Rating: 
Summary: One more book, please?
Review: I'm a huge fan of McCullough's Rome series. I've been entranced since "The First Man in Rome", which was quite a while ago. I honestly wish this wasn't the end.
Having said that, I found this one a little hard to get through. The dozen principle characters are well drawn and three dimensional, but the 752 other people who populate every corner of the novel kinda muddy the waters. Many seem superfluous, although those with a better classical education than I will no doubt enjoy their presence. There are passages which read so fast, I was left breathless. But there are also several passages where I literally had to back up, get some momentum, re-read a few pages, and hammer my way through.
Caesar, Cato, Octavian, Brutus, Cicero...these portrayals are so vivid they will affect every non-fiction account about this time period I'll ever read.
The worst thing I can say about this book is that now I have the urge to go back to Book One and start over. I hope she'll change her mind and take us through Octavian's life...I've got to go get some history books so I can find out what happens with him, Antony, Cleopatra, Caesarion...
Rating: 
Summary: History is VERY good.
Review: I've enjoyed this whole series and I find this book the best of the six! Colleen's story is excellent and her adherence to history is flawless! I am a student of Caesar and The Republic and I enjoyed this book (and series) greatly! Even tho I knew what was going to happen, I still couldn't put her book down! Colleen: May I have another one, please!
Rating:
Summary: A Finale and a Source
Review: I've loved the series, and found it an eye-opening way for fiction to deal with both the mysteries of historical sources, and the more well-known Hollywood interpretations. When finishing any of the books in the series, I've longed for something else in this vein, or waited impatiently for the next one. And now we reach the end. Its a fine attempt to wrap things up, but I'm with others here who wish there was just one more volume. But after completing the series, my search for more information led me to a biography of Caesar by Arthur Kahn: "The Education of Julius Caesar." Its a fine companion piece to the series. While a biography may not be able to dramatize events quite as Colleen does, it did add an element of political insight that sometimes our novelist missed -- giving us the significance of events through a political interpretation that illuminates the novels. Kahn's analysis of Julius also fits well with McCullough's and we can see where the current work of historians led to the novel's reinterpretation of history as handed down by earlier interpreters. Now if only I could find a new set of novels as entrancing as these! And don't say Steven Saylor or Sharon Penman -- I love those too!
Rating:
Summary: A fitting conclusion to a great series of books!
Review: I've read all of the books in this series and have been fascinated by each one. Ms. McCullough's ability to bring historical figures ( who have been dead over 2000 years ) to life in the mind of the modern reader, is simply astounding! The current volume, "The October Horse" , is no exception. The final period of Julius Caesar's life is explored and we are given some interesting insights into his personality and character as well as the events leading up to his untimely death at the hands of Cassius, Brutus and company. Granted, much of the fine detail about the personalities of various characters is speculation, but constructed, as it is, on a well researched framework of historical facts , it's very convincing speculation. To keep it short, this book is so absorbing that I purchased it yesterday and was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing it; I couldn't put it down! If you like historical fiction that doesn't read like a poorly written romance novel, then this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: All good things must end someday
Review: I, like some of the other reviewers have read, and own, the entire series from Colleen McCullough. The story lines were riveting and obviously meticulously researched. I want to thank Ms. McCullough for this monumental series of books and recommend reading them to anyone, even if they normally don't read. Besides myself, all of my children enjoyed them immensly. October Horse was a beautifully written end to a thoroughly enjoyable series of books. Sorry to see them end.
Rating:
Summary: The epic series concludes!
Review: In this, the final book of McCullogh's series on the last decades of the Roman Republic, the last days of Julius Caesar are chronicled along with the first days of his successor, Octavian. For fans of historical fiction, this is a must read, a six volume epic that is part history and part political soap opera. For those unfamiliar with the series, the hero is definitely Julius Caesar. The first two books - The First Man In Rome and The Grass Crown - serve as an extended prologue, with Caesar born in the first book and in pre-adolesence in the second; nonetheless, the intrigues of Gaius Marius and Sulla keep those books quite interesting. Caesar's rise to power is described in the next three books, and at the beginning of the October Horse, he is at the peak of his power. For those familiar at all with Roman history, how Caesar dies and even the exact date are well-known. McCullough describes the growing conspiracy and how the various figures are drawn in. The assassination is not the conclusion of the story, however. Instead, we see Caesar's adopted son take over and hunt down the conspirators, a good epilogue to this saga. The fun part of this story is the intrigues among the various characters: the utopian Caesar, the brutish Antony, the deceptively ruthless Octavian, the weak but idealistic Brutus and many others. McCullough fills in the gaps in the historical record with great drama and makes this novel as great as her previous ones. This book might be good on its own, but to do it justice, you must read the five predecessors; besides the two mentioned above, there is Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women and Caesar. That may seem like a lot of reading, but it's all good. In addition, if you enjoy this book, you can go on to read Robert Graves's books on the early days of the Empire: I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Reading all eight books in sequence would not only give you a great grasp of Roman history, it would also be a blast to read.
Rating:
Summary: Ever so slightly disappointing, but still great
Review: Just not quite up to the standard of the earlier books in the series. I got the distinct feeling that Colleen was in somewhat of a hurry to get the series over and done with and move on. Still as good, though, as many other author's best works. Up until the death of Caesar it was quite enthralling, but after that seemed to lose a bit of pace and direction - perhaps that might have a been a better finishing point. Although Octavian comes across as a fascinating character, we are always conscious that we are not going to see him through to the end of his career, hence he always seems just a bit unfinished. Nor is Cleopatra ever fully developed, and she appears as a fairly one- dimensional bit player. However, nit-picking aside, it is still a great book and well worth a read or two. I still think, though, that there was at least one more book in the series, since the Republican era didn't truly end until after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and Octavian/Augustus became undisputed ruler of the Roman world. Still, c'est la vie. Good stuff, from go to woe.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as most of the series but still interesting.
