A fantastic opening instalment in this new series from Conn Iggulden. Starting off with how Nero came in to the world, we follow the early events surrounding his early childhood in to a young boy.

A great read with plenty of historical links to the literature we have access too regarding the different emperors and key figures at the time. I really enjoy the way in which Iggulden doesn’t state what a character is supposed to be like, instead he makes your opinions twist and turn as you battle to decide if they are a good person or perhaps just a madman.

The first in a trilogy, Nero is mostly narrated from the perspective of the emperor’s mother, Agrippina. The action begins with the return to Rome of the absentee emperor Tiberius, continues after his death with the terrifying reign of Caligula, which is, in turn, cut short by assassination and is followed by the accession of Claudius. Throughout all this, Nero is a mere child but the events he lives through clearly have a profound influence upon him.

There’s nothing particularly new here. Nevertheless, the book makes compelling reading, largely because of the vividness of the characterisation. The players, major and minor, are so powerfully drawn that the reader is sucked into their dilemmas, whether they are played out in the stifling seclusion of the imperial palace or in the murderous backstreets of Rome.

All the participants are monsters of corruption and ambition and yet in moments of intense lucidity the author renders them sympathetic, focusing on their vulnerability as much as their cruelty. Agrippina , in particular, is a fascinating character, utterly cold and ruthless; yet, I found myself wanting her to succeed. It’s a terrific read.

This novel is the first in a trilogy and covers the early childhood of the boy who would one day become the infamous Emperor Nero. This first part is mostly focused on telling the story of his mother Agrippina, and her struggle to ensure the survival of her young son, Lucius. And what lengths she went to, in order to do so!

Ancient Rome was a hotbed of power politics, machinations, and casual cruelty - and that is the world that Iggulden successfully brings alive in this book.

Agrippina had to, among other things, survive the brutal rule of Caligula, and it would have been interesting to read more about that period, which is not really done justice in this story.

On the hand, the author is able to draw on well-established material by his predecessors, so the research on which the tale told here is based seems fairly sound. Iggulden's strength is to tell a story in a way that will resonate with the average reader, who may derive less pleasure from the classic versions.

All in all, this is an engrossing - if at times, a little gross - book, and one that makes for an interesting read. I think it will resonate with his existing readership as well. It gets 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this story. It’s a good mixture of facts and added dialogue to make for an interesting story. The story paints a challenging life for both rich and poor in ancient Rome and the amount of deception and deceit by all parties ensured you couldn’t really guess where the story was going to take you next. Looking forward to the next installation in the life of Nero.

Loved this! I really enjoyed reading this book and just wanted more! Thank you to the writer, published and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy.

This book is pretty typical Iggulden similar to his Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan series. Very interesting read, and compelling enough, but I found the characters harder to engage with. Unfortunately, Nero's character isn't developed enough to compel me to want to follow his tale -- I think some tighter editing, and maybe moving some material from book 2 into this one to make it a bit more focused on Nero would have been good.

I freely admit that I am a long-term fan of Conn Iggulden, having read virtually all of his novels. He is an author who totally grips you from the first to the last page. This book lived up to Iggulden's previous reputation,
He has a knack for fully immersing you in the lives of the key characters and the multi-layered plots.
We are all aware of the violence and sadistic traits of most Roman emperors. However, most of the women portrayed in Nero are equally ruthless, devious, and scheming yet they would do anything for their children.
The book is a super introduction into the early life of Nero from a baby until an infant. His lineage is from very complex and fairly unlikeable characters. I am really looking forward to reading the next book about him and his Mother.

A really good tale, well paced and entirely gripping throughout.

Ready to read the next in the series? Absolutely.

This was a fantastic blockbuster of a novel- how can I wait for the rest of the trilogy! of course the author has some amazing material to work with: Robert Graves and Racine have also used the rich history of the Imperial Roman Empire, but Iggulden’s is both the most accessible and entertaining. I did have to download a family tree of the Caesars’ reigns which really helped as a memory aid. I’m so excited for the next books to come. many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Well written and enjoyable storytelling while sticking to the history for the most part. Interesting start to a new series and I look forward to the next installment. I enjoyed that this followed Nero's early childhood as an insight to his later behaviour. Agrippina's story really drew me in and the artful use of history and fiction made this an enjoyable rather than just an interesting read.

