The Jupiter Myth (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries (Audio))

Rating:
Summary: Ancient Rome never seemed so exciting since "Gladiator"
Review: "Spartacus" and JULIUS CAESAR meet "Goodfellas" in this Ancient Rome mystery that's literally classic noir. You can smell the wine and the sweat from a female gladiator named Amazonia, a.k.a. femme fatale (literally) Chloris, who's just one of the complications auditor and secret Roman Empire sleuth Marcus Didius Falco, happily maried to partner in solving crime Helena, runs into while on holiday in Britain after an old enemy, Verovolcus, who's connected to native Britain king Togidubnus, is found stuffed down a well in a gin, er, wine joint named the Shower of Gold, after the form Jupiter (that's Zeus to you Greek fans) took to seduce one of his many conquests.

The description of ancient Romans living with ancient Britons is a vivid portrait of the age and the headaches of colonization. Marcus, formerly a man acquainted with the seamy side of life that old girlfriend Chrloris represents, now finds himself going up against it again when he uncovers evidence that Verovolcus' death may be linked to organized crime through a wimp of a mob boss whom Tony Soprano would whack on the spot. Not only that, the wimp boss in question has a personal grudge against hero and Falco friend L. Petronius Longus, who in turn has a personal, intimate tension with Falco's widowed sister Maia, who, in true noir tradition, reportedly is kidnapped by the mob in the book's final third.

But all is not as it seems...and you'll have fun deciphering the ending with Marcus and his cast of strong women.



Rating:
Summary: Take Falco back to Rome
Review: Couple of firsts here for Davis. Initially a direct continuance from `A Body in the Bathhouse' where the culprit who Marcus had exiled to Gaul, turns up in Londinium as the murdered party, secondly Marcus has a more personal reason for investigating the case. A step away from his usual informing, though it is given an official air by Hilarius and Frontinus, the Roman Britain procurator and governor, respectively. What Davis also does, is impose an even tighter deadline for Marcus to carry out his sleuthing, than in the preceding novel.
After the somewhat muddied effort in `Bathhouse', the Jupiter Myth is a better offering from Davis (however, I still believe Marcus is at his very best when operating in the familiar surroundings of Rome). It is, however, very slow after opening with Verovolcus' body headfirst in the Shower of Gold's well. By the end, it is ironic that this murder was more a catalyst for the remaining action, rather than particularly relevant. In fact, more effort is given to Marcus' search for Petro who inexplicably takes off over the first hundred-plus pages than any cohesive effort at establishing motive and suspects. Indeed, Petronius' behaviour doesn't match with the character Davis has so painstakingly created over the series. His rough treatment of Marcus, ordering him to stay out of it before he gets killed is blatantly ignored in the immediate as the pair begin to openly meet. I am still not entirely sure what the purpose of the scene was.
Other than mutterings about a widespread protection racket and liberal descriptions of Londinium after Boudicca's revolt the book then stumbles through until we meet Marcus' old flame - the new gladiatrix Amzonia, more personally known as Chloris. It is at the point the entire novel is rescued as Davis' writing lifts, the action becomes precise, fast-flowing and Marcus becomes the fast-witted informer we all love.
We leap from a battle in Londinium's wooden ampitheatre (Helena even gets involved with a pack of dogs), to ballistae at warehouses, legionary fights at locales to the breathless end with Petro's saving and Maia's somewhat exasperated final action.
So, a tale of two parts. On the first part you could see a continuance of `A Body in the Bathhouse' in that it was beoming more and more evident that Falco doesn't travel very well. However, in the second part, Davis rescues it with the final hours from Maia's `capture' to the breaking of the racketeering gang. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, this time, Rome follows Falco to Britain and thus the easy familiarity is readily established. By the end of the novel Falco is back to his sleuthing best with plenty of action thrown in making this latest installment a delight to read. However, his insistence on going `home' to Rome, gives hope that the whole of Falco's next installment (The Accusers) will be back to its very best.

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Summary: Falco in Londinium
Review: I generally like it when Falco goes out of town. Falco gets to make fun of the colonials, and Davis gets to descibe a new setting and (often) a different cuture. But Falco shouldn't be out of town for too long at a time.

The Jupiter Myth was fairly well executed, but it had two major problems.

First of all, Falco works best when he alternates between the provinces and Rome. Two books in the same province (Body In The Bathhouse, Jupiter Myth) are too much. Especially a province where he has already been (The Silver Pigs). It is obvious that for a British author there is a certain natural appeal to setting the books in Britain, but I'd rather see Falco continue to be on the move. The endless references to Britain's weather are somewhat trying (especially to a reader from a rainy climate, like me). I want to just shake Falco and tell him, "Get over it, already!"

The second problem is the Helena dispute. It seems so forced. Falco has a rough past, but never once has he been anything but devoted to Helena since they first met. Why now would she suddenly take seriously a chance meeting with an old flame? I think Davis is looking for a substitution for the old tension between Falco and Helena from back before Falco was established enough for them to securely marry. This isn't the right way to do it, though. It just seems out of character for Helena.

The story was also rather grim, almost as grim as The Silver Pigs. Beloved children die, mobsters corrupt the town, problems erupt between Helena and Marcus, a very morose Petro wanders around in a funk ... it certainly is not a happy story. Even for a murder mystery.

On the whole, though, I liked it. Falco and Helena are still engaging characters, and their companions are all nicely three dimensional. I look forward to the return to Rome.

