#2 - Imperium

I finished my first challenge book for the year. For the TBR Challenge I finished Imperium by Robert Harris. Whew, only 11 more for this challenge :)

Book No: 2
Title: Imperium
Author: Robert Harris
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 2006
Obtained: 2007/paperbackswap
Completed: 1/17/08
Rating: 3.5/5*****

I very much enjoyed Harris’ last book Pompeii, but this venture into Ancient Rome fell a little flat for me.
Imperium is a fictional biography of the great Roman Senator and orator Cicero. It is told from the view point of his slave/secretary Tiro, credited with inventing modern shorthand. The book follows Cicero’s pursuit of a political career, and the many machinations and double dealings that occurred in the Roman Republic during this time(79-64 BC).The first half of the book deals with Cicero prosecution of a thoroughly corrupt and evil governor of Sicily, while pursuing a seat in the Senate and a Praetorship. The second half of the book deals with Cicero’s pursuit of consulship. The portrait of Cicero is pretty much a warts and all depiction, showing his ability to justify his actions when politically motivated and often involve not always doing ‘good’ over the politically expedient.
Although obviously well researched I often felt overwhelmed with all the names of the characters, many of which had very little personality, often blending in my mind. I also found the most charismatic characters to be the villains, and the ‘good guys’ somewhat one dimensional. The appearance of a young and manipulative Julius Caesar was the most fascinating part of the story; unfortunately he appeared far too briefly. My understanding is that this is to be part of a trilogy, so I would like to see a further exploration of the relationship between Caesar and Cicero. I do like books set in this time period, so I would possibly continue on if there are two more books written.