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Saturnalia
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Series: Marcus Didius Falco, Book 18
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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In first century A.D. Rome, Marcus Didius Falco works as a private "informer," ferreting out hidden truths and bringing villains to ground. But even informers take vacations, so in A.D. 77, Falco and his wife Helena Justina travel to Alexandria, Egypt. Before long the Librarian of the great library is found dead and Falco quickly finds himself on the trail of dodgy doings, malfeasance, and the lowest of the low - book thieves! As the bodies pile up, it's up to Falco to untangle this horrible mess and restore order.
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Fresh from a trip to far-flung Londinium in Britain, Falco needs to reestablish his presence in Rome. A minor role in the trial of a senator entangles him in the machinations of two powerful lawyers. The senator is convicted but then dies, apparently by suicide. It may have been a legal move to protect his heirs; Falco is hired to prove it was murder. As he shows off his talents in the role of advocate, Falco exposes himself to a tangle of upper-class secrets and powerful elements in Rome's legal hierarchy that may have unintended - if not fatal - consequences.
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Poor narration quailty
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In the Italian town of Ostia outside Rome, Falco appears to be enjoying a relaxing holiday. But when Helena arrives carrying a batch of past issues of the Daily Gazette with the intention of catching up on the latest scandal, Falco is forced to admit his real reason for being there. Infamia, the pen name of the gossip columnist for the Daily Gazette, has gone missing, and his fellow scribes have employed Falco to bring him back from his drunken truancy.
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Usually love Simon Prebble as narrator BUT....
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Fresh from a trip to far-flung Londinium in Britain, Falco needs to reestablish his presence in Rome. A minor role in the trial of a senator entangles him in the machinations of two powerful lawyers. The senator is convicted but then dies, apparently by suicide. It may have been a legal move to protect his heirs; Falco is hired to prove it was murder. As he shows off his talents in the role of advocate, Falco exposes himself to a tangle of upper-class secrets and powerful elements in Rome's legal hierarchy that may have unintended - if not fatal - consequences.
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Poor narration quailty
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In the Italian town of Ostia outside Rome, Falco appears to be enjoying a relaxing holiday. But when Helena arrives carrying a batch of past issues of the Daily Gazette with the intention of catching up on the latest scandal, Falco is forced to admit his real reason for being there. Infamia, the pen name of the gossip columnist for the Daily Gazette, has gone missing, and his fellow scribes have employed Falco to bring him back from his drunken truancy.
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Falco always takes the tough cases...
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The Jupiter Myth
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Marcus Didius Falco is about to get involved in a nasty noir crime, involving gangsters, gladiators, and romance. For Falco, a relaxed visit to his wife Helena's relatives in Britain suddenly turns serious. He and his family are staying in London when Falco is summoned to the scene of a murder. The victim, Verovolcus, was a renegade with ties to Roman crime magnates operating in London, but he was also close to King Togidubnus. So when he is discovered dead, stuffed headfirst down a well, a tricky diplomatic situation develops that Falco must defuse.
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Some things never change. With his new villa, Falco also gets a timeless headache: building contractors. After the departure of two shady plasterers, a rank odor in the bathhouse soon leads to the discovery of a corpse under the mosaic floor. Should Falco follow the culprits to remote Britannica? Despite the British weather (damp), the inhabitants (barbarians), and the wine (second-rate), Falco takes his whole family and goes. In veritas, Falco has another, secret reason for this exodus.
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Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina. From her mother, she learned how to blend in at all levels of society; from her father, she learned the tricks of their mutual professional trade. But her wits and (frequently) sharp tongue are hers alone. Now, working as a private informer in Rome during the reign of Domitian, Flavia has taken over her father’s old ramshackle digs at Fountain Court in the Surbura district, where she plies her trade with energy, determination, and the usual Falco luck.
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Prefer dead old dad
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Ode to a Banker
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Can a tough detective possess the soul of a poet? After a public reading brings him rousing applause, Falco receives an offer to have his work published. But his ego takes a beating when the banker Chrysippus demands payment for putting the verse on papyrus. Hell hath no fury like an author scorned, and when Chrysippus turns up murdered - in the library, no less - it's poetic justice. Appointed the official investigator, Falco's soon up to his stylus in outraged writers and shifty bankers.
