Customer Reviews

Imperium

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Harris' fictionalised account of Cicero's life as told by his faithful scribe Tiro is a well-written account of a fascinating character set in a compelling historical period. Be warned, however, that it tells just part of the story - Cicero's astonishing rise as a self-made (well, almost) man through the ranks and his quest for the ultimate power in Rome, Imperium - and none of the rest of his life (though an aged Tiro certainly alludes to Cicero's ultimate destiny). Cicero is suitably heroic (though not physically so, if you're expecting someone in the vein of Harris' energetic protagonist from Pompeii), honorable, crowd-pleasing and verbally adroit. Tiro's slave is self-effacing but highly likable and noble in his own way. So - greatly likeable characters, some superb lawyerly monologuing - what's missing? Well, funnily enough Harris is shackled by history somewhat here - by stopping the story where he does I don't think you get the full force of the malevolence or diabolical scheming levelled against Cicero, and he seems a little bit bullet-proof. I rather hope Harris finishes the whole story in a sequel... but I suspect not. If nothing else, the Imperium will send you to your history books to find out just how the story DID end...

Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the leading figures of the last days of the Roman Republic and "Imperium" is a fictionalized account of Cicero's early career. For those readers interested in the mechanics of Roman politics -- the "cursus honorum", the tribal voting, the role of the factions -- this book will provide sufficient material. If you're looking for compelling characters, suspenseful conflict, in fact almost any kind of story-line, you're out of luck here. Harris concentrates on a few of Cicero's first legal successes and brings him by the novel's end into the orbit of Pompey and his ambitions. All of this may be more profitably gleaned by spending five minutes on Wikipedia and your time is probably better spent on Harris's more contemporary works such as "Fatherland" or "Archangel".