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A review by mastersal
Imperium by Robert Harris
4.0
A reread for me so this time, I listened to the book on audio. This helped the book stay fresh for me, even though I am familiar with the historical period and the events.
The book does work more in the vein of a political thriller than historical fiction exploring the time period and a wide variety of characters. This book is squarely focused on Cicero and a handful of political leaders. There is little emphasis on the women (except for some star cameos from Terentia), non-Romans, slaves etc - our main narrator Tiro - is less a narrator and more of a prop.
With the exception of the blandness of Tiro - which is probably the book’s shakiest point - I didn’t mind this focus because I knew I was getting into a political thriller a la [a:Jeffrey Archer|4820|Jeffrey Archer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208462800p2/4820.jpg] more than a historical drama a la [a:Kate Quinn|2974095|Kate Quinn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534961441p2/2974095.jpg]. Now for my personal taste, I prefer fiction like Kate Quinn because of the emotional impact those leave on me, but undoubtedly this book was lots of fun. It didn’t resonate much thematically for me but I found the politicking quite a bit of fun and Cicero was a snarky delight. Harris cleverly lifts from history here in his protagonist giving Cicero space to have some real zingers (some of which were real speeches - guess you can’t improve on the original master!).
The writing was clear and effective; for most of the book Harris kept the plot ticking along. There isn’t any particular tic to the writing - except for the speeches - and some of that is the real Cicero. However, given the focus of the book and the pace of the “action” as it were - I think this simplicity served the book well. It kept me smiling throughout the book.
The first half of the book is clearly the strong of the two parts - partially because it ends with a triumph and high for our central characters. The second half of the book meanders a little too much to meet these highs. The only real highlight is the introduction of Caesar back into the action and his set-up as the major antagonist to Cicero. I do find it amusing that in a book about Cicero, Cesar sucks up so much of the readers’ attention. I guess that is to be expected - because villain or not, Caesar cannot be ignored. Though, the author does a great job in not imbuing Caesar with omnipotent success which is easy to attribute in hindsight.
While I enjoyed the second half, it was relatively slower which did allow me to pause the reading and finish two other books before I really felt compelled to come back to it. The pause helped me overall I think. But there were portions which I think could have been tightened. The last 30% of the book really should have been tagged onto the next book, because it feels more like a prologue than an ending. I get why the author ended Book 1 where he did and. However, it was relatively slow following Part 1 - not bad but not the best either.
Despite what I would consider a wobble I would give the book a fun 4 stars. I really enjoyed my reread and looking back to actually finishing the series this time. Thank you Discord for keeping me on track.
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Original Review:
Very enjoyable book but you definitely need a background in the period to understand what is happening. For full disclosure I read this straight after finishing the Masters of Rome series so I found it very amusing to see Cicero’s perspective. It was nice to see him restored after he drubbing Ms. McCollough gave him.
Plus it doesn’t hurt that Mr. Harris can craft a well told story and I wasn’t particularly confused. It intrigued me enough to read more of his work.
The book does work more in the vein of a political thriller than historical fiction exploring the time period and a wide variety of characters. This book is squarely focused on Cicero and a handful of political leaders. There is little emphasis on the women (except for some star cameos from Terentia), non-Romans, slaves etc - our main narrator Tiro - is less a narrator and more of a prop.
With the exception of the blandness of Tiro - which is probably the book’s shakiest point - I didn’t mind this focus because I knew I was getting into a political thriller a la [a:Jeffrey Archer|4820|Jeffrey Archer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208462800p2/4820.jpg] more than a historical drama a la [a:Kate Quinn|2974095|Kate Quinn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534961441p2/2974095.jpg]. Now for my personal taste, I prefer fiction like Kate Quinn because of the emotional impact those leave on me, but undoubtedly this book was lots of fun. It didn’t resonate much thematically for me but I found the politicking quite a bit of fun and Cicero was a snarky delight. Harris cleverly lifts from history here in his protagonist giving Cicero space to have some real zingers (some of which were real speeches - guess you can’t improve on the original master!).
The writing was clear and effective; for most of the book Harris kept the plot ticking along. There isn’t any particular tic to the writing - except for the speeches - and some of that is the real Cicero. However, given the focus of the book and the pace of the “action” as it were - I think this simplicity served the book well. It kept me smiling throughout the book.
The first half of the book is clearly the strong of the two parts - partially because it ends with a triumph and high for our central characters. The second half of the book meanders a little too much to meet these highs. The only real highlight is the introduction of Caesar back into the action and his set-up as the major antagonist to Cicero. I do find it amusing that in a book about Cicero, Cesar sucks up so much of the readers’ attention. I guess that is to be expected - because villain or not, Caesar cannot be ignored. Though, the author does a great job in not imbuing Caesar with omnipotent success which is easy to attribute in hindsight.
While I enjoyed the second half, it was relatively slower which did allow me to pause the reading and finish two other books before I really felt compelled to come back to it. The pause helped me overall I think. But there were portions which I think could have been tightened. The last 30% of the book really should have been tagged onto the next book, because it feels more like a prologue than an ending. I get why the author ended Book 1 where he did and
Spoiler
and the need to have Book 2 start with Cicero as Consul given the importance of the Catiline conspiracy to Cicero’s lifeDespite what I would consider a wobble I would give the book a fun 4 stars. I really enjoyed my reread and looking back to actually finishing the series this time. Thank you Discord for keeping me on track.
-------
Original Review:
Very enjoyable book but you definitely need a background in the period to understand what is happening. For full disclosure I read this straight after finishing the Masters of Rome series so I found it very amusing to see Cicero’s perspective. It was nice to see him restored after he drubbing Ms. McCollough gave him.
Plus it doesn’t hurt that Mr. Harris can craft a well told story and I wasn’t particularly confused. It intrigued me enough to read more of his work.