[.ca] The Jupiter Myth (ISBN 0099298406)

The Jupiter Myth:
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.

More Falco:
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.

Falco in Londinium:
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?

Exciting adventure in Roman London:
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.

A tepid plot but rich with histoical detail:
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.