Imperium, Robert Harris

Publishers: Hutchinson

Pages: 403 (Hardback 2006)

Main Characters:

Tiro, Cicero

Imperium is the brilliant political novel by Robert Harris. Set in the Roman Republic, it follows the early career of the Roman politician Cicero, looking through the eyes of his slave and secretary Tiro. The novel follows Cicero through each stage of the political hierarchy until he becomes First Consul, giving an insight into the dangerous world of Roman politics. This is the first book of a series. Its sequel Lustrum continues the story of Cicero and his exploits in the Roman government.

This was a good book packed full of excitement and danger and it was a very easy book to read. The detail Harris puts into his books is amazing. For instance, the way he explains the selection process of the minsters for the Roman senate is set out in a very simple way, which helps someone who doesn’t know that much about Roman politics (like me!) understand the plot of the book.

This was a good book I would suggest it to anyone who has read any of Harris’s other novels. I would also suggest it to any fans of the Marco and Cato series by Simon Scarrow. I think it shows another aspect to Roman society that isn’t just about soldiering and the army.

Fatherland, Robert Harris

Publishers: Arrow Books

Pages: 383 (Paperback 2009)

Main Characters:

Xavier March, Charlie Maguire

Fatherland is the brilliant historical murder mystery thriller from Robert Harris. Set in an Alternative history, Fatherland is based in Berlin 1964 which is ruled by the German Third Reich after their glorious victory over the War Time Alliance in 1945.

The story follows Xavier March, a Kriminalpolizei inspector set with the task of solving the mystery behind the murder of a high classed Nazi Party leader. During the search for the murderer, March stumbles across a conspiracy hidden from the German people. With the help of an American journalist ‘Charlie’ Maguire, March tries to bring this terrible conspiracy to the surface which could result in the end of the German Third Reich. However this all happens within one week of Adolf Hitler’s 75^th Birthday and the Gestapo are on the look for anything that may disrupt the birthday celebrations. Unfortunately for March, they are on his case.

This was a great book. Harris gave a very good account of what he thought 1960’s Berlin might have been like if Hitler had won. Harris explains how the Germans won the war in a very plausible way. It was packed full of historical detail which makes the novel seem much more believable. The story behind the conspiracy is really sinister making you want to get inter-twined with the characters and the mystery. You also really feel for March. He is stuck in a world that is totally authoritarian where not conforming to the system my lead to torture or death.

 All in all this was a great read; I would suggest it to anyone who likes Robert Harris and also to anyone how like 1984 by George Orwell. It is quite similar in the way that both the main characters live in a society which they don’t want to conform to.

The Fear Index, Robert Harris

Publisher: Hutchinson

Pages: 223 (Hardback 2011)

Main Characters:

Alexander Hoffmann,

The Fear Index is the latest novel from the amazing thriller writer Robert Harris. The Fear Index follows a day in the life of Alexander Hoffmann, a rich, American, Physicist and owner of one of Europe’s biggest hedge fund companies. Hoffmann is a computer genius. The reason behind his company’s wealth and prestige is a financial algorithm which Hoffmann designs himself. The algorithm is known as VIXAL-4. It uses patterns and trends from previous years to guess which stock to buy and sell in the market, so far been correct giving its shareholders an 83% return on their investments.

Life seems to be going well for the American business man. Hoffmann believes himself to be worth around one billion dollars, has a $60 million dollar house in Geneva’s most wealthy area and a loving wife Gabrielle. However all of this changes after the suspicious delivery of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. The emergence of this book sets of a domino effect of events that has Hoffmann doubting his sanity. Whilst also triggering the uncontrolled destruction of his creation VIXAL-4, as it appears to be gambling all of Hoffmann’s hedge fund money on one sale of shares, risking bankruptcy.

The Fear Index was a great book. From the very first chapter it had me gripped and I managed to read the whole book in 48 hours. The mystery behind all of the events has you believe that someone very close to Hoffmann is trying to sabotage him and his business. The story follows Hoffmann over 24 hours as he tries to find who is destroying him. However, these events are been triggered by e-mails coming from Hoffmann’s computer, which makes him start to doubt his sanity as he has had previous mental breakdowns.

This book is based around the financial market. I think Harris does a great job of explaining the basics of the stock market in this book. I know nothing about economics, but Harries explains it in a simple way which makes this book much better to read. This is because you have a small understanding of how the stock market works which helps you understand the events in the book even better.

This was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes any of Robert Harris’s other books, anyone who has an interest in economics or the Stock exchange, or anyone who enjoys modern thrillers.