Silver Pigs Review

I've said in other reviews that I'm not a huge fan of crime drama, but the sheer number of reviews I've made within the genre seems to suggest otherwise. But I really do prefer non-fiction for the most part. Instead of just reviewing this one novel, I'm going to use this opportunity to review all 16 of Davis's Marcus Didius Falco novels. I enjoy these less for the mystery element than I do for Davis's stunning ability to draw a reader into Imperial Rome at both its best and worst. (What can I say, I'm bored tonight and these books deserve mention)

M Didius Falco is a private informer (aka, ancient Roman PI). In each book, he solves a mystery (sometimes a missing person, sometimes a murder, sometimes a plot against the throne of the Emperor Vespasian). Each book is written from the POV of M Didius Falco. He is a Republican (opposed to Imperial rule), a cynic, and (at heart) a romantic who writes poetry in his spare time. He shares his life, his love, and his adventures with a rogue of a senator's daughter by the name of Helena Justina. Their romance is, quite naturally, frowned upon by everyone who counts and they found each other by chance alone. But each made their choice. Helena, divorced from a traitor, chose Falco not for his prospects but out of love (an eccentric choice in ancient Rome) and Falco chose Helena for the same reasons, although he spends most of the first six or seven books trying to do right by her and raise himself to a status worthy of a senator's daughter. She is rich, he is dead broke, but they share a bond of love and a fascination with unsolved mysteries.

Falco is a man of extreme integrity, utterly out of place in Imperial Rome with his standards and princples. Nor does he ever attempt to make it easier for the establishment to accept him.

Cynical Falco brings an element of humor to the stories, all the while immersing his readers into the lush, lavish, sordid, dirty, and (to him) sophisticated world of Imperial Rome (circa 70 AD). Helena is quite often his voice of reason, and, in spite of ancient Rome's anti-female bias, a useful sounding-board. While the first three or four novels deal with the troubles of the kind of relationship they have, in the later novels, she is his helpmate without expectation or surprise. Sensible and connected, she can go where he never could, and approach people he would never be allowed near.

Their romance is very real, but downplayed so nicely that I would allow my daughter to read the books (no graphic sex and precious little detailed violence). Yet their love is strong and of the sort that any happily-married soul will easily recognize.

The main appeal for me is the realism of life in Imperial Rome: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the crime and exploitation, the slavery and elitism. A good Emperor in a bad time. The treatment and mistreatment of the poor, the divide between the rich and poor. All are covered with an impressive combination of humor and delicacy. (In one scene in one of the books, he describes a house as so rich that "each member has his own personal latrine sponge").

In the novels, Falco travels from Britian to Arabia, always in seach of answers which he usually finds. Sometimes those answers are such that the criminal will never be brought to book (another realistic touch in the series). At other times, parents are relieved to recieve thier children back in one piece. Above all, Falco has a heart. The books are written in Noir style, but Falco is more sympathetic than any Noir detective. He aches with each death, even those of the baddies, and he triumphs with each victory. Patriarch of a large family, he loves (somewhat guardedly) his mother, and hates his absentee father (although he works with him as necessity deamands). His sisters (save one) are something of a plague, but he puts up with them as well and takes care of them and thier children (along with the illegitimate child of his dead brother).

 Helena Justina initially views him as something of a rogue, but he eventually wins her around and, later, they wed. Strong women are not uncommon in a series based in a time when women were expected to be meek, but Marcus deals with them the way any of us deal with difficult family members. They are his sisters and he loves them.

In this series, Marcus and Helena solve many mysteries and share many adventures, all the while building thier own family, reconciling with some, consolidating thier relationships with others, and losing others yet. The whole time, you get a great feel for ancient Rome, for better and worse. This is on par with "I, Claudius", but funnier, more realistic, and more in-depth.

 I have read historical NON-fiction that gives me less of a feel for the time it's set in. This is one of only two or three series I own in its entirety, and it is well worth the cost. Bing me for more details, but know that this is an outstanding example of its genre. If you like Imperial Rome, you will LOVE this series.