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A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis
4.0
'The Iron Hand of Mars' is #4 in the Marcus Didius Falco detective series, although he is not entirely a detective in the sense we moderns understand. Falco in a freelance "informer" in 71AD Rome. Several books ago, he began doing odd jobs for the Emperor Vespasian, and he also met a Senator's daughter, Helena Justina, who is WAY out of his class. In Rome, one pays for the privilege of changing rank upwards by literally buying it, like getting a license to drive, apparently. Falco is extremely poor, an ex-soldier and lower working class. He lives in a slum. However, his mother keeps him honest, and he has five married sisters. His brother Festus died as a war hero, which gives his family some social capital.
The kind of work he normally does is following married wives or husbands in order to catch them having affairs. But since he met Vespasian on a case, occasionally the Emperor sends him on delicate secret assignments. I do think these books should be read in order, beginning with: [bc:The Silver Pigs|44230|The Silver Pigs (Marcus Didius Falco, #1)|Lindsey Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388383057s/44230.jpg|1331066].
In this story, Vespasian is sending him to the wild northern lands of the Germanic tribes. Disturbing hints that things are not right with the officers or the legions stationed in these far north Roman forts have been filtering out to the ears of Vespasian. Ostensibly, Falco is delivering a ceremonial sculpture of a hand as a token of esteem for the Fourteenth Legion's good behavior on controlling the Bavarians (who switch sides a lot) as well as fighting off the strange wild Germans when required. Falco also has been directed by Vespasian to try to contact a Druid priestess, Vetera, to learn what she had done with an important captured Centurion, Lupercus, taken a decade ago in a battle. And as usual, Falco is not entirely certain who he can trust, since family members, competing businessmen and corrupt officers make his search for answers particularly dangerous.
This particular book in the series has a strong military flavor overall. The author, Lindsay Davis, includes a lot of actual ancient Roman political and military history regarding these Germanic battles because Falco's current adventure involves meeting some of the people still living who had participated in these skirmishes and wars. It is a very informative 'mystery', but I thought the military history of Rome is the main scaffold and focus for the plot, with Falco's romance with Helena coming in as a continuing thread in the background. The tragic adventure with the wild tribes eventually enters the stage near the end of the novel, but in my opinion, mystery is not really the point of the book.
The kind of work he normally does is following married wives or husbands in order to catch them having affairs. But since he met Vespasian on a case, occasionally the Emperor sends him on delicate secret assignments. I do think these books should be read in order, beginning with: [bc:The Silver Pigs|44230|The Silver Pigs (Marcus Didius Falco, #1)|Lindsey Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388383057s/44230.jpg|1331066].
In this story, Vespasian is sending him to the wild northern lands of the Germanic tribes. Disturbing hints that things are not right with the officers or the legions stationed in these far north Roman forts have been filtering out to the ears of Vespasian. Ostensibly, Falco is delivering a ceremonial sculpture of a hand as a token of esteem for the Fourteenth Legion's good behavior on controlling the Bavarians (who switch sides a lot) as well as fighting off the strange wild Germans when required. Falco also has been directed by Vespasian to try to contact a Druid priestess, Vetera, to learn what she had done with an important captured Centurion, Lupercus, taken a decade ago in a battle. And as usual, Falco is not entirely certain who he can trust, since family members, competing businessmen and corrupt officers make his search for answers particularly dangerous.
This particular book in the series has a strong military flavor overall. The author, Lindsay Davis, includes a lot of actual ancient Roman political and military history regarding these Germanic battles because Falco's current adventure involves meeting some of the people still living who had participated in these skirmishes and wars. It is a very informative 'mystery', but I thought the military history of Rome is the main scaffold and focus for the plot, with Falco's romance with Helena coming in as a continuing thread in the background. The tragic adventure with the wild tribes eventually enters the stage near the end of the novel, but in my opinion, mystery is not really the point of the book.