IMPERIUM

Crooked senators, rigged elections, bribed judges. Sound familiar? No, it isn’t Washington circa 2006. It’s Rome 2,000 years ago. Into this governmental murderous melee comes young Marcus Cicero, determined to attain his imperium—the ultimate power. His slave, Tiro, chronicles Cicero’s rise to that power. Portraying Tiro, as well as Cicero, and other superstars of ancient Rome, including Julius Caesar, Oliver Ford Davies is unsurpassable in making all the historical events and players as accessible as today’s headlines. No easy feat since Cicero is considered one of the world’s greatest orators. Robert Harris’s epic is presented here in a fitting epic production, but it is Davies’s pacing, phrasing, and emotionally peaked presentation that make this the best historical listening experience of the year. M.T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]