I was looking forward to this book, as I have enjoyed several of the author's previous ones. It took me a while to read, but I was not disappointed. The story is broadly about Cicero's rise to power - ultimately becoming Consul. In the process I learned a lot about Roman politics and how their society was organised, all at a brisk pace that keeps the pages turning. In particular, it was interesting to appreciate that the process of law was the cornerstone of their government - much the way it is in Western democracies today.
At one point in the story, a character is endeavouring to gain some absolute power and is positioning himself accordingly as the only way to defeat a rather Ill-defined enemy - some pirates. He states: "Those who are not with us are against us". Familiar, eh? I think this was the author humorously likening the political system then to the current "war on terror".
The story is told from the viewpoint of Cicero's slave and private secretary, Tiro. This is a mechanism that works well. I was only about a quarter of the way into this book, carried along by the pace of the story, when my enthusiasm made me purchase the next volume, "Lustrum". I understand that the third and last will be published this year.
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