Can a TV show make you want to read, not because the TV is so bad, but because the topic is so interesting?
I remember when Pierre Berton’s National Dream was televised in Canada and how it drove book sales for a while. But from my young perspective it felt more like you had to read those books because it was the Canadian thing to do. But they didn't interest me. I never did read those books. Oops. Maybe some day.
But HBO has been showing a TV show called Rome, and it has sparked an interest in me in Roman history, specifically Julius Caesar and his era. The show, which apparently will only run two seasons, starts with Caesar in Gaul and follows his rise to power and inevitable fall. The story is well told, and uses characters of differing social backgrounds to fill in the details about life in Rome. The second season wasn’t as interesting, as it followed the rise of Octavius, Caesar’s adopted son (who became Augustus). Overall, the show was well-done, with very high production standards, a lot of outdoor filming and unpredictable scripts.
This led me to pick up Conn Iggulden’s “Emperor” books about Julius Caesar The first three books take the story only as far as Caesar crossing the Rubicon, so the most famous parts of the story are yet to come. Unfortunately, the writer seems to have gotten tired of the topic, and as I'm now reading the fourth and final book, he seems to be rushing all of the events that followed Caesar's crossing the Rubicon.
Given that this is Korea and finding English language books is not a given, I was lucky to stumble on these books right when my interest was piqued, and luckier to find the second one first. I read it as a standalone story then found books one and three. Two was better than one, and maybe better than three.
Iggulden’s books are easy to read and enjoyable. They aren’t always historically accurate, but Iggulden always includes author’s notes to explain where he’s deviated from history and why. Even these are interesting reading.
I would recommend these books to anyone who enjoyed Rome.