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Rather predictable; not as good as others in the series
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Publisher's Summary
So when a general's famous female conquest escapes from house arrest - leaving a horrendous murder in her wake - Falco is on the case. If finding a fugitive isn't enough of a Zeus-like headache, Falco's wife Helena Justina's brother has also gone missing.
Against the riotous backdrop of the season of misrule and merriment, the search seems impossible. And Falco seems to be the only one who notices that some dark agency is bringing death to the city streets...
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What listeners say about Saturnalia
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Abigail
- 09-22-11
Historic Rome Adds Nice Twist to Standard Mysterie
I like the Didius Falco books and will continue to buy them but I prefer Ruth Downie's Roman mysteries to these. You cant really miss that the Falco books are written by a woman (do not read this as a lack of action or violence) but Falco has all the traits of a romance novel hero. The characters have the predictability of sitcom stereotypes, but this can be a positive attribute when you want to curl up with a solid mystery peopled with familiar old friends. It can be nice not to have to sit through 1000 pages of an author torturing his main character, to whom the reader is quite attached as well. Plus, without too much gore and sex these books can be heard around mature children (pg13 ish).
Saturnalia is one of the better Falco books but I've yet to read one I've had any real complaints about. Falco is a good mix of gruff and sensitive and the holidays add the right amount of choas. You cant get better than Christian Rodska as a narrator, he definitely adds excitement and character.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Heather Miller
- 04-10-09
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.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- d
- 11-30-17
Love this series
The narrator may not be Simon Prebble but this one is very good as well. I waited in hopes of a new copy narrated by the usual voice actor, but i am glad I gave up.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Old Hippy
- 10-22-09
Gets old after awhile ...
I started off really liking this story and the writer. Found myself pausing to look up various things about Roman life up online, and enjoyed the learning experience along with the story. But, it did seem to go on a bit. And then the ending ... well, let's just say it was a disappointment. The story goes on and on, and then all of a sudden the various plot issues get "resolved" in the last chapter. It felt contrived, unsatisfying. And the whole business of the wife as co-detective also seemed trite ... too much like an ancient Rome takeoff on The Thin Man - yeah, it didn't work well. I started off wanted to read the whole series, but now I don't think so.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Susan
- 03-25-09
This author rarely lets me down
I'm always excited when I see a new release from Lindsey Davis. She makes ancient Rome seem like the next town over. I can expect a story that makes always makes me laugh, can usually summon a few tears and makes me sad when it ends. The reader is fantastic as well. Built around the festival of Saturnalia, it brings back some great characters from a previous novel. As I listened I realized everyone has had a Christmas like Falco's Saturnalia. I can't wait for the next book. The BBC dramatizations are also great.
1 person found this helpful
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- ian
- 01-18-21
New narrator
I hate it when they replace a narrator in the middle of a series. Then to replace him with someone who’s voice is like a cheese grater on my brain is not cool. Barely made it through.
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- Sylvane
- 06-12-19
You can't go wrong with Falco
Fascinating stories, interesting history, great characters. If you love mysteries set in historical Rome, you can't go wrong with Marcus Didius Falco.
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- Bonnie
- 10-29-11
Another winner by Davis and Rodska
Again Falco has to get his brother-in-law out of trouble. There is always humor and suspense. I have not been disappointed by and of the books in this series. If you enjoy mystery and historical novels. This may be the series for you.
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- Wadie
- 10-03-10
Only Falco
can find a reason not to have a good time during Saturnalia. Of course he has a job to do. One of his relations is missing and has some involvement with the job, a search for a woman Falco might not want to find. As usual, Falco doesn't disappoint the listener or Helena (she who WILL be answered to:) The plot and narration is great. This is an excellent entry in the series.
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- Suzo
- 11-13-19
Worst Narrator Ever
This is not one of the author’s best books. It’s as if she had a box of unrelated Roman facts and trivia and tried to weave them all into one book. Only because I’m listening to the books in sequence did I endure the egregiously bad narrator. If you’ve identified with Simon Prebble as narrator, prepare to be disappointed. Listen to a sample of this book and you may decide to skip this one.