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xavierdragnesi's review against another edition
3.0
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.
jonathanpalfrey's review against another edition
3.0
A good adventure story in which Falco exposes himself reluctantly to the dangers of a seemingly impossible mission in Germany, only parts of which have been conquered by the Romans. He benefits from the company of Helena Justina's likeable brother Justinus, who's stationed there, and we see something of Helena herself, but not enough. She goes as far as the civilized parts of Germany, but naturally stays out of the way of real danger. Falco has to venture into the uncivilized parts, where no Roman is safe; and at the beginning of winter, too.
We learn in passing about the tribes of Germany and about commercial rivalry in the pottery industry.
The Iron Hand of Mars is a heavy metal object that Falco is obliged to carry with him to present to the 14th Legion as a gift from the Emperor. It has no particular function in the plot.
As usual, Falco has plenty of problems and some suffering to endure, but he survives it all and even accomplishes his impossible mission—because, although things sometimes seem to be going badly for him, on balance he has an implausible amount of good luck. He also has Helena's brother, who turns out to be surprisingly resourceful, and saves his life more than once.
We learn in passing about the tribes of Germany and about commercial rivalry in the pottery industry.
The Iron Hand of Mars is a heavy metal object that Falco is obliged to carry with him to present to the 14th Legion as a gift from the Emperor. It has no particular function in the plot.
As usual, Falco has plenty of problems and some suffering to endure, but he survives it all and even accomplishes his impossible mission—because, although things sometimes seem to be going badly for him, on balance he has an implausible amount of good luck. He also has Helena's brother, who turns out to be surprisingly resourceful, and saves his life more than once.
cyrce's review against another edition
Back to the Roman Empire; Vespasian scheming to run his empire on a budget, Falco trying to do better by his dear Helena Justina but ending up involved helping Vespasian in his latest batch of trouble.
That, to me at least, is what a Marcus Didius Falco novel always seems to contain. This time it drags in Titus Caesar to cause some problems between him and Helena and trigger Falco accepting the latest errand from Vespasian. To deliver a new standard–an iron hand–to a misbehaving group of soldiers known as the Fourteenth Gemina. There’s just one problem with that–Falco was a part of the Second and the two groups of soldiers have some bad blood between them.
It was still an enjoyable read–I found myself wanting to read more about Helena and Falco. Not just because it’s the requisite love story that all the mysteries I’ve read so far seem to contain, but Helena actually helps in the investigation and Lindsay Davis doesn’t push the romantic sub-plot as hard as some others I’ve read. And creating a triangle with a character that will be reappearing because of Falco’s ties to the Roman emperor makes me curious as to what the future of their relationship might be.
That, to me at least, is what a Marcus Didius Falco novel always seems to contain. This time it drags in Titus Caesar to cause some problems between him and Helena and trigger Falco accepting the latest errand from Vespasian. To deliver a new standard–an iron hand–to a misbehaving group of soldiers known as the Fourteenth Gemina. There’s just one problem with that–Falco was a part of the Second and the two groups of soldiers have some bad blood between them.
Spoiler
Apart from lugging the hand from Rome to Germany–where the Fourteenth is stationed, Falco also escorts a barber that he suspects will knife him on orders from Titus Caesar. With a possible assassination attempt following him around, a guaranteed frosty welcome when he reaches his destination and missing Helena every step of the way, this installment in the series seemed to lack the mystery part compared to the others. Yes, there was a mystery to the book. But that mystery seemed to be solved fairly quickly. I’d have preferred if the mystery had been trickier to solve than it had been.It was still an enjoyable read–I found myself wanting to read more about Helena and Falco. Not just because it’s the requisite love story that all the mysteries I’ve read so far seem to contain, but Helena actually helps in the investigation and Lindsay Davis doesn’t push the romantic sub-plot as hard as some others I’ve read. And creating a triangle with a character that will be reappearing because of Falco’s ties to the Roman emperor makes me curious as to what the future of their relationship might be.
rosannelortz's review against another edition
4.0
In The Iron Hand of Mars, Marcus is once again in Vespasian’s employ. At the instigation of Titus, who is a little too interested in Marcus’ senatorial girlfriend Helena Justina, Marcus is sent on a far off mission to the wilds of Germany. He must discover the fate of a missing legate, stop a priestess from inciting the tribes to war, and put the tribal chieftain under house arrest. Helena’s honorable (and lovable) brother Justinus joins Marcus on his mission and saves Marcus’ bacon when the natives grow restless.
Lindsey Davis packs a tremendous amount of Roman history into The Iron Hand of Mars, bringing the reader up to speed with all of Rome’s dealings with Germany and the various uprisings that have happened there in the last hundred years. Oftentimes, authors will end up using contrived conversations to dump historical information on the reader, but even the “educational” conversations in this book felt perfectly natural and stayed interesting.
Lindsey Davis packs a tremendous amount of Roman history into The Iron Hand of Mars, bringing the reader up to speed with all of Rome’s dealings with Germany and the various uprisings that have happened there in the last hundred years. Oftentimes, authors will end up using contrived conversations to dump historical information on the reader, but even the “educational” conversations in this book felt perfectly natural and stayed interesting.
raptorimperator's review against another edition
5.0
Another great addition by Davis in the Marcus Didius Falco mystery series.
grahamjohnson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was the first of the series that I've truly loved. The setting in Germania, the plot (other than the "Falco and Helena can't communicate LIKE NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS" issues), the mystery. All great. I hope they continue this way.
anita_mv's review against another edition
4.0
Creo que este ha sido el libro que más he disfrutado hasta la fecha de Marco Didio Falco. Nos traslada a Germania para entregar un extraño obsequio de parte del emperador a una de las legiones más reconocidas. Una vez allí se dará cuenta que uno de los mandos de la Legión ha desaparecido y deberá entablar una búsqueda que lo llevará a lo más profundo de las tierras de los "salvajes". Muy entretenido y bastante divertido.
ana_mv's review against another edition
4.0
Creo que este ha sido el libro que más he disfrutado hasta la fecha de Marco Didio Falco. Nos traslada a Germania para entregar un extraño obsequio de parte del emperador a una de las legiones más reconocidas. Una vez allí se dará cuenta que uno de los mandos de la Legión ha desaparecido y deberá entablar una búsqueda que lo llevará a lo más profundo de las tierras de los "salvajes". Muy entretenido y bastante divertido.
caitsidhe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
These are always so much fun.