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A review by deirdrecollins
Conspirata by Robert Harris
4.0
“Because in this village of yours I too would aspire to be the first man, but failing that I would at least aspire to be a free man, and what is wicked about you, Caesar—worse than Pompey, worse than Clodius, worse even than Catilina—is that you won’t rest until we are all obliged to go down on our knees to you.”
amazing story that covers Ciceros year as consul and the 4 years after. the book goes into the rise and end of Catalina which is a direct result of ciceros actions. part one shows the power and wits cicero had while he was in the most powerful position in government at the time, however as he was stepping down caesar began to rise. the parallels between these two are insane and are made very clear in this novel, especially with the last line, “[cicero] resumed his journey, in the opposite direction to caesar.” while i could speak forever about the first catilinarian speech, i want to talk more about caesar. Harris sets up all the characters and their relationships perfectly. caesar is a man who’s motivated by his need for power and want to make everyone submit to him. he used political power for his own benefit and pride and will do anything to secure his spot in power. while i have not read the other books harris describes the series saying, “Thus Imperium describes the rise to power, Lustrum the years in power and Dictator the repercussions of power." the transition into dictator is clear, with cicero being exiled and the senate in fear, there is no hope in republic being saved.
amazing story that covers Ciceros year as consul and the 4 years after. the book goes into the rise and end of Catalina which is a direct result of ciceros actions. part one shows the power and wits cicero had while he was in the most powerful position in government at the time, however as he was stepping down caesar began to rise. the parallels between these two are insane and are made very clear in this novel, especially with the last line, “[cicero] resumed his journey, in the opposite direction to caesar.” while i could speak forever about the first catilinarian speech, i want to talk more about caesar. Harris sets up all the characters and their relationships perfectly. caesar is a man who’s motivated by his need for power and want to make everyone submit to him. he used political power for his own benefit and pride and will do anything to secure his spot in power. while i have not read the other books harris describes the series saying, “Thus Imperium describes the rise to power, Lustrum the years in power and Dictator the repercussions of power." the transition into dictator is clear, with cicero being exiled and the senate in fear, there is no hope in republic being saved.