Product Description

Returning to Rome after his mission to Germania, Falco finds that his mother is being harassed by a centurion named Censorinus, who says he is chasing a debt owed to him by Falco's brother Festus. Censorinus claims that Festus was involved in a syndicate, shipping valuable statues from Greece - and that even when his ship sunk, Festus had guaranteed that everyone in the group would get their money back. Now, however, Festus is dead, and Falco knows he didn't leave a legacy. When Falco refuses to cough up any money, he and Censorinus end up fighting...and later, the centurion turns up dead. Under suspicion of murder, Falco must confront his past and uncover his brother's secrets before he can clear his name and solve the mystery. Following on from BBC Radio 4's hugely successful dramatisations of "The Silver Pigs", "Shadows in Bronze", "Venus in Copper" and "The Iron Hand of Mars", this funny and fast-moving fifth story starring Anton Lesser, Anna Madeley and Trevor Peacock is a treat for all "Falco" fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15996 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-04
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Hugely enjoyable !
This Audio CD is a hugely enjoyable experience. It is a BBC full cast dramatisation of the fifth novel by Lindsey Davis in the popular Falco series. Anton Lesser is superb in the title role. Falco, upon his return to Rome, after his adventure in Germania, is greeted by a number of problems which he deals with in his own inimitable way. His one-liners are incredibly wry and very funny as he works his way along to solving the mystery. Recommended.

Falco Needs More Time
For those not in the know, Falco is a private informer (private investigator to you) in ancient Rome. He gets the dirtiest jobs and is frequently beaten up, His friend Petronius and his girlfriend Helena are close at hand to pick him up and dust him down. Although featuring `dark deeds' the stories are told with some humour. My review concentrates on the presentation as a radio dramatisation rather than on the story itself.

This is the fifth Falco story to be given the BBC radio dramatisation treatment and I feel it's the least successful. This is simply down to the story being compressed into too short a time. On the radio this went out in 15 minute slots over two weeks, these have now been stitched together on 2 discs. Three of the other four treatments were given 3 discs each and that extra time allowed the story to be told at a less hectic pace. Too frequently Falco tells us of someone he's spoken to whereas in the past we'd have heard the conversation.

I'm afraid I haven't read any of these books so I can't say how much of the story has been left out, it's a complex plot in any case and so needs all the time and space if can get to develop and reveal itself to the listener.

Overall this is a fine series featuring some good actors. If you've enjoyed the previous sets then don't let me put you off, add this one to your collection but don't expect it to be quite as good as the previous ones. If you're completely new to the series then try Shadows in Bronze (it's actually the second one but the first one, The Silver Pigs, also suffers from being abridged to 2 discs, although not to the extent that this one does).

Excellent addition to the series.
Poseidon's Gold is an excellent addition to the series. Dry humour assisted by Falco's father and a pervading cynical belief of the locals who cannot believe that Falco is only on holiday visiting family! Of course it doesn't turn out to be ONLY "on holiday".

It's a pity the BBC don't advertise this series more and keep putting it in the ghetto of Women's Hour (which I never listen to) when it's a good historical/comic series as well and would appeal to a wider audience as well. My father and brother both read the books too.