The Iron Hand of Mars

This is, by a clear distance, the best Falco novel yet. Falco is sent off to the wilds of northern Europe by emperor Vespasian and the story follows every bitter, cynical, self-deprecating step of his journey. Never has their been a more reluctant hero, all our man wants to do is settle down with the beautiful Helena Justina, even though he considers himself more and more unworthy of her affections. I really, really LOVE Falco and the supporting cast in this outing are superb as well; from the effimante barber travelling with Falco to the stiff-upper lipped centurion Helveticus. And we get to meet Helens's younger brother Camillus. The great thing about this series is each book retains the charm of the original at the same time as show more evolving the story and the characters and keeping it fresh. Just excellent. show less

This arguably my favourite of Davis' Falco books, which I've not always been enamored with, sometimes too clever for their own good and the relentless delving into Rome's low life sometimes gets tiring. I find her best books are the one where she takes Falco out of Rome to the far-flung corners of empire. This book has two things going for it - firstly its about the army (who doesnt love stories about the legions?), secondly it deals witha real historical mystery, the defeat of Varus' 3 legions at the hands of the Germans led by Arminius (or Herman) in 9 AD. Its a genuinely dark example of the Falco series, full of pagan magic and redolent with the dank misty oak forests of primeval Europe.The part where Falco and his companions stumble show more upon the site of the battle is genuinely spooky - you can almost feel the wrath of the pagan gods hovering in the air. Excellent read. show less

Marcus Didius Falco is an imperial agent on a mission to Germany in AD 71 to find a legion commander whose loyalty to the emperor may be suspect. His only support is a ragtag bunch of Roman recruits and they embittered centurion. Ahead lie the hordes of Celtic barbarians.

This is an excellent addition to the Falco series of murder mysteries set against the backdrop of imperial Rome. Here, Falco is despatched to the ends of the empire to save the emperor from possible rebellion. As always, Falco has that cynical, world-weary approach to life that makes him the most perceptive of detectives.

Davis writes extremely well - great plotting, strong characters and a narrative drive that makes reading a joy. Highly recommended.

Falco hits the road again in this fourth novel, this time for Germania. Unlike the first two novels, where the action was split between Rome and rural locales, almost all of "The Iron Hand of Mars" is set in Gaul and Germania.

Germania is haunted by the ghosts of past massacres. Dark and dismal, cold and wet and huge parts of it covered by virtually impenetrable forests, where the bloodthirsty tribesmen feel at home and are more than ready to inflict another defeat on the Roman army, such as they did not many decades past. The grit of the frontier backdrop matches Falco's sour attitude toward the journey and his convoluted Imperial mission.

Davis skillfully explains the history of first century Roman clashes with the Germanic tribes and show more relates it to the plot without bogging down in dry exposition. His girlfriend, Helena Justina, fortunately comes along on some parts of the adventure, as their character interactions in Davis's subtle prose are the highlight of these novels. Along the way, Davis also develops several new characters, including a camp barber, a gruff centurion and Helena's admirable young tribune brother.

These are fast and funny reads – and highly recommended. show less

When the Emperor's son Titus makes a move on Helena, Falco goes off in a tiff and finds she's left Rome. Needing money and hoping to search for her, he accepts the Emperor's mission to Germany. There are mystery elements, but this is and reads like a somewhat sarcastically viewed adventure story. The history of Roman military (mis)adventures along the Rhine in the early Imperial era is where the data load is thickest in this episode.

An enjoyable romp through the ancient Roman world as usual, though this time mostly on the very edges of it. Lindsey Davis continues her great immersion and realism for the time period and the relevant cultures, but the plot for this one was definitely weaker and sort of petered out without any really satisfying resolutions. Some of the minor characters also didn’t really seem have much purpose, and were more there for flavour and humour than contributing much to the story. Nevertheless, a decently fun read.

In this 4th installment of the Marcus Didius Falco series, the private informer is dispatched by Emperor Vespasian to Germania to report on the power of a barbarian priestess and the chance of renewed war. Falco finds himself surrounded by murder and intrigue, which gets worse when he has to cross the Rhine into the territory of the priestess. Great story wrapped up in research-rich description. Davis' view of a seedy, corrupt Rome lays a convincing foundation for a more publicized aristocracy that combined corruption and craziness. It's hard to shake the feeling this is what Rome was like at the grassroots level. As always, Davis' writing and plot is compelling on its own.