The Falco Iron Hand Of Mars

By: Lindsey Davis

Narrated by: Anna Madeley, Anton Lesser, Full Cast

Anton Lesser and Anna Madeley star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the fourth novel in Lindsey Davis's bestselling series featuring Roman private eye Falco. The Iron Hand of Mars sees Falco being dispatched to one of the most hostile parts of the Empire to deliver a new standard - an iron hand - to one of the legions. Germania is cold, wet, dismal and full of dark forests inhabited by bloodthirsty barbarians, but Falco has an even bigger problem to worry about: he has forgotten Helena Justina's birthday, and she is being pursued by the Emperor's son Titus Caesar. As Falco makes his way through dangerous territory, he encounters the aftermath of a grisly crime, investigates the case of a missing legate, gets into trouble with a centurion and has a fateful encounter with a Celtic priestess and a giant bull. With the help of his travelling companions - Helena's tribune brother Justinus, redundant barber Xanthus and Helveticus - Falco must try to complete his most deadly mission yet... 'The Iron Hand of Mars' follows on from BBC Radio 4's hugely successful dramatisations of 'The Silver Pigs', 'Shadows in Bronze' and 'Venus in Copper'. Anna Madeley returns as Helena Justina, along with Ben Crowe as Falco's best friend Petronius, Jonathan Keeble as Titus Caesar and Michael Tudor Barnes as Vespasian.©1992 Lindsey Davis; (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A golden Iron Hand of Mars

Would you listen to The Iron Hand of Mars (Dramatised) again? Why?

Most definitely!

I loved the dramatized Iron Hand of Mars. It was full of life and the voices were so distinct that it was easy to tell who was who. The scene sounds were good and made descriptions unnecessary. It was fast moving while keeping the essence of the story and its humour.

What other book might you compare The Iron Hand of Mars (Dramatised) to and why?

The Didius Falco stories are delightful. Falco is such an interesting character with a dry sense of humour. Each story has new twists and turns.

Valerio Massimo Manfredi writes on similar themes, as does Umberto Eco. Great stuff you can get your teeth into!

Which scene was your favorite?

The story is littered with interesting scenes as it twists and turns. Each book is not only a complete story in itself but also adds a little to Falco's private life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

As a short yet engrossing radio play of under 3 hrs, it was easy to listen to in one sitting. The only issue was the frequent pre- and post- titles with each track - packaged for the radio episodes. I didn't need to know every 20 minutes who the actors were.

Any additional comments?

If the story was available as a narrated audiobook, I would've chosen to listen to that instead but the radio-play made a delightful way to fill in the gaps in the Falco series.

Love this series!

I have read and re-read the books, and now am having fun listening to them on audio. Great narration! These novels have a little bit of something for everyone- they're good mysteries, they're an interesting look at the Roman Empire, and the main character is funny. Smart, but also light and entertaining. So far there has only been one book in the series I haven't absolutely loved.

The Iron Hand of Mars

Really exciting and gripping. The actors are wonderful, though I prefer the Lindsay Davis novels read by Christian Rodska.