Imperium (Cicero Series #1) by Robert Harris

Abridged Audiobook

I stumbled upon the abridged audiobook of  Imperium (Cicero Series #1) by Robert Harris last month at our local Friends of the Library Used Bookstore in town for a dollar and I couldn't resist buying it for the price.

Frankly, I'd never heard of author Robert Harris before obtaining a copy of Imperium. I also normally don't go out of my way to purchase political novels or ones about ancient Rome. So, this novel was one that took me out of my comfort zone. To my surprise, Imperium was much better than I would have guessed it to be and I enjoyed listening to it immensely. 

I enjoyed the storyline/storytelling, as Imperium is told through Cicero's household slave/personal secretary, Tiro. The characters in Imperium are well developed and multidimensional... The difficult part for me was keeping all the names of each character straight as the names are unusual. The best part of Imperium is that it is read by Oliver Ford Davies and he does a phenomenal job reading
Imperium.

The following is an overview of Imperium from the Barnes and Noble's website:

In his "most accomplished work to date" (Los Angeles Times), master of historical fiction Robert Harris lures readers back in time to the compelling life of Roman Senator Marcus Cicero. The re-creation of a vanished biography written by his household slave and right-hand man, Tiro, Imperium follows Cicero's extraordinary struggle to attain supreme power in Rome.

On a cold November morning, Tiro opens the door to find a terrified, bedraggled stranger begging for help. Once a Sicilian aristocrat, the man was robbed by the corrupt Roman governor, Verres, who is now trying to convict him under false pretenses and sentence him to a violent death. The man claims that only the great senator Marcus Cicero, one of Rome's most ambitious lawyers and spellbinding orators, can bring him justice in a crooked society manipulated by the villainous governor. But for Cicero, it is a chance to prove himself worthy of absolute power. What follows is one of the most gripping courtroom dramas in history, and the beginning of a quest for political glory by a man who fought his way to the top using only his voice -- defeating the most daunting figures in Roman history. 

I give Imperium a rating of 7 stars out of 10 stars. Imperium is also the first novel in the Cicero Series. I have no plans at this time to listen to or read the other novels in the Cicero Series.

Until my next post, happy reading!!