A novel about Rome from about AD 14 to 141. Good portraits of the emperors during this time, told through several generations of a single family. The sweep sometimes leaves the author with putting dialog into people's mouths that they would never say: "As you know, Pinarius, emperors usually beheaded their enemies and displayed the heads on the Avetine." Not an actual quote, but there's a lot of awkwardness like that: imagine saying, "as you know, Americans elect their presidents every four years." Towards the last 100 pages of the novel, this gets a bit old. On the other hand, the emperors are well-drawn with a good view of Roman history. The earlier novel, Roma, sounds interesting too. ( )

Imperio
Steven Saylor
Publicado: 2010 | 507 páginas
Novela Histórico
Serie: Las novelas de Roma #2

Steven Saylor retoma la historia donde la dejó en Roma novela de la que se han vendido más de 20.000 ejemplares. Las sucesivas generaciones de la familia Pinario vuelven a ser testigos y protagonistas de uno de los momentos más brillantes de la Antigüedad: el esplendor del mundo romano, desde el reinado de Augusto hasta la caída del Imperio. De esta manera, sufren en sus propias carnes las maquinaciones de Tiberio, la locura de Calígula y la decadencia de Nerón, y disfrutan de la era dorada de Trajano y Adriano. Sin ser ajenos a los momentos más dramáticos de la ciudad: el terrible incendio que la destruyó en el año 64, la persecución contra los cristianos llevada a cabo por Nerón o los sangrientos juegos de gladiadores en el Coliseo…

Just as good as Roma, the first one in this two book series. Historically accurate, thrilling, and memorable fictional characters. ( )

Empire continues the story begun in Steven Saylor’s Roma, following the Pinarii clan in Rome from the time of Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, ending in about 141 AD. As with the earlier book, the family is involved to varying degrees in the momentous events and personally involved with the personalities of the rulers of ancient Rome, so they tell the tales of the empire as eyewitnesses. A pleasant way to learn some history, from the destruction of Pompeii to the craziness of Caligula to Marcus Aurelius’s philosophical approach to the world; also, while starting as something of a side comment, the slow rise of a new religion, Christianity, is chronicled. As with the first book in this trilogy, though, there is a *lot* of gore and torture, so be warned! Those ancient Romans were very inventive in their cruelty, and the author doesn’t spare some of the details. That caveat aside, recommended - but read Roma first! ( )

This is the follow up to Saylor's novel [b:Roma|13134425|Roma|Steven Saylor|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322711293s/13134425.jpg|73039], which I also read and reviewed.

The author admits, in an afterword, that there were difficulties in writing Empire that weren't an issue in Roma. While the early Imperial Period is very well documented by contemporary authors, the writing is Emperor-centric and it is harder to delineate between the "heros and villains." This did make for a less lustrous, more cerebral read, but a good read nonetheless. As someone very familiar with the period and knowing how well-researched Saylor's works tend to be, I appreciated the everyday details and the links to contemporary accounts. For someone with only a passing awareness of the period, this could be a good introduction to the Emperors who came after Augustus.

I was a bit baffled at first why Saylor would end with Hadrian and not the Philosopher King who followed him, but after sleeping on it I decided that ending at the end of Hadrian's reign allows for an ending filled with hope and wonder for the future of the Empire, whereas Marcus Aurelius was a fairly lovely fellow with very little drama and ending the book with his reign might frankly have been a bit of a disappointing ending. Also, with an entity such as Rome, where do you end? It just keeps going and going. You might as well take an intermission at Hadrian.

I'm a bit peeved that the Wall only gets one mention, not even a retrospective comment going "Hey, that actually worked!"

I would love to see [a:Steven Saylor|42919|Steven Saylor|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1394768071p2/42919.jpg] do a third installment around Constantine. The fascinum of the Pinarii is already getting miscontrued as a Christian amulet, so of course by the time any Pinarii are serving with Constantine, Christianity would be on the rise and the metamorphosis of the fascinum would be natural if not advantageous. Also would love to see Nicaea et c. from an interior perspective. At the end of Empire the Pinarii are Senators again and close to the Imperial family, so it would not be beyond reason to see a Pinarius on Constantine's staff. Maybe time for another set of twins, one in the military and one in the Church?

SPOILER BELOW

SPOILER: I nearly died when Suetonius asked about the Black Room. Excellent. ( )