The October Horse: A Novel Of Caesar And Cleopatra (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
I had read the final book in the series - "Antony and Cleopatra" -earlier, so this turned out to be the last book I'd have to read in the 'Masters of Rome'. That turned out be a good thing because while I liked the entire series, this would be among my top two. An excellent choice of title - borrowed from the ritual of sacrificing the best horse that Rome has. A character compares Caesar to an October Horse during the assassination conspiracy.The book spends about one third of its pages mopping up the Republican campaign, (rather its remains after the death of Pompey) another third in Caesar's efforts to 'put Rome back on her feet' and the final third in the aftermath of Caesar's death.While these are the main themes, there are many plots within these that contend with each other to drive the narrative. For example, the intrigue with Cleopatra in the first section, the murmur that rose to an assassination plot in the second, and the fantastic rise of Octavianus in the third. The author's fascination for Caesar continues unabated, but despite that (or probably because of it, depending on how you want to see it) she spends quite some effort in building up the characters that make up his set of antagonists - Cato, Cicero, and the ones who would one day become his assassins - Brutus, Cassius, Trebonius and a few of the other Liberators. That also includes Caesar's 'frenemy' Marcus Antonius. Most importantly, there is also Caesar's heir Octavian, soon to become the emperor - thus ending the Republic of Rome. The author manages to catch the turmoils of Caesar's antagonists as they realise they're fighting against someone who is as close to perfection as possible. The only thing that catches up with Caesar is age, and that's also something that the author brings out really well. But the best work probably is on Octavian - the inheritor of everything Caesar amassed in his life. Despite lacking in many things that Caesar had in abundance, especially his good health, Octavian's cold genius at a young age tilts the scales in his favour. He not only battles his ills with grit, but also transforms from what others take to be a naive, pretty boy to a master political manipulator who outmaneuvers everyone who stands in his way. The author chronicles all this superbly and convincingly.A few Shakespearean myths are busted with more pragmatic and less dramatic versions. For instance, the beauty of Cleopatra, or rather, the lack of it with respect to conventional notions, and yet what drew Caesar to her and give her a child. Or (the lack of) a few famous words attributed to Caesar in his dying moments, or Mark Antony during his supposed speech after Caesar's death. The narrative pace never eases, the plots are rich as well as nuanced, and this makes for a fantastic read. Personally, my only regret in reading this is that I have completed it, and have no more books to read in the series!
This book is a heavy undertaking, but it is lush in scope and a thrilling historical novel.First off, however, is the subheading of this novel says it is a novel of Caesar & Cleopatra, but it really isn't. That makes up a small part of this huge novel. And secondly, you do not need to have read the previous five novels to grasp this one. I haven't, and I understood this novel quite fine on it's own.The first 500 pages are brillant historical fiction, detailed to the letter, but still engaging and easy to follow. Her dialogue shines, and the descriptions make you feel as though you really have been transported to this time period. McCullough's attention to detail and the way she has clearly studied her history shows. The reason it is four stars instead of five, is the final 250 pages do not hold the same allure. Not that it isn't interesting, but after such an interesting character like Caesar is gone, it is almost like whatever follows won't hold up. If the final 250 pages were in the start of book seven, then maybe I would have found them more engaging. However, they are not, and at times it felt a bit plodding to get through.But the first 500 pages are fantastic, and the final 250 can't take away or ruin such a great historical fiction novel. If you are looking for a heavy read, with fantastic history and detail, this is your novel.
What do You think about The October Horse: A Novel Of Caesar And Cleopatra (2003)?
Whew..so finished this monster of a historical novel and can honestly say I was ready for the end..This mammoth reading took over two weeks to process and added at least twenty five vocabulary words to my life from coeval, obdurate, proscribe and many many more..This book in my opinion and remember its only an opinion is too verbose, too long with too many dates, characters, ways to say Roman names, prefixes, suffixes, last names, dynasties, countries and plots to really flow for me but there were spots of truly wonderful imaginative and intriguing storytelling and that is what I appreciated most about this 700+ page literay masterpiece. I have the utmost respect for this author however, she seemlessly intergrated a compelling story, unforgettable characters and all the vocabulary section from the GRE's beautifully however I can only recommend this one for the HARD CORE history buff with the time and energy to devote to understanding all the turmoil of this fascinating period..One to reread for sure
—Monique
In the first portion of the book McCullough helps us know Caesar at the height of his career as the man he might have been. McCullough's take on the romance between Cleopatra and Caesar differs from Shakespeare's as she devles into Plutarch and other sources. Her explanation for Octavian's actions is that he may have had asthma which is more consistent with his personality. Caesar is later murdered by 23 conspirators and the story switches to following the assassians, Mark Antony, and Octavian's actions among others. When Caesar's will is read his nephew Octavian is the key heir, to the chagrin of Mark Antony. The resulting chaos and political upheaval nearly bankrupts Rome. As the assassians flee, Octavian vows to bring the murderers to justice. I found it difficult to get into this read and when I checked Amazon reviews found that others did, too, but some fans believe that this is the least well written in the series. I have more of them to read which I look forward to tackling. I continue to marvel at McCullough's attention to detail, historical accuracy and ability to make the Romans come alive again and again.
—Rusty
If you like ancient Rome and excruciating descriptions of the lineage of various Roman dudes from back in the day, then this is your book. Somehow, I still liked it. I don't know why I like McCullough. I just do. This book is actually the last in a series about Ceasar. I didn't realize that when I bought it, but not reading the preceding 5 novels was not a problem.Copied from my review of Morgan's Run: McCullough's work is hard to get through as it can be over the top with excessive information about stuff like how they distilled rum back in pioneering times. She has some weird sexual themes in all of her novels. I respect her as an author though because while she has the same broad themes in her books, like December/June relationships, sexually repressed men, etc, each book has very different characters that express those themes. It's historical fiction. It's good for that.
—!!!angryradish!!!!
