Masters of Rome: The heart-pounding bestselling Roman epic, perfect for fans of GLADIATOR: 5 (Vespasian, 5)

Masters of Rome has been another good book in the Vespasian series. Although Vespasian suffered at the hands of the Druids in Britannia, as usual he managed to outwit them although the reader realised that somewhere inside he was frightened of them and what they could do. I know little about the Druids, but if they dressed and behaved like they did in this book, I would have been very scared too. But Vespasian could not show fear and he escaped from them just at the right time and returned to Rome, which was as usual a hotbed of political plotting. Vespasian realised that if he wished to further his family name and join the present aristocracy he would have to start plotting himself. He had a clear idea what he was going to do, especially as his wife, Flavia and two children were now the Empress Messalina's 'guests'. His fear for them drove Vespasian into the plotof killing Messalina and getting his wife and children out of the city as soon as possible. I have read all the Vespasian books up to here and I can see the hero gathering strength and having the wit and authority to carry him through the most dreadful times. As usual this book has its fill of licentiousness and murder. I did enjoy a lot of it, but although I couldn't stand the horrid parts, I feel that I am almost becoming used to them, but I am glad that I didn't live at that time. The end of the book when the Druids return to Vespasian's own home is very frightening indeed, but as usual he manages to evade them. A good book with a mixture of fear, plotting and cruelty.

Robert Fabbri's fictional account of the life of Vespasion continues with episode five. Vespasion is in Britannia, gradually extending Roman control, either by negotiation or force. His brother is captured, and used as bait to draw Vespasian into a trap. The first half of the book deals with this storyline, and follows the adventures of the brothers; there is a fair amount of the supernatural here, with Druids, spirits and even early Christianity. I see from other reviews that some readers have found this a problem, but in a world where the natural and the supernatural were accepted parts of everyday life, i don't really see the issue. This is, after all, fiction.The second part of the book sees Vespasian back in Rome, and heavily involved in the machinations of the Emperor's three powerful freedmen, and their battle to remove Messalina, the Empress. I still baulk at the depiction of Claudius in all current novels as a bumbling idiot, but it seems I am alone in this, so I will complain no more!Overall, this is a worthy addition to the series. Although you know the outcome of the major historical events, the author does a good job of weaving them around Vespasian's story, and it is interesting to work out which of his actions are 'real' and which are part of the fiction. I think the author does well to make the two seamless. I shall be looking forward to the next episode.

This is the fifth book I have read in the series. I feel transported to Rome with with such vivid descriptions of everything Roman. I have already downloaded the rest of the series and am looking forward to reading them all. The stories keep me on the edge of my seat wondering how our hero is going to talk himself out of the problems. Rome is a very dangerous place to live in.

Another cracking read in this excellent and exciting series - a real page-turner. The first half is bloody battles in Britain, with some really scary Druids (probably accurate), the second almost equally bloody politics in the Rome of Claudius, as Vespasian moves from the simple certainties of army life to the murky and disturbing role of climbing the greasy pole for position and influence. Each was fascinating and detailed, and largely factual. I greatly look forward to future volumes.

Vespasian certainly keeps busy doesn't he? Fighting his way through Britannia, knee deep in blood and anti-Roman local tribes, he finds time to rescue his brother Sabinus from the druids who eventually capture him and his unfortunate companions for a ritual sacrifice. Lucky to escape in one piece he returns to Rome and finds himself in as much danger from Messalina, the scheming wife of Claudius, and her minions. I thought the power of the druids to destroy their enemies came across as a bit Sci-Fi rather than historical fiction but apart from that the story raced along from one crisis to another.

Good story just like the others in the series but gets a little bogged down by complicated senatorial politics third of the way through ie Claudius's wife Agripinna, Narcisus,Pallas characters. But worth persevering with.

These books are great. I love Pullo as a character and the plot is well paced and nicely written in my opinion. I've savioured this whole series and just like the way he keeps the action coming at nicely regular intervals without being too much and the politics and intrigue mix it all up to be a great read, with a light sprinkling of humour like a nicely seasoned dish.Not much of a clue regarding the historical accuracy, but for me reading novels is mostly about the wiling suspense of disbelief where needed, so wouldn't let it spoil my fun.

Great read, kept me enticed from start to finish.I think the cold dread from the Druids was slightly over dramatic and took away a lot from the flow of the book. But I have read this series from book one twice over and I am finding it one of the best reads out there for roman fiction.I look forward to your next book.