- Paperback: 364 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (a); Unabridged edition (19 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743561848
- ISBN-13: 978-2286025618
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,177,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Imperium
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Harris's best so far, rapid and compelling in narrative, copious in detail, thoroughly researched but also, which is more important, thoroughly imagined... Irresistible Sunday Telegraph In Harris's hands, the great game becomes a beautiful one The Times Genres ancient and modern have rarely been so skilfully synthesised... Gripping and accomplished Guardian A joy to read in every way, and as a mirror to the politics of our present age has no equal Independent Harris deploys the devices of the thriller writer to trace the perils and triumphs of Cicero's ascent... A finely accomplished recreation of the power struggles of more than two millenniums ago Observer
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Tom Holland, Guardian
‘Genres ancient and modern have rarely been so skilfully
synthesised… Gripping and accomplished.’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
synthesised… Gripping and accomplished.’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Through Latin A level and later at university, I read a great deal of Marcus Tullius Cicero's writings and found them, unusually, very hard going. While we all appreciate that he pulled himself up by his bootstraps, brain and linguistic ability, he comes across, nonetheless, as an arrogant bore, stuffed full of himself and with an incredbile ability to irritate others. His ability to write golden Latin is beyond all doubt, and Queen Elizabeth I's proudest boast was that she could write "Ciceronian" Latin.
"Against Verres", the speech that is the subject of this novel, is Cicero's prosecution of Verres, ex-Governor of Sicily. Verres, even given Cicero's hatchet job in 70 BC, seems to have been a pretty loathsome creature who plundered and intimidated his subjects openly and without remorse or guilt. The remainder of the novel is concerned with Cicero's climb up the greasy pole to real power and all the resulting intrigues and plotting. Fascinating stuff, and as Mr Harris said, if what he propounds did not actually happen, then something like it probably did. After all, 2 + 2 generally makes 5 - ish.
Harris has obviously done his research here and the bones of the historical fact are fleshed out by a very entertianing novel. He is an extremly funny writer in an "ars celat artem" way and the various discussion and debates in this novel are extremely amusing: Cicero's comments about marriage will make you laugh out loud, and many other passages will cause you to smile.
Harris' characterisation is very good indeed, and Cicero comes over as a prissy, self-important, principled yet proud man who in real life I have always found insufferable. In this, he appears rather like a cross between the late Bob Monkhouse and Rumpole of the Bailey and becomes likeable. His family are alive and real, and the scurrying, desperate gents from Sicily in the first half are both pitiable and amusing.
Above all, Harris writes the most beautiful English, reminiscent of Mortimer and Huxley.
This is a fine read and very amusing in a dry way. He manages to make one of the world's most five-star arrogant bores entertaining and witty - in fact almost human. I repeat, almost ...
Excellent stuff.
"Against Verres", the speech that is the subject of this novel, is Cicero's prosecution of Verres, ex-Governor of Sicily. Verres, even given Cicero's hatchet job in 70 BC, seems to have been a pretty loathsome creature who plundered and intimidated his subjects openly and without remorse or guilt. The remainder of the novel is concerned with Cicero's climb up the greasy pole to real power and all the resulting intrigues and plotting. Fascinating stuff, and as Mr Harris said, if what he propounds did not actually happen, then something like it probably did. After all, 2 + 2 generally makes 5 - ish.
Harris has obviously done his research here and the bones of the historical fact are fleshed out by a very entertianing novel. He is an extremly funny writer in an "ars celat artem" way and the various discussion and debates in this novel are extremely amusing: Cicero's comments about marriage will make you laugh out loud, and many other passages will cause you to smile.
Harris' characterisation is very good indeed, and Cicero comes over as a prissy, self-important, principled yet proud man who in real life I have always found insufferable. In this, he appears rather like a cross between the late Bob Monkhouse and Rumpole of the Bailey and becomes likeable. His family are alive and real, and the scurrying, desperate gents from Sicily in the first half are both pitiable and amusing.
Above all, Harris writes the most beautiful English, reminiscent of Mortimer and Huxley.
This is a fine read and very amusing in a dry way. He manages to make one of the world's most five-star arrogant bores entertaining and witty - in fact almost human. I repeat, almost ...
Excellent stuff.
123 of 128 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Robert Harris is probably my favourite author. Fatherland, Pompeii, Archangel and Enigma are all cracking good reads. Essentials, even. However, if one criticism could be levelled at their author, it is that they all seem to follow a vaguely similar theme. Each follow a different hero on a detective-style mystery set against the backdrop of a massively powerful, but, we gradually find out, fundamentally corrupt, political instituation, where the denouement sees the hero's actions sending shockwaves through the system in which he lives.
The novel Imperium takes a break from this theme. We follow Marcus Cicero, Roman lawyer, orator and statesman, as he follows his dream of becoming one of Rome's two Consuls.
