Read mostly via audiobook for the first half but switched to a physicals read near the second half. Generally, the narrator did a good job with the book and the different voices (especially for Caesar).

The second book of the trilogy we follow 5 tumultuous years of Cicero's life starting from his time as consul in 63 B.C.E. The first half is set during Cicero's time as Consul and the second half covers the next four years.

Overall, I think I enjoyed this book more than Book 1, [b:Imperium|243601|Imperium (Cicero, #1)|Robert Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442657816l/243601._SY75_.jpg|1237325], mostly because I was quite familiar with the time period and therefore enjoyed "meeting" all the figures from history. Given the events, the book is much faster in pace than Book 1 because there is so much to cover. I understand the choice because I know what even the author was trying to get to. Thematically,

Spoiler

getting to see Cicero's exile from the height of his power as Consul,

gave the book these poignancy which worked well. As Book 1 was about Cicero's rise, this book showed him at his zenith and the beginning of the end.

I will say the star character turn though was not Cicero for me - it was the snakelike Caesar that Harris had created. It is pretty unusual for me to read historical fiction which is not Caesar-centric (full disclosure Masters of Rome is one of my favourite series ever and [a:Colleen McCullough|4917067|Colleen McCullough|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473700455p2/4917067.jpg] is a pretty big Caesar fan) so I kind of loved what Harris did with the character here. Cesar comes across as a thug - violent, amoral and dangerous - and very compelling as a villian. When Cicero showed up Caesar early in the book I cheered!

This book was also more serious in tone than Imperium as violence escalated. I was expecting this but it did make me miss the youthful exuberance of book 1. Guess, history can't be positive all the time (if ever).

An enthusiastic 5 stars for me. I can't say I was emotionally invested in most of the characters but I think it's because I know what is coming and the pace is too fast to really invest in most characters and happening. But in general, as a comment on politics, this book was excellent. There is a fatigue here and a sense of realpolitik here which hit home and it's really for that I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.

"There are no lasting victories in politics ... there is only the remorseless grinding forward of events. If my work has a moral, this is it."

i don't even know where to begin with this book. i enjoyed imperium, but lustrum surpasses that one by miles: the writing is absolutely gorgeous, intrigue abounds, relationships between the characters are fleshed out. as a classicist, i've been having so much fun with this trilogy, seeing how harris deals with notorious figures like clodia, or ~scandals~ like clodius masquerading as a woman during the festival for the good goddess. tiro's reaction to cicero's self-penned epic was exactly what i hoped it would be: "dear heavens, it was terrible stuff!" i adore cicero and i admire his many talents, but poetry was not one of them.

what i love so much about this trilogy is that it is so rewarding for people who are already familiar with roman history and literature. having previously read cicero's speeches on the catilinarian conspiracy and sallust's monograph bellum catilinae (the first oration and the monograph in the original latin as well as in translation), watching the events of the conspiracy unfold in fiction was truly a pleasure. it's obvious that harris relied on sallust quite heavily for the first part of this book, but it's woven so well into tiro's narration that it doesn't feel stiff or dry.

i just finished lustrum ten minutes ago and i could keep on gushing about it, but i'll leave it at this: one of my favorite novels so far this year, and definitely one that i will purchase to keep.

Could not finish it, i made it until page 136. I really like a well written historical fiction but in this case the adventures of Cicero and his entourage just looked like a legal thriller that could be staged in New York in 1994. There was nothing"roman in it", from the dialogues to the description of the characters. .