'Caesar's General' by Alex Gough provides a compelling look into one of the leading figures of the Roman republic's last gasp. It follows Mark Antony from the conclusion of Caesar's Gallic wars to his discovery of Caesar's assassination. The book, as a result, gallops along at a fast and exciting pace.

I really enjoyed the window into Antony's more private moments - his relationships with his daughter, his wives, and his mistress. His friendships with Curio and Trebonius, his rivalry with Dolabella, and his antagonism towards Cicero were highly enjoyable. I love these character moments and these really made the historical Mark Antony come alive. His relationship with Julius Caesar was the most developed of these, and its closeness and complexity were really well written.

The wide expanse of time the book covers necessitates that some events in the timeline get no more than a passing mention, and some are omitted altogether. While I appreciate seeing these events from Antony's perspective, some of the paragraphs exhaustively detailing events he was not present for as background for a letter or a discussion derailed the pace slightly. However, this didn't happen often enough to disrupt my enjoyment of the book.

The book is incredibly well-researched and well-written. It not only makes for a compelling story, but it also provides an interesting jumping-off point for further researching the characters and events in the book. The research has been well compiled from existing theories and evidence, with necessary liberties taken to create more a more engaging plot, and the facts are incorporated very naturally into the storytelling. This is everything you could want in a piece of historical fiction.

The final scenes hold all the drama I was hoping for, and I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series!

Outstanding writing of a difficult subject and language! I thought Gaelic was difficult, but I think Latin has it beat. I was interested in reading this book because it is said that Marc Antony is a grandfather through his youngest daughter named Antonia, but I received much more in reference to my love of History. There was personal insight into most of the key figures that made the story much more enjoyable. This book is about Marcus Antonius, so don't expect complete blow by blow accounts of Julius Ceasar, but you'll get the picture. I'm looking forward to Anthony's next adventure.

The Roman Empire is truly my Roman Empire and anything about it (especially Caesar) I want to read and that is why I came to this book. I love that it is told from Mark Anthony’s perspective because seeing it through his perspective was interesting as the story unfolds (even though we know exactly what is going to happen). Even though these are real people the way their characters are developed to show a well rounded story about history was great and for a book as intense as this and with subject material that is so dense the book was really approachable and I think it was a great book.

Ever wondered what Mark Anthony was feeling during Ceasar's march of the Rubicon? This book delves into Ceasar's historic sack of Rome from Mark Anthony's perspective. It's a unique look into a familiar tale and people. As a big history buff, this book was exciting and intriguing to read.