Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert HarrisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Imperium is the first novel in the Cicero series by Robert Harris of Fatherland fame. But before I discuss it,I must backtrack and make a statement.
I love Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. That being said, as a citizen of a democratic republic, I really don't like Caesar much anymore, and four of the seven novels really focus on Caesar and glamorize him. When I was younger, I was guilty of that as well. However, I am older and Marcus Tullius Cicero is more of hero to me now since he was a man who tried to save the Republic. In On Law he wrote "Salus populi suprema lex esto, (the safety of the people shall be the highest law)." That was the moral standard he lived by.
In his novel, Harris uses the affectation of speaking through Cierco's scibe, a slave named Tiro. Tiro actually existed and was a close confidante of Cierco; Tiro was very intelligent and created the first real shorthand system for taking notes and abbreviations and symbol that are still in use today, such as "ibid"and the ampersand (&). He was known to have authored a biography of his master Cicero, but that tome is lost to use in the mists of Antiquity on the other side of the Dark Ages.
Imperium follows Cicero's cursus honorem, or path of honor, that is, his journey to achieve the Consulship, the highest elected office in Ancient Rome; former consuls had tremendous prestige, moving to the front of the Senate benches and speaking first in the Senate during debates. It also made one's family premiere in the City. I will not spoil this for those who know little of Ancient History. I will say that this is the literary equivalent of a drama and not a blockbuster action movie. If political intrigue is your thing, this is most assuredly your book.
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