighbours. With an incredible narrative power and his distinguished storytelling talent at full strength, Devenish delivers a breathtaking debut novel that is both grand in scope and vivid in detail.

The birth of the Roman Empire is the milieu of Den of Wolves, the first of Devenish's planned Empress of Rome trilogy. Violent, sensual and insanely sordid, the Julio-Claudian tale sweeps the reader into the whirlpool of murder, betrayal, passion, splendour and the chaotic mayhem that defined ancient Rome.

Narrated by Iphicles, a centenarian slave, the saga reveals much about the monstrous woman behind the world shaking events that began with the assassination of Julius Caesar. Using soap opera techniques, Devenish produces a swiftly-moving story that is brimming with political intrigue, lust and drama.

But there is nothing second rate about Den of Wolves. The author cleverly retells history from a female perspective. The legendary cast of ambitious and opportunistic characters from Livia Drusilla – wife of Octavian and mother of Tiberius – to Agrippina the Elder and her son Caligula, and other vile creatures, are imaginatively and entertainingly re-imagined. Den of Wolves is an engaging examination of human nature and a genuine throwback to the good-old-fashioned scandal, sin and swords novel." Technorati Tags: Empress of Rome, Luke Devenish, novel, Julio-Claudian, scandal, Rome, book, review,