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Saturnalia Lindsey Davis 9781846050343 Books

Download As PDF : Saturnalia Lindsey Davis 9781846050343 Books

Saturnalia Lindsey Davis 9781846050343 Books

I think that Steven Saylor, in his Roma Sub Rosa series, featuring Gordianus the Finder, is the only contemporary author able successfully and properly to mix factual, relevant Roman history with a good detective story (and keep us focused on the mystery to solve).

Here in Lindsey Davis' "Saturnalia," the stronger historical background wins out over the weaker detective story. At 380 pages, the book is a good 100 pages too long. There are too many characters, too much irrelevant material, and a fundamentally uninteresting set of vaguely interwoven "mysteries." The detective Falco seemed much of the time to be without ideas or sufficient energy to solve the problem for which he had been hired. Near the end, the true villain became obvious.

Most of the characters were bland and/or unlikeable, except for Marcus Didius Falco's wife, Helena, who was charming, bold and smart. In many ways, she became the central character and was clearly the brightest star in an otherwise dim array of people in this book. The children were fun, and the soldiers, who were housed at the Falco house, were entertaining and a vital element to enliven the story.

Though overdone, descriptions of the food, customs, mores, rituals, and lifestyle of ancient, pagan Rome were entertaining and educational. Class distinctions were clearly drawn. Often there was a much needed touch of humor, such as the costume party where one main character was cleverly dressed as a turnip to avoid discovery by the evil forces.

It took me a long, long time to read this story, as it was easy to put down and hard to pick up. Tedious it was with rare flashes of entertainment and an occasional insight into this ancient culture we often unwittingly admire a bit too much.

Probably won't read any more of this author. To me this book is a 2.5 on Amazon's rating scale, but, despite the fact that it was such a chore to read, I rounded it up to a 3.0 because the author is so widely respected.


Tags : Saturnalia [Lindsey Davis] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It is the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. Marcus Didius Falco and Helena have returned from Greece only to find that Helena’s brother Justinus’s marital problems have exploded. Justinus’s first love,Lindsey Davis,Saturnalia,Century,1846050340,Fiction General,General & Literary Fiction

Saturnalia Lindsey Davis 9781846050343 Books Reviews

An excellent entry into the Marcus Didius Falco series. Somewhat nostalgic as one of the characters looks back on his youth, and finds things are no longer as they once were. Plenty of surprises, and plot twists. Things are not what they seem! Masterful use of plot and characters. All round fun. A great Davis read.
This is another enjoyable entry in the Falco series.It is set during the festival of Saturnalia. This is a time where there is a lot of family get togethers and celebrations to Saturn.

In this book Falco and his arch enemy/nemesis Anacrites are given the same case to solve. It invovles a woman that Falco had saved before. Her name is Veleda and she has been in residence with a Senator. She overhears that she will be in the triumph march of the general that had captured her which will end in her death. She disappears after there is a murder in the house she is living in.

Falco, his wife Helena and his best friend Petronius and the Vigiles all help in the search for her and to top it all it has to be kept hush hush so that there is not a scandal involving the government.

A great read. I highly recommend it
Against the background of Saturnalia, the biggest holiday of the year in ancient Rome and later co-opted to become Christmas, private informer Marcus Didius Falco is hired to find Veleda, a beautiful, blond, German, female leader who escapes after being secretly brought to Rome. Lindsey Davis again delivers the goods as Falco describes what happens in his wry, humorous way, under pressure from his arch enemy, the barely competent imperial spy Anacrites. Great book as always in this long-running series. Great, believable presentation of street-level life in the ancient Roman capital. Good mystery too. Highly recommended
I got one of the first paperbacks of SATURNALIA and loved it. Read either the hardback or paperback, but I guarantee you'll save it, cherish it and reread it. As a historian and connoisseur of mystery tales--and an appreciator of delicious witty writing--this novel pleased me on all fronts.

Unfortunately, after all the commercial reviewers' hype, I was badly disappointed by SEE DELPHI AND DIE, but ordered this one since it was to be located back in Rome. For some reason Davis handles Italian and Northern European settings much better than Balkan, North African and Near Eastern ones, which read like travel brochures, although LAST ACT IN PALMYRA was pretty good, better than TWO FOR THE LIONS and much better than DELPHI, which is outright boring.

Davis is back in stride in SATURNALIA, with Falco his usual opinionated, moody, insecure self, Helena competent and cool (but worried!), and the usual cast of well-delineated and eccentric extended family, friends like Falco's policeman pal, Petronius, the usual enemies who get a come-uppance, and a collection of physicians and surgeons who prove that professional attitudes haven't changed much even if equipment has.

I'm happy that Helena's brother Justinus, one of my favorite Davis characters, is back, although we hardly ever meet him! (That's half the fun. Where is he?) So is Veleda, the beautiful blonde German tribal leader who led a rebellion against Rome years earlier. We got to know them in an earlier novel set in forested Germania with its mixed Germanic-Celtic tribes. In that early novel, THE IRON HAND OF MARS--don't miss it!--we are led to believe the handsome young Roman officer Justinus and gorgeous Veleda had a one-night stand up in a tower that left him permanently besotted with her. Now Veleda reappears as a prisoner housed in Rome by a typically Roman dysfunctional family. She escapes under suspicious circumstances, setting up a Keystone Kops chase all around town during Rome's most crowded and raucous holiday, and down the Appian Way. The chase events are both heart-pounding and laugh-out-loud fun. The ending may choke you up, but Justinus' marital relations seem finally to be coming under the control of common sense.

That's what we want in a Lindsey Davis "Falco" tale--menace on one page, hilarity and wit on the next, tears on the third. Not a travelogue!

(I hope there's another one coming, but in the paperback there was no synopsis of a followup. Yet, two of our favorite young women are pregnant and we want to know, "Is it a boy or a girl?" Here we are in 76 AD, and I want to find out what happens to the Didii in 79 AD, especially to Nephew Marius who works in and around the Bay of Naples, during the eruption of Vesuvius. Please keep writing, Ms. Davis!)
I think that Steven Saylor, in his Roma Sub Rosa series, featuring Gordianus the Finder, is the only contemporary author able successfully and properly to mix factual, relevant Roman history with a good detective story (and keep us focused on the mystery to solve).

Here in Lindsey Davis' "Saturnalia," the stronger historical background wins out over the weaker detective story. At 380 pages, the book is a good 100 pages too long. There are too many characters, too much irrelevant material, and a fundamentally uninteresting set of vaguely interwoven "mysteries." The detective Falco seemed much of the time to be without ideas or sufficient energy to solve the problem for which he had been hired. Near the end, the true villain became obvious.

Most of the characters were bland and/or unlikeable, except for Marcus Didius Falco's wife, Helena, who was charming, bold and smart. In many ways, she became the central character and was clearly the brightest star in an otherwise dim array of people in this book. The children were fun, and the soldiers, who were housed at the Falco house, were entertaining and a vital element to enliven the story.

Though overdone, descriptions of the food, customs, mores, rituals, and lifestyle of ancient, pagan Rome were entertaining and educational. Class distinctions were clearly drawn. Often there was a much needed touch of humor, such as the costume party where one main character was cleverly dressed as a turnip to avoid discovery by the evil forces.

It took me a long, long time to read this story, as it was easy to put down and hard to pick up. Tedious it was with rare flashes of entertainment and an occasional insight into this ancient culture we often unwittingly admire a bit too much.

Probably won't read any more of this author. To me this book is a 2.5 on 's rating scale, but, despite the fact that it was such a chore to read, I rounded it up to a 3.0 because the author is so widely respected.