The New York Times Book Review - Vanessa Friedman
The politics of pope-picking clearly captivates Harris, a former political reporter, as it indubitably captivates many of us. The book is filled with procedural and historical detail—from the rules of the Apostolic Constitution to the rituals around voting and the dormlike building in which the cardinals are housed for the duration of the vote…Harris has done his research, and it shows, though he is also careful to situate his story in the contemporary world. That tension adds to the ambience…The story moves forward vote after vote with so much momentum it's easy to forget that faith of a deep and visceral kind is involved…Harris has written a gripping, smart book.
From the Publisher
Harris has written a gripping, smart book. . . . This could become the Catholic version of The Satanic Verses.”
—Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times Book Review
“Splendid . . . Harris does not disappoint. . . . Whether you have faith in God, the Church, or neither, Conclave will keep you richly entertained.”
—Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post
“Triumphant . . . I am about to use a word I have never knowingly used in any review of any book ever. During my 25-odd years of writing about books I have done my best to avoid clichés, slipshod summaries, oracular pronouncements and indeed anything else that might appear emblazoned on a book jacket. Nonetheless, there is only one possible word to describe Robert Harris’s new novel, and it is this: unputdownable.”
—Ian Sansom, The Guardian
“A gripping read in the authentic Harris mould . . . Conclave, though, is more than a crime novel, it is also a psychological and political thriller . . . The more one looks, the more cunning the book seems. Conclave is a triumphant addition to Harris’s acclaimed output.”
—David Grylls, The Sunday Times
“A gripping read. There are plenty of plot twists, revelations and high politicking to hook readers in. . . . An ecclesiastical version of House of Cards . . . Conclave is admirably brisk—and its final twist is great fun.”
—Robbie Millen, The Times
“A slick and fast-paced thriller . . . This entertaining and satisfying page-turner tells the tense story of the Machiavellian machinations of ambitious men, locked in a power-struggle that can only end in a puff of white smoke and power.”
—Huston Gilmore, The Daily Express
“Ambition and intrigues are familiar ground to a former political journalist . . . gripping.”
—Rachel Cooke, The Observer
“Fast-written and suspenseful, it’s elegantly written entertainment from a first-rate storyteller.”
—Simon Humphreys, The Mail on Sunday
“Despite papal fiction being such a crowded church, Harris, in Conclave, contrives a twist involving the number of cardinal-electors that seems to me completely new.”
—Mark Lawson, The Guardian
“The novel begins to grip like a vice and manages to convey all the drama of an election without resorting to melodrama. He pulls off the difficult trick of making his cardinals seem no less holy for all their human foibles and, although this ruminative and low-key novel is very different from Harris’s other books, it is well up to their standard.”
—Charlotte Heathcote, Sunday Express
“The smartest bestselling author at work today . . . [Conclave is] a modern-day story that explores the power, glory and skullduggery behind the process of electing a new pope.”
—Richard T. Kelly, Esquire (UK)
“Another high-class Harris thriller.”
—James Walton, Reader’s Digest (UK)
“An impressive outing from an extremely versatile author.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Robert Harris, creator of grand, symphonic thrillers from Fatherland to An Officer and a Spy, scores with a chamber piece of a novel set in the Vatican in the days after a fictional pope dies....An illuminating read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the Catholic Church; for prelate-fiction superfans, it is pure temptation." –Kirkus Reviews, starred review
