The October Horse (Masters of Rome)
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"[A] swiftly moving story...packed full of political intrigue, romance, drama, and war."
-- "Booklist" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
Rome, 48BC. Scene of one of the greatest political battles - and one of the most passionate love affairs - of all time.
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this volume as much as the others in the series, and shall certainly go back and reread the whole thing now it is complete.
McCollough offers some interesting explanations for events which are consistent with character and history but different from the standard ones - for example her explanation of the character and motivations of Cleopatra and her relationship with Caesar. I enjoyed her portrayal of Octavian, although I felt it lacked the depth of come of her other work, perhaps because she knew she wouldn't be following him.
Although I cannot blame her for calling a halt here (after all, to get into the Octavian/Augustus saga would be a commitment to another 6 books) I am sorry, since Augustus interests me more than Caesar as a historical character, and I would have liked to have read her interpretation of some of his later behaviours. .
McCollough offers some interesting explanations for events which are consistent with character and history but different from the standard ones - for example her explanation of the character and motivations of Cleopatra and her relationship with Caesar. I enjoyed her portrayal of Octavian, although I felt it lacked the depth of come of her other work, perhaps because she knew she wouldn't be following him.
Although I cannot blame her for calling a halt here (after all, to get into the Octavian/Augustus saga would be a commitment to another 6 books) I am sorry, since Augustus interests me more than Caesar as a historical character, and I would have liked to have read her interpretation of some of his later behaviours. .
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought "The October Horse" not knowing that it was part of a series. Hence I can't compare it to McCullough's other books but I have read several other books on the era ("The Memoirs of Cleopatra" among others).
It took me some time to get used to her style of writing. The action seemed sluggish (though you might as well blame that on history) and I wondered whether or not I was ever going to finish it. Fortunately (for me), I am not a quitter and once you get used to her style of writing and the action begins, you can't let go. All historical characters have received their own personalities and feelings, making their actions believable and the events more understandable. But it can also be quite confusing, Margaret George's "The memoirs of Cleopatra" shows Cleopatra in a far more favorable light. It takes some time to get used to a far more narrow-minded Cleopatra. But this is, of course, no fault of the book.
The book gives you a really good overview of all events including the less known ones (like Cato's desert march, Mark Antony's murder attempt, the story of Brutus' head and so on). It's a pity she ended the story with the defeat of Brutus and Cassius. The battle of Actium would be far more appropriate. Those, who did not pay that much attention during history lessons, will want to know what happened to Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Sextus Pompey and other loose strings.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great book and a fine series of novels. I can't wait to read the final installment "Anthony and Cleopatra". The scope of this story is amazing. Africa, Syria, Egypt, Italy and Gaul are but a few of the locations for the action besides Rome. When you take into account what McCullough covers in the five novels previous to this it is indeed astounding.
To write a review here is almost to repeat what I said in my review for McCullough's Caesar. I have big problems with her description of Caesar as a superhuman force for good. There is definitely a lot of hero worship going on here. Despite an heroic description of Cato's march in Africa I think that the Republicans come off much too poorly for people who must have had their fair share of skill and intelligence. I'm sure that nobody in the ruling oligarchy had truly noble intentions but we are lead to believe that Caesar did.
Despite McCullough's obvious love for Caesar above all others I still really enjoyed the book and the series. By putting aside what I took to be the author's personal feelings about the characters I was able to learn an awful lot.
While McCullough's weakness is her pedestrian narrative her great strength is her knowledge and attention to detail. Overall I am grateful to her for expanding my knowledge of history and inspiring my interest in all things Roman.
To write a review here is almost to repeat what I said in my review for McCullough's Caesar. I have big problems with her description of Caesar as a superhuman force for good. There is definitely a lot of hero worship going on here. Despite an heroic description of Cato's march in Africa I think that the Republicans come off much too poorly for people who must have had their fair share of skill and intelligence. I'm sure that nobody in the ruling oligarchy had truly noble intentions but we are lead to believe that Caesar did.
Despite McCullough's obvious love for Caesar above all others I still really enjoyed the book and the series. By putting aside what I took to be the author's personal feelings about the characters I was able to learn an awful lot.
While McCullough's weakness is her pedestrian narrative her great strength is her knowledge and attention to detail. Overall I am grateful to her for expanding my knowledge of history and inspiring my interest in all things Roman.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A magnificent exercise in historical fiction writing at its finest
The October Horse was a long time coming from the proflic pen of McCullough's acknowledged genius, after 'Caesar' in 1997. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mark
good, but this series is losing its energy
With the close of this novel, which was supposed to be the last in the series, I feel as if I have lost a good and trusty friend. Read more
Published 13 months ago by rob crawford
Not as good!
The October Horse was a bit of a slog to be honest certainly once Caesar was gone and the center moved to Octavian. Read more
Published 20 months ago by AdNoctum
Not as good as the first 5
Having ploughed my way through the first 5 books in the Masters of Rome series I couldn't not read this one. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Mallory Chase
One of the Best Yet
Colleen McCullough was born in Australia. A neurophysicist, she established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney She then worked as a... Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2007 by J. Chippindale
The end at last!
So, here it is. Must be nearly 10 years since I read 'The First Man in Rome' and so started on Colleen McCullough's 'Masters of Rome' series. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2003 by S. Flaherty
Pretty good book
I have read and enjoyed all of the books of Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome series. I enjoyed this book as well, but not as well as the others. Read more
Published on 1 May 2003
October horse - a let down
I am a huge fan of Colleen McCullough's Roman series, and waited impatiently for some 3 years for the last volume. What a disappointment! Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2002
A perfect ending to the Masters of Rome series.
I had forgotten how much I disliked Ancient Rome until I read this book. It gives such a detailed description of how the Republic disintegrated into something quite different and... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2002
A great finale to a great series
Colleen McCullough's final book in the Masters Of Rome series has been a long time coming, but it's certainly been worth the wait. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2002
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