Dutch Guy, I just finished Caesar, and I'd be interested to chat with you when you're done. The author just seems to be getting stronger as she rolls along. My $0.25 summation of the whole Masters of Rome series: Great historical detail, iffy hypotheses about major historical characters, mediocre writing. In other words, enough for me to keep reading. Not everything needs to be a masterpiece.

I'm currently reading Pride of Carthage, mostly because it's the biggest Roman-era historical novel my local library had laying about. Entirely unsure of what I think of it. A few great passages, some really tedious exposition. And as always when reading a novel about Hannibal, the sheer lack of detailed knowledge about Carthiginian culture shines through. It's very different from reading about Caesar, where there's a plethora of ancient sources.

Anybody else slogging through big historical books?