Dictator
Books | Fiction / Thrillers / General
4.3
Robert Harris
The long-awaited final volume of the Cicero Trilogy, from the beloved bestselling author of Conclave who is “incapable of writing an unenjoyable book”—The Wall Street JournalA Best Book of the Year: The Guardian, The Sunday Times (London), The Mail on Sunday, The Spectator, BBC History Magazine, Metro, and The Herald (Glasgow)At the age of forty-eight, Cicero—the greatest orator of his time—is in exile, his power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. The only way to return to Rome is to pledge his support to a charismatic and dangerous enemy: Julius Caesar. Harnessing his political cunning, unrivalled intellect, and the sheer brilliance of his words, Cicero fights his way back to prominence. Yet no public figure is completely safeguarded against the unscrupulous ambition of others. Riveting and tumultuous, Dictator encompasses the most epic events in ancient history, including the collapse of the Roman Republic, the murder of Pompey, and the assassination of Caesar. But its central question is a timeless one: how to keep political freedom unsullied by personal gain, vested interests, and the corrosive effects of ceaseless foreign wars. In Robert Harris’s indelible portrait, Cicero is a deeply fascinating hero for his own time and for ours.
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Author
Robert Harris
Pages
416
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Date
2016-01-12
ISBN
0307957969 9780307957962
Community ReviewsSee all
"Finishing up this last book of the Cicero trilogy, has any read this series. Thoughts?"
Sarah
"Dictator is a restrained yet vivid dramatization of the events and personalities of the Roman Civil War. Harris clearly spent years researching his characters and the book is full of small observations that transform the marble busts of Roman statesmen into living, striving, and conniving human beings.<br/><br/>This book gives us a glimpse into one of the most transformative moments in history - the collapse of the Roman Republic. Written from the perspective of Cicero's scribe Tiro, Dictator paints a scene of Republican Rome in detail - replete with lush portraits of its prominent figures including Julius Caesar, Pompey, Brutus, Cassius, Cato, Octavian, and Mark Antony.<br/><br/>Harris takes care to provide us with the background details leading up to key strategic decisions and then captures Cicero's exuberance, despair, and stoicism when the chips are down and the results of his planning sweep across the Roman world. I enjoyed pausing before these moments and trying to figure out what I would have done. Cicero was far cleverer than I.<br/><br/>The book was quite shocking to me because it exposed how quickly and subtly a republic could be turned into a de-facto dictatorship (not once, but twice!). My own formal education contained scarcely a mention of this most pivotal episode in Western history and I see know how sorely it was lacking. Modern day Americans would be well advised to read up on their Roman history and see how quickly the institutions of the state can be perverted by power-grabbing elites. Cicero himself was executed by a death squad sent by Augustus/Octavian. Alarming how quickly the Roman Republic soured - we should take note.<br/><br/>Review cross-posted at http://books.max-nova.com/2016/05/dictator.html"
Max Nova