Will Robert Harris ever pull the finger out?

Denerick

I'm waiting patiently for the third installment of the Cicero trilogy. The last one was three years ago. I need my potboiler/historical fiction kick. Any ideas as to what is going on? Or could anyone recommend an ancient Rome novel that might sate my urges? (It goes without saying that I've already devoured Graves)

Manach

He indeed writes excellent Roman fiction.
Avoiding the alt-history Romans, fantasy Romans, future Roman etc, my recommendation which mix accuracy good writing would be:
"Wounds of honour" by A. Riche : excellent Mid-Empire military novel set near Hadrian's wall.
"Search the seven hills" by B. Hambly : 2nd Century murder mystery with mix of early Church politics.
The Falco Series by L. Davis: A Roman PI set in Vespasian's time.

Sergeant

Denerick wrote: »

I'm waiting patiently for the third installment of the Cicero trilogy.

I can tell you the ending if you like?

Looking forward to the book myself. Wasn't a huge fan of The Ghost.

Paddy Samurai

My favourite book ever about Rome,is Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem. Its hard to get,but well worth the effort. Its an impressive and moving read IMO.
Also Legion by William Altimari is well worth reading.

Paddy Samurai

The Druid King by Norman Spinrad is another top historical novel,set around the Gallic campaigns and featuring Julius Caesar and Vercingitorix.While probably not pot-boilers if you like Roman historical fiction ,these three books are must reads.

Kinski

I've never read Harris, Graves, or any other novelist employing an ancient historical setting (so far as I recall, anyhow), but periods like ancient Rome have always seemed somewhat odd settings for novels to me. They seem far too remote from our time to work as settings in such a quintessentially modern form. Not much help so far as recommendations goes, but I thought I'd just throw that out there. Maybe some fans of the genre can explain its appeal.

Denerick

Kinski wrote: »

I've never read Harris, Graves, or any other novelist employing an ancient historical setting (so far as I recall, anyhow), but periods like ancient Rome have always seemed somewhat odd settings for novels to me. They seem far too remote from our time to work as settings in such a quintessentially modern form. Not much help so far as recommendations goes, but I thought I'd just throw that out there. Maybe some fans of the genre can explain its appeal.

Ancient Rome has a certain grandeur; high politics mixed with an expansionist military-industrial system that is geared towards the glory of the state. A kind of proto fascism mixed with intense human sensuality (Think of the Tiberian orgies and the madness of Caligula; the stoical rectitude of Cato and the lugubriousness (sic) of Caesar and Pompey; the stuttering Claudius and the reprehensible Nero) Such a mad political system. One of the most interesting periods of human history is the transition between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire - which is what Harris basically covers with the political life story of Cicero.

I've read history books and stuff but sometimes a novel can just be so much more entertaining, it allows your imagination to run riot.

Denerick

Sergeant wrote: »

I can tell you the ending if you like?

Looking forward to the book myself. Wasn't a huge fan of The Ghost.

Off with his head!

Like most great stories.

Kinski

Denerick wrote: »

Ancient Rome has a certain grandeur; high politics mixed with an expansionist military-industrial system that is geared towards the glory of the state. A kind of proto fascism mixed with intense human sensuality (Think of the Tiberian orgies and the madness of Caligula; the stoical rectitude of Cato and the lugubriousness (sic) of Caesar and Pompey; the stuttering Claudius and the reprehensible Nero) Such a mad political system. One of the most interesting periods of human history is the transition between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire - which is what Harris basically covers with the political life story of Cicero.

I've read history books and stuff but sometimes a novel can just be so much more entertaining, it allows your imagination to run riot.

It's certainly a fascinating period, but given the novel's tendency to focus on the realistic depiction of everyday experience and the interior lives of characters, using ancient Rome as a setting seems an imaginative stretch too far. How do you represent the mental life of a nobleman living two millennia ago, someone whose experiences and ideas would be almost alien to us? The danger is that you'll just end up creating a bunch of essentially modern characters and putting them in fancy-dress.

I don't mean to try and detract from anyone's enjoyment of these works (I, Claudius is a book I've been meaning to read), but as an artistic project, setting a realistic novel in ancient times seems to me a bit naive, if not even a little suspect.

Denerick

Kinski wrote: »

It's certainly a fascinating period, but given the novel's tendency to focus on the realistic depiction of everyday experience and the interior lives of characters, using ancient Rome as a setting seems an imaginative stretch too far. How do you represent the mental life of a nobleman living two millennia ago, someone whose experiences and ideas would be almost alien to us? The danger is that you'll just end up creating a bunch of essentially modern characters and putting them in fancy-dress.

I don't mean to try and detract from anyone's enjoyment of these works (I, Claudius is a book I've been meaning to read), but as an artistic project, setting a realistic novel in ancient times seems to me a bit naive, if not even a little suspect.

You have to suspend your disbelief - those who would read I,Claudius as a work of history need their head examined.

Do you think the world would have been better off without Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, or with it?

Kinski

Denerick wrote: »

Do you think the world would have been better off without Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, or with it?

That's not a novel.

Denerick

Kinski wrote: »

That's not a novel.

Shakespeare created Roman characters in the 16th century, Graves did so in the 20th century, whats the difference?

Kinski

Denerick wrote: »

Shakespeare created Roman characters in the 16th century, Graves did so in the 20th century, whats the difference?

You're basically asking what the differences between Renaissance tragedies and modern novels are...those differences are immense. For one thing, ideas around literary realism and verisimilitude helped shape the modern novel, ideas which come long after Shakespeare. Even today, no audience watching a production of Julius Caesar would imagine that it's supposed to be "true to life."

Denerick

Kinski wrote: »

You're basically asking what the differences between Renaissance tragedies and modern novels are...those differences are immense. For one thing, ideas around literary realism and verisimilitude helped shape the modern novel, ideas which come long after Shakespeare. Even today, no audience watching a production of Julius Caesar would imagine that it's supposed to be "true to life."

I don't think anyone reading Graves would either. I'm not sure I fully grasped what your original point was. Graves wrote a 20th century imagining of what life in early Imperial Rome was like. That is what the creative process is after all, imagination.

Kinski

Denerick wrote: »

I don't think anyone reading Graves would either. I'm not sure I fully grasped what your original point was. Graves wrote a 20th century imagining of what life in early Imperial Rome was like. That is what the creative process is after all, imagination.

Sure, but I suspect that the project of Graves (and similar authors) may betray an ahistorical imagination. My point about "true to life" is not to do with the factual/historical accuracy of the fictions; it's more about the modern novel as a form which, at least in its more conventional manifestations, carries a certain true-to-life-ness in its narrative DNA. That just isn't the same in the case of a Shakespearean drama.

Anyhow, I've probably derailed the thread enough at this stage...

r3nu4l

Kinski makes some interesting points...Worth another thread! Some of these points could be transferred to science fiction too.

As for the answer to the original question, I don't know when the next Cicero novel is to be released but I have been eagerly awaiting it for the past couple of years too!