Perhaps what is needed is a new perspective. I wonder what a Falco book would be like from Helena's point of view? Or Petro's?

Rating:
Summary: More Falco
Review: I was introduced to Falco through my daughter's Latin teacher, who loaned us all of the books except this one. I whipped through them all, loving Falco, Helena, and all the rest of the colorful characters. I also liked this one, though it was darker than the others. It might have been the gloomy/chilly/too hot weather (Falco is never happy about the weather!). It might have been the reports of the deaths of two children back in Rome, though I'm pretty sure this was a common occurance. It might just have been Falco's black mood through most of the book. He seemed to be sulking just a bit, wanting to go back to sunny Rome, not staying in murky Britain with his wife's relatives. Either way, I enjoyed it a lot. Fans of the Falco mysteries will, too. Beginners should start with the first one.

Rating:
Summary: I Just Love these Books
Review: Lindsey Davis is now well into double figures with her Falco novels. They say that most people have a good book inside them, but to be able to write consistently good novels with innovative plots is a gift.

I believe it was a conscious effort on the part of Lindsey Davis to take Falco out of his normal surrounding and freshen her storylines up with a visit to Roman London.

Of course no sooner has Marcus Didius Falco and his wife Helena, who's breeding and background should put her far out of the reach of a rascal like Falco hit the streets of Londinium than a body is found stuffed down the well of a wine bar.

The unfortunate victim is a henchman of King Togidubnus an important ally of Rome.

Falco needs to pull out all the stops to find the murderer and placate the powers that be, but many things are about to happen before the mystery can be solved.

Keep it up Lindsey.

Rating:
Summary: A tepid plot but rich with histoical detail
Review: Lindsey Davis is the author of the hugely popular series about Marcus Didius Falco, her detective from the first century, AD. This episode, occurring in 75AD relocates Falco and his family to Londinium, the Roman London of today. A hemchman of a tribal king is found drowned in a barrel. This places the Roamns in a diplomatic quandry as they must discover the murderer to satisfy the king. Falco is called upon to solve the crime. His investigation takes him to the dregs of this early settlement where we are treated to a virtual tour of London, 75AD.
This is the second year in a row that Lindsey Davis has been nominated for the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, an award she previously received. The problem that I had with the last book was a feeling that there was a general lack of authenticity. The characters and the locale was so remniscent of today that it just as well could have been a modern crime novel. This is almost certainly intentional on the part of the author. This is not the problem at all with this current volume. Londinium is described in loving detail. The early Londoner's recreation, entertainment, living arrangements, bars, shops are all rendered with care. What was perceived by myself as the major weakness of the last book is the major strength of this one. Characters are well known to the readers of the series including Falco's family. They are very well rendered and are another strength of this work. The major weakness is the tepid plot that barely holds this book together as we plod through the pages endlessly progressing to the uninspiring conclusion. I am not yet a fan of this series.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting adventure in Roman London
Review: Marcus Didius Falco and his family are waiting to return to Rome after a successful investigation in Britain when a body is discovered in a bar well. Falco is an informant so he gets the job of investigating. Unfortunately, the dead man was one Falco knew--a criminal. And Falco soon learns that the death is associated with a criminal gang that seems to have virtually taken over Roman London. Falco's problems escalate when his wife adopts a teenaged runaway girl, and when Falco himself runs into the lover he left behind--a beautiful acrobat who has become a female gladiator.

In the first century A.D., Roman Britain is still fresh, Rome is still an expanding power, and Britain is the ragged edge of Empire. Still, Roman customs are being introduced to Britain--baths, gladiators, olives, and wine. And the gods, of course. But it takes a while for Falco to determine that there is a connection between all of the wineshops, whorehouses, and theaters named after Jupiter. The connection is the gang--a gang that is another very Roman innovation in Britain. And it turns out that Falco and his best friend Petronius Longus had faced that gang before, back in Rome.

Author Lindsey Davis does a fine job drawing a picture of early Empire law enforcement. In each of the Falco books, Falco seems to emerge as a more interesting character and his relationship with Helena continues to deepen. Politics and corruption are not modern inventions and Davis describes the ancient version of the Mafia in intriguing detail. In THE JUPITER MYTH, Falco spends a lot of time chasing badguys, battling for his life and generally adventuring rather than sneakily crime-solving, but that doesn't keep MYTH from being an exciting story and even, occasionally, a heart-warming romance.

Rating:
Summary: Still not on form
Review: Something odd happened with the previous Falco novel, 'A body in the bathhouse'. The series is generally very reliable, but it started to dive and reached bottom with that book. The Jupiter Myth is inevitably an improvement -- but not much. It's set in Londinium, but the plot is a retread of 'Time to Depart'. Somehow it grates. On the one hand, we expect Londinium to be pretty rural and basic. But on the other hand we have this crime syndicate operating, invisibly? This simply doesn't work. Helena is nagging Falco, which doesn't really work either.

So it's hard to recommend this one. Buy one of the earlier ones: anything up to and including "One virgin too many".

Rating:
Summary: The Jupiter Myth
Review: The Romans stayed in Britian for four hundred years, but Falco has already been there too long. That's what is wrong with this book and the one before it. Rome is as much a character in this series as any of the humans. I can see where the idea of going to Celtic Britian where Falco had a past would be intriguing to an author, but it didn't work out very well.