Imperium

My goal is to read 100 books by the end of 2013.  I just finished book 39.

Imperium by Robert Harris

Summary:
This historical fiction novel is written from the point of view of Tiro, slave/constant companion to Cicero (and famous in his own right as the inventor of shorthand), as he looks back and remembers Cicero's rise to power.
*Interesting note: there are rumors that Tiro really did write such a biography, but that book has vanished and this novel is a fictional recreation of what the book might have said.

My Opinion:
As a truly random reader, I read about many subjects outside my normal "knowledge zone".  The good books teach me something, the bad books confuse me.  This was a good book - I knew very little about Roman politics before reading this book but I was able to follow the story and was fascinated by the drama.  I read this book in short spurts over a long period of time to absorb the immense details; this is not a criticism of the book, it was due to my lack of knowledge about the time period.  While I can't judge the accuracy of the book, it appeared to be well researched and the author clearly knew his material.
I would definitely recommend this to someone interested in Cicero and ancient Rome.

Quote from the Book:
"Power brings a man many luxuries, but a clean pair of hands is seldom among them."