Conn Iggulden is one of my favourite authors and has been for many years. This is the first of a new series and it certainly reads like an introduction to a series.

The story is almost an exact retelling with very little additional story woven in. With this period of history the events are almost unbelievable so I guess there is no need to create huge amounts of fiction on top. It did however mean the book sometimes read as a history lecture.

As with all CI books, the pacing and delivery is controlled . The books goes through a clean and direct journey.

It's a shame this isn't realised until May 2024 because I'm ready for book 2 already!!

I’ve read everything written by Conn Iggulden to date, so unsurprisingly thoroughly android this firsrt in his new trilogy.
His research is always impeccable, and his narrative skills allow for a wide range of characters and a brisk pace.
This story has few likable folk, so if you like your protagonists dark and complex, you’ll enjoy this.

There is much to learn from reading this new title. With only a hazy understanding of the the Roman emperors ,I was able to gain understanding of the lineage of Nero, Caligula and Tiberius. However, as an immersive piece of fiction, I was less convinced. I appreciate that this is is the first in a trilogy but I felt that there were too many characters who I wanted to know better and yet who were quickly "despatched" in order to get to the next one. This had the result of making the characters feel undeveloped and so I was less engaged.

Following in the footsteps of I, Claudius and Robert Harris’ Cicero trilogy, ‘Nero’ tells the story of the childhood of the boy who would become emperor Nero. Incredibly well researched, but some of the pacing was a bit off. The worst bits of Caligula’s reign are only briefly covered in one chapter, and it makes it quite hard to sympathise with anyone having missed out on crucial information.
Rounded up from 3.5 stars

Absoultely fantastic. Conn Iggulden just keeps putting them out. No idea how he does it but he creates such a fantastic portrayal of Nero.

I am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this PPC of the first book in Conn Iggulden’s Nero trilogy. I had Iggulden down as an author to try so this is my first of his.
This is another retelling of the Annals of Tacitus with some additional material. Iggulden has done his research and is familiar with the history.
Nero doesn’t get much beyond 5 years old in this first tranche so it is more the story of his mother, Agrippina the younger, daughter of Germanicus, sister to one Emperor and niece to another, as she survives an abusive marriage and the murderous reign of Caligula and does all she can including manipulation and murder to ensure the survival of her only son Lucius.
The book is readable but more a ripping yarn than anything more. There could have been more in depth psychological study of the characters. In particular more could have been made of the depiction of Claudius.
Overall a good read which left me somewhat disappointed.

Oh wow! What an utterly enthralling read. A huge history lesson about the romans I was only vaguely aware of and will now head off to find out lots more about.

Brilliantly written and well thought out, gruesome in parts as the Romans weren’t the nicest and this brings it home quite graphically but not enough to make it a turn off.

Can’t wait for the next book in the series- really can’t recommend this enough!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Readers familiar with the history of the Roman Empire will know what's coming — but whether you do or not, this dramatic tale brings alive all the intrigue and horror. Con Iggulden has truncated some of the details, as explained in the afterword. And I'm not sure what sources he had for the personality of the child Lucius. But overall, this makes for a compelling narrative and a convincing depiction of the character of scheming Agrippina. I will follow the series…

'Nero' is a brilliant historical novel from Iggulden. I love reading anything about the Romans and was excited to see how Iggulden would tackle it and I was not disappointed. Iggulden covers a lot of ground in this book to start the series but it meant the book moved at pace and I was never disinterested. The people are really brought to life as is the atmosphere. 'Nero' is very entertaining as well as interesting and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy.

It's a Conn Igg book well crafted full of facts weaved into a great historical story based on Nero a Roman Emperor his early life under uncle Claudius and his scheming second wife Agrippa. Yes just like the brilliant BBC series I Claudius one of my favourites. A good read, intense story requiring focussed attention. Book 1 leaves you in the middle of Claudius invasion of Britain making it a province of Rome. wonder how many in this series. Well recommended to read and brush up on your Roman history.