Descripción editorial
En kold novembermorgen år 79 f. Kr. banker en mand på den romerske senator Ciceros dør. Han er kommet til Rom for at bede den dygtige jurist om hjælp mod Siciliens guvenør, Verres, som nådesløst udplyndrer befolkningen.
Da Cicero hører hans historie, ser han en mulighed for at bruge en retssag mod den korrupte guvenør til at markere sig selv i offentligheden og dermed tage det første skridt på vejen mod sin store ambition: at opnå imperium - statsmagten.
Men Cæsar, Pompejus og Crassus drømmer også om at komme til at regere verdens eneste supermagt, og snart opdager Cicero, at han er blevet midtpunkt i en magtkamp, hvor der bruges midler, han aldrig havde forestillet sig.
For hans tre konkurrenter er ikke bang for at benytte sig af den fundamentale regel i politik til alle tider: Alle kneb gælder.
Robert Harris (f.1957) debuterede med romanen Fædrelandet i 1992 og har siden skrevet en række romaner, bl.a. Pompeji og Imperium og den politiske thriller Skyggen. Harris har bl.a. abejdet for BBC og the Observer som politisk kommentator.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestselling British author Harris (Pompeii; Enigma) returns to ancient Rome for this entertaining and enlightening novel of Marcus Cicero's rise to power. Narrated by a household slave named Tiro, who actually served as Cicero's "confidential secretary" for 36 years, this fictional biography follows the statesman and orator from his early career as an outsider a "new man" from the provinces to his election to the consulship, Rome's highest office, in 64 B.C. Loathed by the aristocrats, Cicero lived by his wits in a tireless quest for imperium the ultimate power of life and death and achieves "his life's ambition" after uncovering a plot by Marcus Crassus and Julius Caesar to rig the elections and seize control of the government. Harris's description of Rome's labyrinthine, and sometimes deadly, political scene is fascinating and instructive. The action is relentless, and readers will be disappointed when Harris leaves Cicero at the moment of his greatest triumph. Given Cicero's stormy consulship, his continuing opposition to Julius Caesar and his own assassination, readers can only hope a sequel is in the works. Until then, this serves as a superb first act. 350,000 announced first priting; 10-city author tour.
