Iron Hand of Mars

I agree with the other reviewer that this is *not* a conventional murder mystery. However, for me, that was part of its charm. It IS part mystery, but it's also part action adventure, part thriller, and part history. All together, it combines to create a great addition to the Falco series, with enough of each element to keep things interesting, and author Davis' unique brand of anachronistic humor to prevent the story from taking itself too seriously. Even I have to admit that the journey -- a la The Odyssey -- was a tad too long for comfort and the meeting with the priestess Veleda was a let down. But what book does not have a few flaws? This one has fewer than most and I will look forward to reading the next book in the Marcus Didius Falco series.

THE IRON HAND OF MARS is less of a genre mystery than most of the others, but this wild romp through Germania is, I think, Davis' best Falco book so far, with the possible exception of the first one, SILVER PIGS. Her amazing knowledge of the period, as if she'd time-traveled, is skilfully interwoven with the personal relationships among Falco, Helena, and Helena's extremely likeable brother. She presents the Roman army's military ambitions (and snafus) with enough zest to awaken a love of history in all but the most jaded, and her portraits of Cerialis and the other high-rankers, both offstage and on, had me laughing out loud.If you haven't studied Roman history, you can do it "fictionally"--starting out around 100 BC with Colleen McCullough's Marius-Sulla-Caesar novels (so superior to McCullough's THE "CORN" BIRDS), then going to Robert Graves' three Claudius books, which take you up to Nero (brrrr!), and finishing up with Lindsey Davis. I can scarcely wait for Vesuvius to blow in 79 AD!

I am an avid fan of Lindsey Davis's books. The premise is film noir in Rome, but instead of a Sam Spade, Marcus Didius Falco is a lovable, overconfident, not-altogether-that-tough detective whose adventures are great fun. Although the background on wars may seem dense, it's wonderful to get a feel for the history and the second half of the book in spellbinding.

This is the best of the Didius Falco series (I've read them all). I absolutely loved it. It's full of history, intrigue, humor, and romance. I recommend this series to all my friends.

Lindsey Davis has the uncanny ability to capture the Roman attitude and prejudices toward the lands across the Alps. The Romans considered those tall, blonde, celtic warriors to be the most foreign of foreigners, with their hideous rites of human sacrifice and odd Druidic worship. Falco and company tread where most Romans feared to tread, both in foreign, barbarian territory and through the battle grounds of lost legions, slaughtered by the enemy. Yet Davis also understands that people are people, and that some aspects of nature never change, such as trade and prosperity being reliant on local army installations, as the Gauls and Celtic tribes within the Roman province are. The somber tone of this novel is broken up with the humorous and familiar universal traveler with his traveler's woe. As Americans, it is sometimes difficult for us to appreciate what it is like for Europeans who live among Roman relics, whose history is intricately tied to that of Rome. It is easy to overlook the place of Germania in the Roman world, and the fact that it was the tribal north who finally conquered Rome. The Iron Hand of Mars should not be overlooked, nor underestimated. It is a thrilling adventure into unknown territory combined with the humor of travel and the problems of having too many relations.