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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"He was absolutely certain that Caesar was up to something....But what was it? That was the mystery.", February 2, 2010
Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon penned a piece called "Cicero Superstar." In her overview of this illustrious Roman's life she noted that his preserved letters contain some laments about a lack of confidants: " 'I go down to the Forum surrounded by droves of friends, but in the whole crowd I can find no one to whim I can make an unguarded joke or let out a friendly sigh.' " Well, Robert Harris mitigates this somewhat by making Tiro, the scribe, someone upon whom Cicero relies and and trusts with sensitive matters. As Harris notes, Cicero did write to his slave stenographer, " 'Your services to me are beyond count.' " Both Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome and now Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome are narrated by a Tiro who serves as confidant and advisor. At times this stretches credibility -- especially when Tiro archly, though mildly, implies he is smarter than his master and paints himself the hero. However, CONSPIRATA does not really suffer from this device; Tiro supplies an "common" view of Cicero that a fellow Senator, for example, wouldn't as convincingly convey.
Cicero himself, through Tiro's eyes, is a man whose vanity sometimes gets the better of him, who isn't above a bit of graft, and who is occasionally politically tone deaf. But one never loses sight of this statesman's intrinsic desire to serve his republic with integrity and honor.
CONSPIRATA covers 63-59 B.C. This "lustrum" -- meaning five-year duration (the title ( Lustrum: A Novel) was chosen for the previously published British edition) -- began with Cicero's momentous one-year term as consul. In the following four years, he was celebrated as "pater patriae" (father of his country) but then suffered a drastic downturn in political and economic fortunes as Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus seized power. This novel introduces a gruesome murder mystery in the first pages that leads to an internecine conspiracy against the republic. The book convincingly traces the path that Cicero might in reality have followed in order to finally reach the defining decision of his consulship, namely that several high-ranking Romans should be executed without formal trial.
Presumably, at least one more volume will be forthcoming to finish this story of Cicero's struggle with Rome's more dictatorial powers-that-be. In that final novel, perhaps we will read more about Cicero as philosopher since after this lustrum he wrote his celebrated dialogues DE REPUBLICA and DE LEGIBUS (found herein: M. Tullius Ciceronis De Re Publica, De Legibus, Cato Maior de Senectute, Laelius de Amicitia (Oxford Classical Texts)) -- and many of his approximately eight hundred surviving letters.
Quoting from another of those missives, Glendon aligned Cicero's worries about "whether, when, and how far to compromise for the sake of advancing his most cherished cause -- the preservation of the traditional system he called republican" with current relevancies about government strength and form. As with IMPERIUM, Harris uses CONSPIRATA to accomplish precisely the same thing: he depicts Cicero's Rome as a decaying republic being pulled into tyranny, and in the political chicanery and intrigue of ancient times, one sees the indubitable reflections of modern problems with aging "democracies" that are leaning too far toward bread, circuses and central authority.
CONSPIRATA is a worthy successor to IMPERIUM, although it is more concerned with plot than its predecessor and gives the impression of being a more hastily written novel. IMPERIUM developed its plot at a relatively leisurely pace in order to build a character portrait; CONSPIRATA hastens -- sometimes summing up little things like wars in a few paragraphs -- to focus on particular actions in Cicero's life. Regardless, it too is entertaining, enriches understanding of Cicero and his compatriots, and it unquestionably reminds us that if we do not keep the lessons of history uppermost in our minds, we could well repeat the patterns of Cicero's Rome.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly compelling continuation of Cicero's struggle for recognition, February 3, 2010
Power politics is an ugly business, whether it's played in the halls of the Senate in 21st century Washington, or the Senate of Republican Rome in the first century BC. Harris could have chosen to set his thriller in the former; happily for readers he has opted instead to tell a story of high-stakes political games-playing featuring the celebrated orator Cicero and the ruthlessly ambitious military leader, Julius Caesar. When the novel opens, Cicero is on top of the world -- literally and rhetorically. He's on the roof of his house, studying the skies for omens as he begins his year as Consul, the ultimate authority in Rome. Even his carping wife seems happy.
Then there's a murder on the day of his accession to power -- and while the mystery never really occupies center stage in this drama, it's an ominous sign of the plots that are being brewed by Cicero's political foes behind the scene, including some of Rome's most noble families. As in the first volume of this projected trilogy, Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome, the tale of Cicero's year as consul and the conspiracy he must combat and resolve, even if it means going against his own principles, is told through the eyes of his slave and scribe, Tiro. Above all, however, this is the story of Cicero's realization that the most dangerous threat to the Roman Republic he cherishes may remain and be embodied in one of its increasingly popular military leaders: Caesar. Seeing Caesar through Tiro's eyes gave me an entirely fresh sense of how he might have been perceived not only by his aristocratic peers or a 'new man' like Cicero but by the broader population of Rome on whose support he would craft the beginnings of what would become an empire. It's an absolutely chilling portrait of someone who to the outward world appears intelligent, committed and effective, and yet who is utterly cold and manipulative.
I enjoyed the first volume of this saga so much that I didn't want to wait for the second to be published in the U.S., but ordered it from the U.K. when it appeared last year. I wasn't disappointed, and was even happy to fork over the extra $10 shipping fee to get it as soon as I could after a yearlong publishing delay. Now I'm condemned to wait another year or two for the third and final volume to appear, it feels like torture.
This is a book that anyone who has read Colleen McCullough's immense seven-volume series starting with The First Man in Rome will relish. Even better, it's a fast-paced version of some of the events covered in those books that will appeal to anyone who shied away from McCullough's books as being either too ponderous, excessively detailed or simply way too long. This is the story of the decline and fall of the Roman republic, the collapse of a political ideal, through the eyes of Cicero, who still cherishes that ideal and that system. The timing of his rise to the top at a time when being ruler of Rome means he must grapple with the harsh truth that his idea of Rome and the reality are no longer the same is as heartbreaking as in any classical tragedy. The suspense doesn't falter, the historical accuracy is remarkable and Harris's crisp style is admirable.
Highly recommended; I can't wait for the next installment.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cicero Plays Political Chess with Caesar, February 2, 2010
Like its predecessor "Imperium", Conspirata is a very gripping book. If this book could be summed up in one line it would be "Cicero Plays Political Chess with Caesar".
This book begins just prior to the Cataline conspiracies and ends on the day Cicero is exiled by his 'one time friend' Clodius. The 5 year period the book covers focuses on Cicero's Consulship, the Cataline conspiracies (there were to some degree two conspiracies) and the First Triumvirate. While Cicero isn't completely unscrupulous he does manage to uphold some moral standard to protect the Republic (he wasn't called the 'righteous pagan' by the Catholic Church for nothing).
Two things I warn the reader about:
1. If you are a Caesarphile and believe that Julius Caesar was a nice guy killed by an evil Senate then you may not like this book. Shakespeare impressed upon me that Caesar was rather innocent and did not deserve his fate. This book shows Caesar in another light and makes one literally yell out loud for Cicero to execute Caesar while he had the chance.
2. The book starts a little slow at the beginning of his consulship. Don't worry it doesn't take long to pick up speed.
While you don't need to read the first Robert Harris book about Cicero 'Imperium' I recommend that you do. Imperium is a quick read and it really sets the stage for Conspirata; explaining more about Cicero the 'human' than the 'oratory machine'.
If you like historical fiction you cannot go wrong with this book. I am looking forward to the next book Harris writes about Cicero.
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