Review: McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series is a remarkable achievement. Who can fail to be in awe of McCullough's research, focus, and dedication? "The October Horse" is essentially the story of Caesar's adventure in Egypt, his subsequent assassination, and the subsequent rise of his designated heir, Octavius Caesar. It is possible to learn a lot of late Republican Roman history by reading this book. In "the October Horse" McCullough's writing is much less like a novel and much more like a historical summary than the rest of this series. Her prose is less intimate, more detached, and frankly, less clear and direct than her other books. From this standpoint the novel was a disappointment to me. I also felt that McCullough glossed over Julius Caesar's evident megalomania in his latter days. Possibly because McCullough is herself so enamored of Caesar, whom she portrays as virtually a god on earth, she seems to gloss over Caesar's frank undermining of the key institutions of the Roman Republic. Once Caesar became dictator for life, the Republic never recovered and eventually declined into the Imperium. One strong point of the novel is that it does a pretty good job of portraying Octavius Caesar. By the end of the novel I felt that I knew him, and that I understood how he was able to rise to eventually become Rome's first emperor. I would have liked the novel better if it had focused more on how the Roman Republic was ultimately destroyed by Caesar and Octavius (and, to be fair, by their enemies including Cato and his "Good Men"). I felt that the novel would have been better had McCullogh engaged in more novelization and less historical summary. Despite these criticisms (which, to be fair, not everyone may agree with) the novel is a good read and certainly constitutes fine historical fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as most of the series but still interesting.
Review: McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series is a remarkable achievement. Who can fail to be in awe of McCullough's research, focus, and dedication? "The October Horse" is essentially the story of Caesar's adventure in Egypt, his subsequent assassination, and the subsequent rise of his designated heir, Octavius Caesar. It is possible to learn a lot of late Republican Roman history by reading this book. In "the October Horse" McCullough's writing is much less like a novel and much more like a historical summary than the rest of this series. Her prose is less intimate, more detached, and frankly, less clear and direct than her other books. From this standpoint the novel was a disappointment to me. I also felt that McCullough glossed over Julius Caesar's evident megalomania in his latter days. Possibly because McCullough is herself so enamored of Caesar, whom she portrays as virtually a god on earth, she seems to gloss over Caesar's frank undermining of the key institutions of the Roman Republic. Once Caesar became dictator for life, the Republic never recovered and eventually declined into the Imperium. One strong point of the novel is that it does a pretty good job of portraying Octavius Caesar. By the end of the novel I felt that I knew him, and that I understood how he was able to rise to eventually become Rome's first emperor. I would have liked the novel better if it had focused more on how the Roman Republic was ultimately destroyed by Caesar and Octavius (and, to be fair, by their enemies including Cato and his "Good Men"). I felt that the novel would have been better had McCullogh engaged in more novelization and less historical summary. Despite these criticisms (which, to be fair, not everyone may agree with) the novel is a good read and certainly constitutes fine historical fiction.
Rating:
Summary: At the pinnacle of historical fiction
Review: The October Horse has been a long time coming from the proflic pen of McCullough's acknowledged genius. The Masters of Rome series (a fictional history of the fall of the Roman Republic) has firmly placed the author at the very apex of historical fiction and it will be considerable time before anyone produces anything better.
The final book in the series picks up where 'Caesar' left off with the ignominious death of Pompeius Magnus, with Caesar's arrival in Alexandria. There are several events that anyone with rudimentary knowledge of the period will anticipate to come in the novel, but the questions that remain to be answered is exactly how McCullough will deal with them. Namely, Caesar and Cleopatra, Caesar's murder, Antony and Cleopatra, and Octavian. Her answer is to focus on the increasing irreconcilability of Caesar's clemency and practical and political necessity. Caesar's failure to understand this, aptly commented on by Octavian as his only flaw being the dismissal of his lictors, may be due to the increasing weariness as he realises the task of empire management is far greater than one man.
The plot is no less than the shaking events that spanned Rome's demise as a republic and rebirth as an empire and I will not move into the details, suffice it to say the historical accuracy and chronology is remarkable.
The only minor issue is with character depiction. If the reader has studied the period in any depth then this is inevitable. Cicero's pusillanimous prevarication raises an eyebrow, given his intellectual lauding, however, the conceited undercurrents are excellent. Cleopatra's summation by Servilia as good at government without an ounce of commonsense seems a trifle harsh. Anthony's excesses have been hugely exaggerated. However, as there must be disagreements over character presentation, so must there be agreement and McCullough's depiction of Octavius, Agrippa, most of the Republican boni (including Brutus and Porcia) and, most of all, Cato is brilliant. Cato's unassuming anabasis counters Xenephon's in its stark simplicity and the sympathy the overtly stoical epitome of morality generates is remarkable.
So, we follow Caesar to his inexorable conclusion and discover McCullough doesn't have him utter the famous Shakespearian line, to his genius in selecting Gaius Octavius and the inevitable race towards Augustus' founding of the principate.
The conclusion has been a long time coming and the wait has proven worth it. The entire Masters of Rome series is a magnificent exercise in historical fiction writing at its finest, and it is only a pity there is no intent to move onwards through the Empire. One set of books that is highly recommended and if six stars were available, it would get it.
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