Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Conclave cover art

Conclave

By: Robert Harris
Narrated by: Roy Mcmillan
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Cara Massimina cover art
Hyperion cover art
The Woman in White cover art
And Then There Were Nuns cover art
The Third Secret cover art
Ratking cover art
The Templar Legacy cover art
The Company cover art
Speaks the Nightbird cover art
Last Gasp cover art
The Einstein Prophecy cover art
The Shifting Fog [also published under the alternate title The House at Riverton] cover art
The Man of Legends cover art

Summary

What happens behind the closed doors of the Roman Catholic Conclave? The mysterious rituals surrounding the congregation of cardinal electors responsible for electing a new pope is brilliantly researched by Robert Harris, bringing an age old tradition to life. Set against the swirling of religious theory comes an explosive political drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Pope is dead.

Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals.

Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

©2016 Robert Harris (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about Conclave

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,830
  • 4 Stars
    828
  • 3 Stars
    188
  • 2 Stars
    35
  • 1 Stars
    20
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,070
  • 4 Stars
    506
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,575
  • 4 Stars
    731
  • 3 Stars
    264
  • 2 Stars
    47
  • 1 Stars
    24

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The power of illusion, is that people believe


Robert Harris delivers a very good yarn full of intrigue and ritual, making as feel as if we are part of this private club of men that are served by women they suppress, a gentlemen's club where god whispers his desires into the minds of men that have no concept of a terrestrial reality, sequestered from the world but not uninfluenced by it, in a place where greed and power are as strongly felt as in any other institution of power, except that every idea is attributed to the holy spirit and given a motivation to satisfy men,s kingdom of god's kingdom.

Well written, and entertaining while not being offencive to believers or others, delivering a good story that will work for most people no matter where they stand in the religious spectrum.


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a writer! What a book!

Probably the best book I've listened to this year. His skill and polish as a writer shine through, showing just how unsophisticated a lot of current authors are. As a non religious person I wasn't sure if the subject matter would hold my interest, but it really did. Along with all the technical details of both the Roman Catholic practices and the Conclave itself, which you accept as accurate and very interesting, the characters are so well rounded that you can believe they are good but flawed men. I found myself understanding and caring about characters who held totally contrary opinions to myself, due to the skilful portrait of them by Mr Harris. The mystery unfolds slowly and the last twist is wonderful! Could be room for a second book?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Slow at first but then surprisingly compelling

It takes a while for the narrative to get going as numerous characters are introduced (there are 118 cardinals in the conclave!) and the rules governing the election of a new Pope elaborated. The description of the first few voting sessions repeats much of the procedure but at the same time reveals things about the various main players. Gradually the story becomes more interesting as the different factions become polarised and the less than saintly behaviour of some cardinals revealed.

I will not spoil the story by mentioning revelations and events that propel the narrative to gather pace and become more gripping. The ending is a surprise but there’s a clue early on as to what it might be.

I’ve enjoyed many of the books by this author and think that the series on the life of Cicero more satisfying and The Officer and a Spy more exciting than Conclave. I found the descriptions in Conclave of the archaic rituals and superstitious beliefs interesting but amazed that they have survived into the 21st Century.

There are a lot of unfamiliar names, some rather similar sounding, in the story and I sometimes got confused over who was whom, but eventually the main players emerge and their conflicts and loyalties more compelling to listen to.

The narrator is excellent and injects life into the narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down.

A real page turner. I found the characters believable and the performance matched the text beautifully.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bizarrely gripping

Robert Harris is a fine writer but I was surprised at just how much tension he could put into the election of a fictional Pope. As someone with no real knowledge of Catholicism it was well sign posted and the end twist was unpredictable but signposted.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Tremendously Engaging Novel

The subject of this novel, the election of a new pope, did not immediately appeal to my interests, however, as someone who has always enjoyed Robert Harris's works, I felt that it was likely to overcome my reservations.

And indeed it did. I was gripped from the word go!

There is a powerful sense of being able to secretly enter a world, which is otherwise totally impenetrable to most of mankind, and to observe the unobservable. I have to admit to being somewhat awestruck by the sense of being there with the cardinals, in the thick of it.

The leading character, Lomelli, is superbly developed, along with a good many others too, providing a depth to the story line which more than compensates for the constraints of writing about a repetitive process of voting sessions. So many twists and turns occur, that I found myself longing for the next round of voting in order to see how things would transpire.

To my mind, the plot was very well paced, never losing its sense of direction or momentum, and typifies Harris's prowess as an outstanding author. The eventual outcome have you tingling with surprise!

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightfully different novel.

As always, Roy McMillan is brilliant in his reading.

I write as someone who is not a Catholic, and who has no knowledge of the workings of the Vatican, and therefore I took everything at face value.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

COMPELLING.... and I learnt SO MUCH.

Each candidate was so well cast & such a product of his country!!!Brilliant ending which MUST be withheld.... like the Mousetrap.
Thank you Robert Harris yet again I have lived within another of your books. Sadly they all end too quickly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tense and fascinating

This book has been a delight from start to finish. Narration was wonderful.
Despite having no previous interest in papal elections the story held my interest and to my ears seems a very authentic and plausible description of events that might lead to that event. The characters were varied and interesting. An amazing ending makes this one if my favourite listens of 2016

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So well written. A delight

Wonderfully written, well researched and fully fleshed out characters.

I had hoped that it would last forever.
One of the best books that I have come across

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected Gem

What did you like most about Conclave?

I cannot say what drew me to this book. However the story kept me enthralled. The twists and turns and the detail.

What did you like best about this story?

Factual about the Conclave and with an interesting storyline and ending.

What about Roy Mcmillan’s performance did you like?

Yes very well read.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful