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Caligula

A thrilling historical epic set in Ancient Rome that you won’t be able to put down…

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Caligula

By: Douglas Jackson
Narrated by: Russell Boulter
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Perfect for fans of Robert Harris, Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow, a riveting thriller set in Ancient Rome from bestselling author Douglas Jackson.

"...gripping Roman thriller. It's certainly well placed to take on the Simon Scarrow/Conn Iggulden audience." -- Scotland on Sunday

"Fantastic read..." - ***** Reader review.

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CAN A SLAVE DECIDE THE FATE OF AN EMPEROR?

Ancient Rome. Caligula is Emperor, his reign marked by excess, ambition, decadence, cruelty, madness, sexual scandal and death.

Rufus is a young slave living a world away from the Imperial court - apprentice to an animal trainer for the gladiatorial arena and friend to Cupido, one of Rome's greatest gladiators.

When Rufus's skills come to the attention of Caligula, he is summoned to court to serve as keeper for the Imperial elephant - and unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy to assassinate the Emperor...

Rufus's story continues in Claudius.

 Action & Adventure Ancient Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Thriller & Suspense Urban Rome
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A bit childish and contrived. Ok, more than a bit. Not particularly historical. Characters are predictable caricatures.

Amusing, but not what I expected

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Really enjoyed this ,great story line well read truly painted a picture in my mind as the story progressed well read ,good concept would recommend as a fast listen ....good stuff

Excellent listen

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I love historic novels and especially ones about either UK kings and princes or Roman emperors. This was a fine book by Douglas Jackson but what bothered me was that it was quite cruel, which is off course historically accurate, Caligula was not a cuddly man, but it was sometimes a bit too vividly described for my taste. I sometimes felt I was one of the spectators in the arena - and could almost smell the blood, which made me a bit queasy. This is also the strength of the book though, so if you have a strong stomach (especially to hurdle the first chapters, it gets better afterwards) its definitely a good listen.

Very vividly descriptive

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The narrator was very good and his characterisation was brilliant. The story was wonderfully tense and a completely different perspective from the usual novels I've read set in the Roman era. There are some very graphic, and quite disturbing scenes but they are skillfully handled and are not out of place. The character of the elephant was also very well done, you got a real sense of her presence and there was no schmaltzy sentimentality as can sometimes occur in stories where animals are a main character in the story. The famous figures are also well painted and you get a sense of the sometimes benevolent, vulnerable and often brutally irrational Caligula.

A very different perspective on Rome

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