by Colleen McCullough
Billed as a novel about Caesar and Cleopatra, the final installment of McCullough's series on ancient Rome confines the beguiling Egyptian queen to barely 100 of 748 pages. Alas, the rest is devoted to mind-numbing details of Caesar's battles to expand the empire and family squabbles that make TV soaps seem highbrow. And given McCullough's habit of interspersing contemporary lingo with period dialogue ("Knock me over with a pine needle!" says a member of the Kill Caesar Club), you may want to wait for the movie of the week. (Simon & Schuster, $28)
BOTTOM LINE: The empire strikes out
Your Reaction
