Colleen McCullough
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!
