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  • The Iron Hand of Mars

  • Falco, Book 4
  • By: Lindsey Davis
  • Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
  • Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (285 ratings)
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The Iron Hand of Mars

By: Lindsey Davis
Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
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Summary

"I’ve always wanted to see something of the Empire outside Rome."

AD 71. Germania Libera: dark, dripping forests inhabited by bloodthirsty barbarians and legendary wild beasts, a furious prophetess who terrorises Rome, and the ghostly spirits of slaughtered Roman legionaries.

Enter Falco, an Imperial agent on a special mission: to find the absconding commander of a legion whose loyalty is suspect. Easier said than done, thinks Falco as he makes his uneasy way down the Rhenus, trying to forget that back in sunny Rome his girlfriend, Helena Justina, is being hotly pursued by Titus Caesar. His mood is not improved when he discovers his only allies are a woefully inadequate bunch of recruits, their embittered centurion, a rogue dog, and its innocent young master - just the right kind of support for an agent unwillingly trying to tame the Celtic hordes.

©1992 Lindsey Davis (P)2015 Audible, Ltd.

What listeners say about The Iron Hand of Mars

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shame about the narrator!

Love the books...Bring back Christian Rodska! Please! He has a much more sympathetic voice for the character and he shifts back into pompous mode after every break in the narration. If I didn't love Falco so much I would not have bought the books and I don't enjoy listening with gritted teeth.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Cold, wet and dull

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Christian Rodska narrating, and a some sun, warmth and joviality. Too full of long historical tracts about various legions of the Roman Army. Set n Germany inthe weather is always wet, cold, raining, drizzly, dank and depressing.

What will your next listen be?

A Falco set back in Rome.

What didn’t you like about Gordon Griffin’s performance?

He does not sound lke Falco, as he is not a cheeky chap who uses his charm and wit to get results.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Iron Hand of Mars?

I would cut down the length of the historical descriptions from the start

Any additional comments?

I miss Christian Rodska!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The usual quality recording

I've listened to all the Falco novels several times and love the plots, the characters and the wit. This one is of the usual quality - excellent.

I find I enjoy Gordon Griffin just as much as Christian Rodska. I don't know what the criticism is about. They are both brilliant!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely worth getting if you are a Falco fan

Any additional comments?

It may not be read by Christian Rodska but is really well read and I will be getting the others read by Gordan Griffin.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

On and on and on

Thankfully the story ended well but even up to chapter 40 I found the continued long names, complicated tribal origins and the repeated squabbling very dull. In contrast to other readers, I think this the least interesting of all the novels so far.
The narration is ok but perhaps doesn’t emphasise the humour as much as the previous narrator Mr Rodska.
It was worth persevering but it did need perseverance!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

overlong and over complicated

Too many improbable coincidences. Odd narration. Not one of the best in the series.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor narration

The story is another great work by Davis, with excellent historical detail.

The performance really lets it down. The narrator sounds as though he is reading the text for the first time, and as such gets the emphasis all wrong. The text loses a lot of humour this way. It's frustrating and I think I will have to read the rest as the audiobooks are not very enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This is my fourth listen/read within a short space of time to the Falco series, and this is my favourite to date. There is more geography covered and more that might make you think you need to know about Roman military ranks which might suggest knowing these are key, BUT in listening/reading terms they do not really matter and you pick up most all almost atmospherically. The novel is better classed as an adventure than a detective, and there is really good focus on character. The relationships between Falco and Helena also figures strongly and this grounds these novels in terms of 'what will happen to them next'. The narrator is very good, though I still wish for a younger sounding voice and in the billing-and-cooing scenes he sounds somewhat unconvincing. (Oh, what these novels would be like performer by Anton Lesser.) I sometimes wish that more was made available to listeners/readers such as good sized maps and quick reference sections appropriate to each book. (That is a publisher thing rather than author.) That said the list of characters and their humour-laden descriptions in the novels I have read/listened to so far are really excellent. This is a novel to enjoy; do.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Falco at his best

Loved it Lindsey Davis brings the Roman Empire to live . I love Falco his wit is well matched by Helena. Can't wait to hear the next one

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another enjoyable read.

Really enjoyed this book. I have read some of the others too,and liked those too.

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