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A review by xavierdragnesi
The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis
3.0
I think this was a 3.5.
The best parts of this book were its immersiveness and its plot. Lindsey Davis manages to bring out the full vibrance of the Roman Empire, from the provincial backwaters of Britain to the contrasting splendour and squalor of Rome. The plot was also intriguing the whole way through, with multiple crimes and mysteries that incorporated aspects of both public and private life intertwining into the conclusion.
It was interesting for once to have a detective that wasn't naturally blessed with amazing skills of deduction, and instead got to the bottom of things through sheer determination and strength of character. However, the flip side of this was that Falco was never a particularly appealing protagonist - irascible, sardonic and unable to fit comfortably in any of the social classes, his streak of irrepressible curiosity wasn't enough to elevate him beyond seeming to me like a rather ordinary citizen who happened to become involved in this chain of events.
Additionally, the pacing of the novel is quite fast, and although this greatly added to the sense of excitement and urgency when things were coming to a head, it also meant that the narrative was choppy at times, and some of the intrigues did not feel adequately unpacked.
Nevertheless, there are 20 books in this series, and I'm still definitely interested to see where Falco goes from here.
The best parts of this book were its immersiveness and its plot. Lindsey Davis manages to bring out the full vibrance of the Roman Empire, from the provincial backwaters of Britain to the contrasting splendour and squalor of Rome. The plot was also intriguing the whole way through, with multiple crimes and mysteries that incorporated aspects of both public and private life intertwining into the conclusion.
It was interesting for once to have a detective that wasn't naturally blessed with amazing skills of deduction, and instead got to the bottom of things through sheer determination and strength of character. However, the flip side of this was that Falco was never a particularly appealing protagonist - irascible, sardonic and unable to fit comfortably in any of the social classes, his streak of irrepressible curiosity wasn't enough to elevate him beyond seeming to me like a rather ordinary citizen who happened to become involved in this chain of events.
Additionally, the pacing of the novel is quite fast, and although this greatly added to the sense of excitement and urgency when things were coming to a head, it also meant that the narrative was choppy at times, and some of the intrigues did not feel adequately unpacked.
Nevertheless, there are 20 books in this series, and I'm still definitely interested to see where Falco goes from here.