The Last Day of Marcus Tullius Cicero

by Jordan M. Poss

Cicero—lawyer, politician, philosopher, former consul of the Roman Republic, and man on the run. Just a year after the assassination of the dictator Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son have allied, sealing their friendship with names given up to each other's hit men. At the top of Antony's list—Marcus Tullius Cicero.

With Cicero flees Leonidas, a longtime slave of the great statesman's household. On the morning of Cicero's last day, Leonidas anticipates a reunion with Clementia, whom he hopes to marry, if only their master lives long enough to free them. But assassins are closing in, the last escape routes are closing, despairing allies have killed themselves, and not everyone Cicero trusts may be loyal.

The Last Day of Marcus Tullius Cicero is a riveting, vividly realized historical novella from Jordan M. Poss, author of the novel No Snakes in Iceland.

Genres: Historical Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2016

About the author

Jordan M. Poss is a native of Rabun County, in the beautiful north Georgia mountains. In 2010 he graduated from Clemson University, where he studied Anglo-Saxon England and military history, with an MA in European History. He currently teaches Western and US history at a small technical college in upstate South Carolina, where he lives with his wife—a Texas native—and five children.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deftly and smoothly written novella: an account of the last few hours of the life of Cicero, as told by his Thracian slave, Leonidas. Having been proscribed, Cicero goes into exile on his estate near Formiae--the only one of his properties left unburnt during a previous exile. His brother and nephew are killed and he is betrayed by his brother's freedman. While attempting to escape, soldiers come to murder him on the orders of Marcus Antonius and do the deed, cutting off head and hands. I feel the love story between Leonidas and the Germanic slave, Clementia, was inserted to show that Leonidas is torn between his duty to Cicero and his love for her.

Highly recommended.

[J.P. Burten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy read---Jordan Poss is a gifted action writer. The love story feels a little shoehorned, but the story is well-told, and the passages on virtue lend weight to the ending. The author's great with structure, with shaping scenes. I really like how the ending was handled; no spoilers (none that aren't in the title lol) but it did a great job of avoiding paint-by-numbers cliches and was well-textured.

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this for a library challenge and was less than impressed. This novella needs someone to edit it. Do you like the em dash? If you do this is the novella for you! Do you like poorly constructed sentences with lots of commas in weird and unnecessary places. Then boy howdy do I have the book for you.

This novella is dull. The characters are made out of cardboard. You will have every ancient Roman cliche thrown at you by page 50. On the bright side it is a very fast read.

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler alert: Cicero dies at the end.
(The narrator does not.)

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great hour diversion, this novella would make a great companion to Rubicon or Dynasty (both by Tom Holland).

Spoiler: not everyone makes it out alive.

[Tena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a GOODREADS GIVAWAY! (signed by author, too!) Easy to read, kept me interested...History comes alive... Glad I read it!

[Maan Kawas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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