Nicholas ([info]nhw) wrote,
@ 2006-06-23 07:11:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:bookblog 2006, writer: lindsey davis

June Books 12) See Delphi and Die
12) See Delphi and Die, by Lindsey Davis

Latest (I think) in Davis' successful series of novels about Marcus Didius Falco, a private eye in ancient Rome (this book set in 76 AD). Generally good stuff here, as he and his glamorous wife tag up with a tour group going around Greece to try and solve a couple of unexplained deaths. Not totally convinced by the plotting and reslution, but enjoyed the ride and the scenery.

Presumably Davis is building up to a big shocker for the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD? I can't imagine her not wanting to tackle it. And she has killed off characters before, including in one case having our hero's brother-in-law mauled to death by lions in the arena after a misunderstanding with the local authorities.


(Post a new comment)


[info]beingfrank
2006-06-23 06:10 am UTC (link)
I believe she's said she won't tackle Vesuvius because she doesn't feel up to it. And I believe she's also said that she won't write something post-Vesuvius starting because to do so and not address Vesuvius would be wrong. So I think she may be going to stop. Which would make me sad.

And I can't find the reference to her expressing these opinions. Doh!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]daegaer
2006-06-23 06:56 am UTC (link)
That is sad.

She does have Falco mention Vesuvius in one book - the one where his young nephew shows skill as a painter and decides to move to Pompeii, as he'll get plenty of business painting murals for rich people's houses. Falco has a sort of avoid-the-topic "I didn't know. None of us knew" internal monologue then, which makes me feel very unhappy for his presumably post-79 grieving family.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]akicif
2006-06-23 12:52 pm UTC (link)
Found it, or something close. It also sort of addresses my worry about Domitian.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]bopeepsheep
2006-06-23 01:02 pm UTC (link)
I've heard her say it to me in person at a reading, if that helps. ;-) There will be no Vesuvius unless she comes up with a really unique angle, and she thinks too many people have covered it well already. Having Marcus out of Italy at the time is the only real option for her, and that leaves too many loose ends to tie up.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]gmh
2006-06-23 06:57 am UTC (link)
Another possible 'shock' - Vespasian's death; which took place three months before Vesuvius.

We know Falco survived these, as Ode to a Banker makes explicit reference to Rutilius Gallicus' career in Domitian's reign.

If she stops, well, she has been writing Falco for nearly 20 years now - but she could also go the way Van Gulik did with Judge Dee, and write a new set of books set in periods between the existing books.

(Reply to this)

[info]mizkit
2006-06-23 08:43 am UTC (link)
I was just reading this and thinking, "My God, how can this man have so much time to *read*?" And then I remembered that unlike many people on my flist, you're not a writer, which clarified a lot. :)

(Reply to this)

[info]akicif
2006-06-23 12:49 pm UTC (link)
I'm really not looking forward to Domitian's reign, things could turn quite nasty. On the other hand, I don't want the series to end.

How old will Falco be in 96 when Nerva comes in?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]gmh
2006-06-23 08:59 pm UTC (link)
Well, if he was somewhere between 20 and 24 when the Boudiccan Revolt took place (the description in The Silver Pigs reads as 'impressionable recruit not far out of basic training gets it between the eyes'), then Falco was presumably born between 36 and 40; which, obviously, makes him a maximum of 60 in 96 A.D.; perfectly possible in Roman times.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]gmh
2006-06-23 09:07 pm UTC (link)
Aha.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

"In The Silver Pigs, p. 153 Falco celebrates his 30th birthday at Massilia in the spring of 71 AD. In Venus in Copper, p. 60 Falco gives his birthday as in March, on the cusp of Pisces and Aries i.e. 20 or 21 March."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]nhw
2006-06-24 06:09 am UTC (link)
He's explicitly 35 in See DElphi and Die, set in 76.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…