The Iron Hand of Mars: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Lindsey Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 1994

"A seamless blending of humor, history, and adventure." Publishers Weekly
A detective novel of ancient Rome.
When wild Germanic troops rebel and a Roman general disappears, Emperor Vespasian turns to the one man he can trust: Marcus Didius Falco, Imperial Rome's answer to Columbo. Slipping undercover into Germania, Falco meets with disarray, torture, and murder in his quest to find a Druid priestess who alone can persuade the barbarians to embrace peace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Splendid…mystery, pace and wit.” — Ellis Peters

“Lindsey Davis doesn’t merely make history come alive — she turns it into spanking entertainment, and wraps it around an intriguing mystery. She is incapable of writing a dull sentence.” — Peter Lovesey

From the Inside Flap

"A seamless blending of humor, history, and adventure." Publishers Weekly
A detective novel of ancient Rome.
When wild Germanic troops rebel and a Roman general disappears, Emperor Vespasian turns to the one man he can trust: Marcus Didius Falco, Imperial Rome's answer to Columbo. Slipping undercover into Germania, Falco meets with disarray, torture, and murder in his quest to find a Druid priestess who alone can persuade the barbarians to embrace peace.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1ST edition (July 2, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034538024X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345380241
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lindsey Davis' Roman novels begin chronologically with The Course of Honour, the love story of the Emperor Vespasian and Antonia Caenis. Her bestselling mystery series features laid-back First Century detective Marcus Didius Falco and his partner Helena Justina, plus friends, relations, pets and bitter enemy the Chief Spy; there is a reader handboook, 'Falco: the Official Companion'. 'Master and God' set in the time of the Emperor Domitian, will be published in 2012. She has also written an epic novel of the English Civil War and Commonwelath, 'Rebels and Traitors'. Her books are translated into many languages and serialised on BBC Radio 4. Past Chair of the Crimewriters' Association and a Vice President of the Classical Association, she has won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the Dagger in the Library, and a Sherlock award for Falco as Best Comic Detective. She has also been awarded the Premio Colosseo for enhancing the image of Rome, and the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement as a mystery writer.
She was born in Birmingham but now lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of her two best--you'll turn it around and read it again, January 19, 1998

By 

Nadine Harris (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Iron Hand of Mars: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Top hole! I've read all of Lindsey Davis' Falco series and although I enjoyed them all, this is the only one on a par with the marvelous series opener SILVER PIGS. In fact, I'd give this a 10--I just loved it--but I have to reserve that for SILVER PIGS itself which is incomparable. For fans of the series, this is another of the books where Falco goes on the road and enables Davis to cast a cocked eye on the various nationalities of Europe under the pretext of junketing the ancient world. Somehow the plots where Falco travels through the wilder bits of the Roman Empire bring out the best in him and are the most entertaining. Maybe it's just that Davis loves to tell a good adventure story--or maybe it's just that Falco is basically most convincing as a soldier. You'll finish it and turn to the beginning to read it again. Nadine Harris

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best book in the series, February 28, 2000

By 

Xavier Abad (Barcelona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Hand of Mars: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book in less than one week. Normally I spend and average time of a month in finishing a book, but this was one of the "rare" cases that the reading last until 2 am. Marcus travels to a wild land, Germania Libera in order to send a gift of the emperor and ends with his life in hands of a German sorceress. The full novel is filled with action and historical references, it's worth the money!.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Falco battles the frontier, native/Roman leaders, and Helena, July 30, 2003

By 

Scott Andrews (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Hand of Mars: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Falco hits the road again in this fourth novel, this time for Germania. Unlike the first two novels, where the action split between Rome and rural locales, almost all of "The Iron Hand of Mars" is set in Gaul and Germany. The grit of the frontier backdrops matches Falco's sour attitude toward the journey and his Imperial mission. His girlfriend Helena Justina fortunately joins the more urban portions of the trip, as their character interactions in Davis's subtle prose are the highlight of these novels.

The plot consists of a long list of Imperial requests relating to recent and past Roman military troubles on the frontier. Davis skillfully explains the history of first century Roman clashes with the Germanic tribes and relates it to the plot without bogging down in dry exposition. Falco's interaction with various members of the frontier legions shows Davis's thorough command of Roman military details. Falco's trek through feral Germania has the same wild adventure tainted with ghosts of legionary history feel as the journey beyond Hadrian's Wall in Sutcliffe's "Eagle of the Ninth." However, random encounters with several of the final people on Falco's task list leave the ending feeling coincidental. Regardless, Davis skillfully develops several new characters, including a gruff centurion and Helena's tribune brother, and continues to build the relationship between Falco and Helena.