Harris excels in creating three-dimensional characters (Dan Brown, sit up and take note, with your bland Hollywood cut-outs). Imperium is populated by alternatively brilliant, flawed, amusing, venal and/or monstrously cruel Romans. I followed their individual rises and falls with glee. Harris plays particularly well to Cicero's historical strength - that of his public oratory. The scenes set in the senate and court houses are worth the entry fee alone.
Having discarded the crutches of the plot devices used in his prevously mentioned books, Harris does not quite manage to recapture their cannot-put-downability. However, this means Imperium is merely very good, rather than a must-read.
On a side note, it's interesting to compare the two different, but very nearly contemporary, Romes of Conn Iggulden's Emperor series (lots of wars and disciplined Roman legions) and Robert Harris' Imperium (politicking, scheming and intrigue).
The novel Imperium takes a break from this theme. We follow Marcus Cicero, Roman lawyer, orator and statesman, as he follows his dream of becoming one of Rome's two Consuls.
Harris excels in creating three-dimensional characters (Dan Brown, sit up and take note, with your bland Hollywood cut-outs). Imperium is populated by alternatively brilliant, flawed, amusing, venal and/or monstrously cruel Romans. I followed their individual rises and falls with glee. Harris plays particularly well to Cicero's historical strength - that of his public oratory. The scenes set in the senate and court houses are worth the entry fee alone.
Having discarded the crutches of the plot devices used in his prevously mentioned books, Harris does not quite manage to recapture their cannot-put-downability. However, this means Imperium is merely very good, rather than a must-read.
On a side note, it's interesting to compare the two different, but very nearly contemporary, Romes of Conn Iggulden's Emperor series (lots of wars and disciplined Roman legions) and Robert Harris' Imperium (politicking, scheming and intrigue).
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Imperium proved to be my vessel for my first venture into the works of Robert Harris. This 400 page epic really is a fantastic read. The style, written from the point of view of the protagonist's slave, Tiro, is light enough to provide easy reading while providing enough artistic flourishes to invoke fascination and respect for this fantastic author. Several reviews have commented on the fact that this book isn't thrilling, but I must disagree. Yes, the book is not action-packed with violence, fighting, sex, etc, but through Harris's characterisation, attention to detail and quasi-non-fictitious style we, that is the audience, are truly drawn into the world of Cicero and his political conquests; a truly thrilling experience. One section of the book which is particularly thrilling, yet still within the political context of the book, is near the end when Cicero dispatches his loyal slave Tiro, inventor of the short-hand system, to spy on a meeting between some rival senators. The tense atmosphere which oozes out of the pages in this section really will have you stuck text! However, the real beauty of this book has to be its setting, as well as Harris's ability to encapsulate the reader in the world of the ancient Roman Empire; never for a moment are we forced to accept that this is a work of fiction, and it can easily be believe to be a translated copy of Tiro's real memoirs from long ago. This really is a truly excellent read, I recommend it to anyone.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Long winded
I should probably start by saying that I am, just about, a fan of Harris' work. I really liked Fatherland, and Pompeii was also a decent read. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Book Police
Excellence
Cicero was certainly in reality an arrogant politician whose lengthy speeches may have roused listners in Roma, but now they may be a cure for insomnia. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. J. Parkes
n.b. Imperium
My initial apprehension of this book not being the typical swords and battles of this genre were soon dispelled within the first few pages. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Monty Chris Tow
Roman Intrigue
Having read all of the authors previous novels i was looking forward to Imperium.Although it does not reach the heights Harris Acheived with Fatherland and Pompeii,it is still a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Red Kell
Magnificent portrayal of Cicero's genius
Robert Harris has written an enthralling novel about the first half of the long career of one of the truly great ancient Romans, Cicero. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Iraklis Koumoullos
Much better than Lustrum
I read this after first reading Lustrum (the sequel). Lustrum falls into the dull but worthy category of historical fiction. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dr. W. H. Konarzewski
Origins of the Camorra?
SAFE READING - NO SPOILERS
Having read all of Robert Harris's books, and just recently returned from Sicily (following in the spirits of George S Patton, Omar Bradley... Read more
Having read all of Robert Harris's books, and just recently returned from Sicily (following in the spirits of George S Patton, Omar Bradley... Read more
Published 10 months ago by RR Waller
A HERO MADE NOT BORN
I read this book after having watched HBO's Rome. Though the TV series is without doubt one of the best things HBO have created it put little emphasis on Cicero's character. Read more
Published 10 months ago by DINU198
Could have been so much better
The book is very well written and also well researched, but it's really just an account of Cicero's early political career through the eyes of his secretary Tiro. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mountain Man
Mint Imperial
I have always viewed Robert Harris as the thinking man's thriller writer. He sets most of his books in historic eras, or bases the plot on history, and researches brilliantly. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sam
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
