“Caesar’s Soldier” and “Caesar’s General,” by Alex Gough

It’s nice to pick up some fresh, interesting historical fiction about a character who has always interested me. I’ve been wanting a good Mark Antony novel for years, and these two books have definitely addressed that wish! (I’m assuming they’re the first two of a trilogy and there’s something like Caesar’s Avenger or something coming to complete it, since Caesar’s General ends with the assassination of Julius Caesar).

As the titles suggest, these books are very much focused on Antony’s military career and have a lot of battle scenes — which is fair, that was the main thing the man did with his life and certainly what he was seen as being best at. If I’d have liked a little more focus on his political and his personal life — especially his marriage to Fulvia, who absolutely deserves her own historical novel and I can’t believe I’ve never been able to find one!! — that’s just a classic case of a writer writing the book they wanted to write, not necessarily the specific one I wanted to read. Despite that, these are two enjoyable, highly readable books about Antony, and I will definitely be first in line to read a third book if and when it comes out.