Colleen McCulloughs famous Masters of Rome Series

[shousa]

I have already puchased these as paperbacks and have searched mobi, ms and many other ebook sites and only "October Horse" (the last book of the series) is available.

Awesome series that ebook readers cannot read - for these I recommend buying the paperbacks.

[mlove]

Actually the latest in the series is Antony and Cleopatra, which came out this fall. I don't know if there is an e-book version.

[Liviu_5]

Originally Posted by shousa

I have already puchased these as paperbacks and have searched mobi, ms and many other ebook sites and only "October Horse" (the last book of the series) is available.

Awesome series that ebook readers cannot read - for these I recommend buying the paperbacks.

Actually the last book of the series is Antony (!) and Cleopatra recently published which is available as an e-book too legally. The rest, well the series is popular so who knows, I would bet a lot they are available somewhere.

[Liviu_5]

Originally Posted by shousa

I have already puchased these as paperbacks and have searched mobi, ms and many other ebook sites and only "October Horse" (the last book of the series) is available.

Awesome series that ebook readers cannot read - for these I recommend buying the paperbacks.

To add a little more; for once presumably ebook readers have eyes so they can read the print books

The last book is a fitting conclusion to the series, if it is a conclusion since at the end of October Horse Mrs. McCullough emphatically stated she is NOT going to write this book about Antony (love the spelling !) and Caesar Octavian and Cleopatra, but for some reason she changed her mind and it's possible she can go into the Augustan age - that becomes I, Claudius territory and I would love to see how Ms. McCullough treats it

The book itself is similar to October Horse and Caesar, and it picks up just where October Horse ends. I still rate the first 3 books of the series as the best, with First Man in Rome a masterpiece, but the later books are pretty good too and the series consists of some of the best historical fiction out there.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

...Antony (love the spelling !) ....

I think that was the spelling Shakespeare used.
When I Google "Anthony Cleopatra", I get more "Antony"s than "Anthony"s

[HarryT]

Considering that the man's name was "Marcus Antonius", "Antony" would seem to be a more sensible "Anglicisation" than "Anthony" .

[Liviu_5]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Considering that the man's name was "Marcus Antonius", "Antony" would seem to be a more sensible "Anglicisation" than "Anthony" .

Ms. McCullough explains somewhere in her lengthy prefaces/addenda to the books in the series her reasons for doing this or that regarding spelling, naming conventions and even the timing of some events (she tries to be accurate regarding known historical facts and when she is not, she argues quite persuasively actually that the evidence is misleading).

[shousa]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

Actually the last book of the series is Antony (!) and Cleopatra recently published which is available as an e-book too legally. The rest, well the series is popular so who knows, I would bet a lot they are available somewhere.

The Cleopatra book is not really part of the series, does not fit in the timeline, it is a stand-alone book.

The series covers this period to finish the reign of Augustus - so the book IMHO is not for historians (as the period is covered already) but for lovers of romance novels only (note Colleen wrote the "Thorn Birds")

The series is not available anywhere (other than October Horse the last in the series), I have checked all the major sources eg Amazon, MS, Mobi and others.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

The book itself is similar to October Horse and Caesar, and it picks up just where October Horse ends. I still rate the first 3 books of the series as the best, with First Man in Rome a masterpiece, but the later books are pretty good too and the series consists of some of the best historical fiction out there.

Have you read Lindsey Davis's "Falco" series? Detective stories set during the rule of the emperor Vespasian (ie 70s AD). Absolutely excellent. If you like either Roman stories or detective stories I'd recommend them thoroughly.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Have you read Lindsey Davis's "Falco" series? Detective stories set during the rule of the emperor Vespasian (ie 70s AD). Absolutely excellent. If you like either Roman stories or detective stories I'd recommend them thoroughly.

I have only read the first five yet but I like them also. I really like that you get to see another side of Rome then you usually see. You see the crimes and that some parts of the city was really dangerous and so on.

In the historical fiction genre I am also reading and liking Patrick O'Brian and I plan to start reading Dorothy Dunnet.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by tompe

In the hostorical fiction genre I am also reading and liking Patrick O'Brian and I plan to start read Dorothy Dunnet.

Mary Renault for ancient Greece

[Liviu_5]

Originally Posted by shousa

The Cleopatra book is not really part of the series, does not fit in the timeline, it is a stand-alone book.

