Fortune's Favorite

De: Colleen McCullough

Narrado por: Michael York

Return to ancient Rome, where politics, ambition, and greed collide in the fortunes of two fiercely powerful men: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the great general who returns from exile to be installed as dictator, and then stuns Rome with his startling self-imposed retirement; and Pompey, the young scion of an enormously powerful rural family, who determines to leapfrog over the traditional milestones to Roman political pre-eminence by any means necessary.

Passionate, ambitious, and larger than life, these men play out their fortunes against rebellious elements in Spain, dangerous rumblings in the East and the doomed slave revolt of the tragic figure Spartacus. But a greater threat to their place in history awaits - the fiery young warrior Julius Caesar, exploding now into manhood, his priest's robe shed in a most surprising manner. A newcomer to military glory and the Senate, he earns a formidable reputation as diplomat, lawyer and politician.

In fascinating and unrivaled grandeur, Fortune's Favorites sows the seeds of Caesar's terrible rivalry with Pompey, and sets into motion the events which will finally enable him to tower over history for all time.

©1993 Colleen Mccullough (P)1993 Simon & Schuster

Michael York's Performance Outstanding

Voice characterization delightful blend of dramatic and comedic make the characters come to life in the story.

great book

Love the book but so much better as an audible book. The performance was awesome

Beautifully written

I have read all the books in her Master of Rome series and loved all of them!

Such a great book, sad they abridged it.

I have read the unabridged works of this author, they were wonderful. So sad they cut the details from all of it. Sad sad sad. All to put a few extra pennies in their pockets, it destroyed so much interesting data.

This is SIGNIFICANTLY abridged.

The narration is fantastic. However, I've read the books several times, so I was deeply disappointed by the fact that it is SIGNIFICANTLY abridged. So much is left out that I wasn't able to enjoy it.

McCullough does a job of bringing history to life! The narrator was amazing.

Characterization was very lifelike. I did not like the word requirements on this review., though.

Fantastic Story, abridged again...

If you could sum up Fortune's Favorite in three words, what would they be?

Historical power plays.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the opportunity to follow the development of these events and characters of Republican Rome through several books.

Have you listened to any of Michael York’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Now, I have. He has narrated the subsequent books in this series and I find him the best. Though he uses regional British accents for some of the characters, one gets the intention even if the geography is misplaced.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

Abridgement, no good.

Narration a little lacking

A lively reading, but not very flexible - 90% of the people in this book have a nasal "upper class twit" voicing, to the point where during conversations I couldn't tell who I was listening to. There simply isn't an adequate vocal library. This makes this book, the abridged version of which at times sounds like a recitation, a little tedious to listen to.

Excellent book, incomplete reading

The Masters of Rome series is an outstanding saga richly written by Colleen McCollough. I have read all the book several years ago and I decided to acquire them to listen in my Audible. For my surprise they did a very poor job, reducing and summarizing the chapters. Losing delightful details such as Sulla’s time with the germanic tribes, the kidnap of Cesar by the pirates and several other minor, but enjoyable ones. I give 5 stars to Colleen and her writing, but 1 star for the strategy used to produce the audio book.

READ the Book Do Not Listen to Abridged Version

Would you try another book from Colleen McCullough and/or Michael York?

Yes

Would you ever listen to anything by Colleen McCullough again?

Yes

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael York’s performances?

Unsure - If he learned to pronounce the characters in the books correctly (Kickero rather than Cicero).

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. Having read the book, I was looking forward to listening to the series. However, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar and Caesar's Women were in abridged version rather than unabridged. The abridged Grass Crown was OK since I knew the story. Fortune's Favorite Was AWFUL. The abridgment was horrible and the narrator didn't know Latin or was unwilling to pronounce people and places correctly.

Any additional comments?

The books and story are fantastic. The unabridged audio books are great, but Forget the abridged versions.