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  • Time to Depart

  • Falco, Book 7
  • By: Lindsey Davis
  • Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
  • Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (240 ratings)
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Time to Depart cover art

Time to Depart

By: Lindsey Davis
Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
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Summary

"I still can't believe I've put the bastard away for good!" Petro muttered.'

Petronius Longus, captain of the Aventine watch and Falco's oldest friend, has finally nailed one of Rome's top criminals. Under Roman law, citizens are not imprisoned but are allowed 'time to depart' into exile outside the Empire.

One dark and gloomy dawn, Petro and Falco put the evil Balbinus aboard a ship. But soon after, an outbreak of robbery and murder suggests a new criminal ring has moved into Balbinus' territory. Petro and Falco must descend into the underworld of Vespasian's Rome to investigate...

©1997 Lindsey Davis (P)2015 Audible Studios

What listeners say about Time to Depart

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

Falco in trouble again

I am a lover of this series and this book is as good as the rest
Christian Rodska is great in the role in previous releases so you want to compare but G Griffin gets in his stride and is entertaining
I think I may have guessed the twists but then I've read all the books so you tend to second guess the author
All the characters are well honed and mostly likeable
I just can't get enough of Helena and Falco and his mates

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Falco is back in Rome

In a city full of deceit a Kingpun gets his comeuppance. ... or does he. Davis has delighted again with his unusual bunch characters. Cant wait to start the next, I'm like an addict.

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

Excellent Falco story

Loved this one, which covers some very interesting topics including organised crime and prostitution in Ancient Rome. It’s part of a series that develops over many books, and Davis is playful with themes of the hard bitten detective, his daft family and charmingly complex romance with the wonderful, high born Helena. The reader is good with humour and phrasing though his accent is maybe not such a good match for the hero’s working class background. Highly recommended overall.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Another's Masterpiece

l never fail to be surprised at the depth of knowledge contained within each book. This story has lots of dry humour with plenty of twists and turns. Always a good read or audio book very well narrated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, terrible reader.

I understand Gordon Griffin was given his MBE by the Queen for "services to audiobooks". I, unlike him, am speechless. I'm sorry to say it for his sake, but the man cannot narrate to save his life. Falco (and everyone else) gets a sub-public-school posh accent that is totally inappropriate and crucially, makes it insanely difficult to follow conversations. Even the vigiles, those hard-bitten law-enforcers, sound like a day trip out from Eton.
Worse, Griffin absolutely slaughters pronunciation and sentence structure. It's as if he has never heard Roman names pronounced before (or staunchly decided he was going to pronounce them his way, ignoring the cries of horror). I have read all of Lindsey Davis' books numerous times, and her writing rhythm is wonderful - Mr Griffin, alas, bravely overcomes this hurdle, giving the unfortunate effect of being (as Russell Crowe vouchsafed on the choice of "Roman" accents in the film "Gladiator") "Royal Shakespeare Company two pints after lunch"... actually make that six pints and a couple of sedatives.
This is a terrible, terrible shame because "Time To Depart" is a good book.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Another excellent story and narration

Another great storyline and entertaining reading. I look forward to hearing all of them.
Not sure what another reviewer was listening to when moaning about ‘accents’ but it seems he was hearing a Jeeves and Wooster title not this one! Etonian accent?? No chance!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fab story !

Love the characters as always but the narrator is awful . Poor pronunciation of some words and he sounded to old and staid to be our very wonderful Falco .

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1 person found this helpful

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

Wonderful!

An absolute joy from start to finish. All of it. Can’t wait to get stuck in to the next one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love the book, love the story, dislike the reader

I, as always, love Lindsey and her stories - but I dislike the reader of this book. I have heard him on a number of readings and find his cadences irritating. H frequently ends sentences as if they are questions, he’s far too posh for Falco and the voice changes to other characters not adequate

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5 people found this helpful

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

Good story, terrible narrator

Another good yarn from Lindsey Davis but ruined by a terrible narrator. No excuse. There are thousands of excellent actors who could do the reading - no need to use someone who's hopeless.

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5 people found this helpful