Ode to a Banker by Lindsey Davis

Genre: Historical Mystery

Take Sam Spade and drop him into ancient Rome.  Add the seamy underbelly of Rome in the first century.  Then give him a messy family life. And you have Lindsey Davis's main character Marcus Didius Falco.

Falco is a paid informant, the first century equivalent of a gumshoe.  He gets paid (occasionally) to ask questions and investigate.  Sometimes he works for private citizens, sometimes he works for the Watch and occasionally he works for the Emperor himself.

Falco has a great, big, noisy family.  His parents have been divorced for years.  They refuse to communicate with each other. His two sisters and mother are in everyone's business.  His wife, Helena,  is the daughter of a senator.  Falco and his wife have a daughter, and another child on the way.  They live in a tenement, but are trying to get their "money pit" house finished.

Falco sometimes dabbles in writing poetry.  When he is asked to do a public reading, he gets noticed by a publisher.  Unfortunately, the publisher is murdered right after meeting with Falco.  Falco's best friend happens to be a leader of the Watch.  He ropes Falco into investigating the murder.

Meanwhile, back at home, the Emperor's chief spy may be sweet on Falco's Ma, or his sister, or perhaps both.  His Pa is devastated by the death of his long-time female companion/business partner.  Pa needs help keeping his books and running his business.  Of course, it's up to Falco to attempt to solve this family dilemma.

Falco questions possible suspects, untangles family squabbles and tries not to get himself killed.  In the end, the mystery gets solved and the family issues are smoothed over (for now). As Helena says at the end of the novel, tomorrow is another day!

I always enjoy reading a Falco novel.  Many authors of historical fiction portray the past in an idealistic light.  Davis portrays a realistic ancient Rome: temples, brothels,  mansions and slums.  Davis's characters are realistic as well.  Falco has to manage his professional affairs and his family responsibilities simultaneously.  Just like real life.

If you enjoy a well plotted mystery novel with fully developed characters, then give Falco and his family a read.



The first book of the Falco series, The Silver Pigs, is also a great read.

The Winds of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Genre: Science Fiction

The Winds of Dune is the sixteenth novel of the Dune universe. The original novel of the series was written by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert's father.  It is a widely held opinion that Dune is one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time.

Like other great novelists, Frank Herbert created such well developed settings, and characters due to the large amount of back writing he did to envision them.  Frank Herbert wrote six Dune novels before his death.  Afterwards, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson used this wealth of information to write ten novels of the Dune universe.

This novel takes place after the second Dune novel, Dune Messiah.  Paul Muad'dib, the main character of Dune, has wandered off into the sands of the desert planet and is presumed dead.  His wife, Chani, has died giving birth to his twin children.  His sister, Alia has taken ruthless control of the empire.  Religious fanatics have committed untold pain and suffering throughout the empire in Paul's name.  Paul's mother, Jessica, struggles to honor Paul's true humanity when so many have turned him into a god.

I enjoyed this novel.  It furthers the Dune story by filling in a gap of the narrative between the second and third books.  Herbert and Anderson have done a great job of continuing the legacy of Frank Herbert and forwarding the story of Dune.

The Winds of Dune



Dune, the original novel