The series covers this period to finish the reign of Augustus - so the book IMHO is not for historians (as the period is covered already) but for lovers of romance novels only (note Colleen wrote the "Thorn Birds")

The series is not available anywhere (other than October Horse the last in the series), I have checked all the major sources eg Amazon, MS, Mobi and others.

I do not understand this remark; October Horse ends with Phillippi, and Antony and Cleopatra picks up from there and goes to the final showdown between Caesar Octavian and Antony, and a little beyond when Caesar Octavian becomes Augustus in 27 B.C. Considering that Augustus went on to be the Princeps until his death in A.D. 14, so another 40+ years, there is a lot of material to cover if she wants to go there.

Both this book and October Horse are available legally as e-books, the others are not, but since the series is popular I would bet a lot they are available on the darknet

And regarding the series timeline, well

The First Man in Rome - rise of Marius and Sulla, war with Jugurtha and with the germans (~115-99 BC)
Grass Crown - the Italian war and then the split and conflict between Marius and Sulla (~99-86 BC)
Fortune's Favorites - the first civil war, the rise of Pompeius, Crassus and the young Caesar, war with Spartacus in Italy and Sertorius in Spain (~83 BC - 70 BC)
Caesar's Women - final pirate and Asian wars, Caesar's ascension in politics and his alliance with Pompeius and Crassus (~70 BC - 58 BC)
Caesar - The war in Gaul and the split with Pompeius leading to civil war and Pharsalus (~54BC - 48BC)
October Horse - Egypt and the rest of the civil war (Africa, Spain), the triumph and assasination of Caesar, the war between his followers led by Antony and Octavian, and the republicans led by Cassius and Brutus ending at Phillippi (48BC -42BC)
Antony and Cleopatra - the split between Caesar Octavian and Antony and their final showdown (42BC - 27BC)

So quite a unitary series.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by shousa

The Cleopatra book is not really part of the series, does not fit in the timeline, it is a stand-alone book.

Well, from what I could find on Wiki about the series it is a part of it...

McCullough had decided to end the series with The October Horse because in her opinion the ultimate fall of the Roman Republic took place after the Battle of Philippi, with the death of Caesar's assassins. However, most historians place the end of the Republic a decade later, after the final showdown between Augustus and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium, in 31 BC.

Due to much lobbying from fans McCullough completed one more volume concerned mainly with Antony and Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, released in September, 2007, in the UK, and December, 2007, in the US.

[bookwormfjl]

Dorothy Dunnet is (was) one of the best historical fiction authors I have ever read! Her Niccolo series was excellent! I just wish they and her ealier series (I can't remember the name of it now) would be published in ebook format.
One of these days, maybe...........

[shousa]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

I do not understand this remark; October Horse ends with Phillippi, and Antony and Cleopatra picks up from there and goes to the final showdown between Caesar Octavian and Antony, and a little beyond when Caesar Octavian becomes Augustus in 27 B.C. Considering that Augustus went on to be the Princeps until his death in A.D. 14, so another 40+ years, there is a lot of material to cover if she wants to go there.

Both this book and October Horse are available legally as e-books, the others are not, but since the series is popular I would bet a lot they are available on the darknet

And regarding the series timeline, well

The First Man in Rome - rise of Marius and Sulla, war with Jugurtha and with the germans (~115-99 BC)
Grass Crown - the Italian war and then the split and conflict between Marius and Sulla (~99-86 BC)
Fortune's Favorites - the first civil war, the rise of Pompeius, Crassus and the young Caesar, war with Spartacus in Italy and Sertorius in Spain (~83 BC - 70 BC)
Caesar's Women - final pirate and Asian wars, Caesar's ascension in politics and his alliance with Pompeius and Crassus (~70 BC - 58 BC)
Caesar - The war in Gaul and the split with Pompeius leading to civil war and Pharsalus (~54BC - 48BC)
October Horse - Egypt and the rest of the civil war (Africa, Spain), the triumph and assasination of Caesar, the war between his followers led by Antony and Octavian, and the republicans led by Cassius and Brutus ending at Phillippi (48BC -42BC)
Antony and Cleopatra - the split between Caesar Octavian and Antony and their final showdown (42BC - 27BC)

So quite a unitary series.

My memory was wrong and I took the heading on the October Horse to mean the series was completed with it "The long awaited conclusion to the acclaimed masters of rome series"....thanks for that I stand completely corrected.

I actually had checked it out at a bookstore and found it full of their love story - must have been just the pages I had looked at and I drew a totally wrong conclusion as a result. Because of you I now have another book to read, thanks and apologies for the misinformation.