by Faith Justice | Sep 12, 2010 | Books, Fiction, Reviews
“Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome” by Steven Saylor
Over three thousand years ago, a murder takes place on an island in a river flowing through the hilly region of Italy later known as the ruma. This bloody act presages the rise of one of the ancient world’s most ruthless empires. In Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes us on a thousand-year journey from Rome’s mythical beginnings as a trading post for salt sellers through its evolution into an empire, in a style reminiscent of James Michener. Along the way we witness Hercules‘ destruction of the monster Cacus; the founding of the walled city of Rome by a couple of young bandits named Romulus and Remus; the abduction of the Sabine women; invasions by enemies; and revolutions by generals, plebeians and slaves. Throughout, Saylor provides us with real people and understandable motivations, whose stories have been transformed over time into the stuff of myth and legend. (more…)
by Faith Justice | Aug 25, 2010 | Books, Fiction, Reviews
“Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome” by Steven Saylor
Empire:The Novel of Imperial Rome continues the story of the Pinarius family chronicled in Steven Saylor’s earlier novel Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome. In the earlier book, we followed the aristocratic family from the founding of Rome through the Republican years. Empire picks up at the end of Augustus’ reign and concludes at the end of Hadrian’s, covering about 130 years and four generations of Pinarii. Saylor sets himself a Herculean task to cover the major events and people of the times in an entertaining and accessible way using a formula perfected by James A. Michener in his historical epics. He mostly succeeds. (more…)
by Faith Justice | Aug 12, 2010 | Books, Fiction, Reviews
“Imperium: a Novel of Ancient Rome” by Robert Harris
From the opening pages:
“Imperium—the power of life and death as vested by the state in an individual. Many hundreds of men have sought this power, but Cicero was unique in the history of the republic in that he pursued it with no resources to help him apart from his own talent. He was not, unlike Metellus or Hortensius, from one of the great aristocratic families, with generations of political favors to draw on at election time. He had no mighty army to back up his candidacy, as did Pompey or Caesar. He did not have Crassus‘ vast fortune to smooth his path. All he had was his voice—and by sheer effort of will he turned it into the most famous voice in the world.”
A Little History
Imperium is the first in a trilogy of novels about the life and times of Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of Republican Rome’s most famous orators and politicians. The book is narrated by Tiro, Cicero’s slave and secretary, many years after Cicero’s death. Tiro existed and is thought to have lived to be a hundred years old. He was famous for creating a short hand that he used for taking notes and later was adopted by the Senate. There is considerable evidence he wrote a biography of his former master, but those books are lost to history. Harris gives him back his voice. (more…)
