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The Silver Pigs [Audiobook] (Audio CD)

by Lindsey Davis (Author), Full-Cast Dramatisation (Performer)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Audio CD
  • Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America; Unabridged edition (5 Jan 2010)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1602838518
  • ISBN-13: 978-1602838512
  • Product Dimensions: 14 x 12.2 x 1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Product Description

Rome. AD 70. Private eye Marcus Didius Falco knows his way round the eternal city. He can handle the muggers, the police and most of the girls. But one fresh 16 year old, Sosia Camillina, finds him a case no Roman should be getting his nose into ...Sosia's uncle is a Senator with suspicions. Some friends, Romans and countryment are doing a highly profitable, if highly illegal, trade in silver ingots or pigs. For Falco it's the start of a murderous trail that leads far beyond the seven hills. To a godforsaken land called Britain, to Emperor Vespasian himself, and to Helana Justina - a lady leagues out of Falco's class. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Rome, Ad 70.

One hot day in the Forum, Marcus Didius Falco, private informer, runs into sweet sixteen-year-old Sosia Camillina. She is fleeing for her life. Rescuing her is the start of a dangerous game, involving stolen imperial ingots and a dark political plot. Commissioned by mysterious, highly-placed clients for a job he knows he does not want, Falco is drawn on the long trail to Britain, where he endures physical hardship and heartache in the deadly silver mines.

Mother knows best, but even she cannot help her boy once he meets Helena Justina, a Senator's daughter who is connected to the traitors he has sworn to expose. She is out of his class; he is out of his depth - but for Falco the challenge is irresistible...

The Silver Pigs is the first book in Lindsey Davis' bestselling Falco series.

'One of the most original and endearing books since the first Flashman' Time Out

'Davis' writing zings with fun' Daily Mail --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A darker novel, but with life and humour, 12 Jun 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Silver Pigs (Paperback)
This first 'Falco' novel from Lindsey Davis has a more sombre quality than her subsequent novels but with no less humour and attention to characterisation. This remains my favourite of the series, partly because it defines the relationships between the principal characters. It also tells the events that form the haunting memories of some of Davies' later novels. Like any good read it expands beyond the confines of the pages and grabs the imagination. The smells of the ancient Roman empire, both fragrant and foul, infuse the pages.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Falco, 22 July 2007
By Marshall Lord (Whitehaven, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Silver Pigs (Paperback)
This is the first of a series of detective stories set in Vespasian's Roman Empire and featuring the informer Marcus Didius Falco.

I tried this historical detective story because I had enjoyed Ellis Peter's "Brother Cadfael" detective stories. They were excellent but this is brilliant, as is the rest of the series.

Funny, exciting, and based on a painstaking effort to re-create the world of 70 AD.

By chance, Falco rescues a 16-year old girl called Sosia Camillina from a gang of thugs. She turns out to be the illegitimate niece of a senator, who suspects that an illegal trade is going on in silver pigs (ingots) from a godforsaken remote corner of the empire - Britain. To Falco's disgust he has to return to this barbaric spot where he had once served with the legions ...

The events of this story very from the tragic to the hilarious, and are often completely unexpected.

If you have met and enjoyed the Cadfael series, this is even better.

It isn't absolutely essential to read these stories in sequence, as the mysteries Falco is trying to solve are all self-contained stories and each can stand on its own. Having said that, there is some ongoing development of characters and relationships and I think reading them in the right order does improve the experience.

The full Falco series, in chronological order, consists at the moment of:

The Silver Pigs
Shadows in Bronze
Venus in Copper
The Iron Hand of Mars
Poseidon's Gold
Last Act in Palmyra
Time to Depart
A Dying Light in Corduba
Three Hands in the Fountain
Two for the Lions
One Virgin Too Many
Ode to a Banker
A Body in the Bath house
The Jupiter Myth
The Accusers
Scandal taks a Holiday
See Delphi and Die
Saturnalia
Alexandria

I have read and can warmly recommend all of these.

Lindsey Davis has also written a historical novel set in the same timeframe called "The Course of Honor" which is about the love affair between Vespasian and his mistress Caenis. The author has taken the two sentences from Suetonius which are all we know of Caenis, and from them she has conjured the vital image of a woman beautiful in both form and personality and a charming love story.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent mystery novel set in ancient Rome. 10/10, 28 Jan 2002
This review is from: The Silver Pigs (Hardcover)
Based in ancient Rome in the time of the emperor Vespasian, The Silver Pigs finds itself deep in the intrigue and deception of the roman administrators, right to the top. In his search for the truth it takes Falco, (the main character), to near death in the distant, and freezing, (the Romans didn't have underwear), province of Britannia. Of course, he saves the day but only by weaving his way through the rich and twisting tapestry of everyday life as a roman citizen.
The book is based on a strong plot and a very likable character, but is highly detailed about roman politics and everyday roman life. Anyone can read and enjoy this, you don't have to know anything about ancient Rome but it will appeal more to those who like the roman period. The best thing about the book is that it is the first in a string of Falco novels (thirteen so far, I have them all), so once you are hooked you can follow your hero all over the roman empire as he eaks out an existence doing his bit for Rome and tries to inch his way up the greasy pole to a better life.
I would give this book 10/10, one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly excellent!
I read this book because it came up in the choices of a book group I belong to. At first it really didn't appeal, my never having been a fan of historical novels but, when I got... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Mrs. S. Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars Falco
Lindsey Davis has produced a series of novels based upon the antics of Falco, a roman detective. The wit and humour simply adds to some very readable stories. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Mr. J. Gledhill

5.0 out of 5 stars A new kind of detective in a Roman world
This story was fun and exciting. Mixed with a real sense of history you get introduced to a whole new set of characters who will lighten up your life in the following books... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bridget O

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad beinning
Vespasianus is not a terribly wellknown Roman emperor and he is mostly only in te background in this book. Still the portrait is mostly positive. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Chuck the Monk

5.0 out of 5 stars Marcus Didius Falco
An excellent read for anyone who enjoys historical novels based on factual history by an author who has a goos sense of plot and must enjoy doing the background research. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. Jeremy G. Dutton

5.0 out of 5 stars The Silver Pigs.
As a fan of Falco it was good to read the 1st in a long line of excellent books - I had somehow started in the middle of the series! Well researched.
Published 10 months ago by Mrs. Wendy M. Hardy

5.0 out of 5 stars A great start to a great series.
I first picked up The Silver Pigs in our local bookshop, for 99p. At that price I thought, 'Oh well, if I hate it, it won't matter'. Instead I loved it. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alder

4.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant start to the series
I turned to this first of Lindsey Davis' Falco novels, after having watched the BBC/HBO series 'Rome'. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Annabel Gaskell

4.0 out of 5 stars The First Book in This Wonderful Series

This is the first novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. Read more
Published 24 months ago by J. Chippindale

5.0 out of 5 stars First Book in What Became a Wonderful Series

This is the first novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. Read more
Published on 12 Sep 2007 by J. Chippindale

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