The Silver Pigs
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
10 journalers for this copy...
This is a thrilling story about Marcus Didius Falco, private detective in Rome in the year 70. He rescues the life of a 16-year-old girl, but in doing so he gets involved in a dangerous political plot and in the theft of an imperial treasure. During his investigation he meets Helena Justina, a girl who is connected to the traitors he has sworn to expose. Helena Justina is a Senator's daughter and of high class, Falco is a poor man. But he finds her irresistible.
The Silver Pigs is the first book in Lindsey Davis' Falco series.
I found this book fascinating and very very funny. I wholly agree with the blurb on the cover: '...it has everything: mystery, pace, wit, fascinating scholarship'.
318 pages, paperback, first edition 1989, this printing 2000. The book has been read several times already, so please don't mind the dog-ears.
More about Lindsey Davis (and about Marcus Didius Falco) on www.lindseydavis.co.uk
Let's share the fun and have a ring (Netherlands only because of high postage rates)
Ring-list:
-eowyn-unquendor
-maupi
-malagan
-muizz
-Plinius
-dutch-flybabe
-violoncellix
-Suzy26
-EmEli
-...
-en terug naar Taowaki
Journal Entry 3 by eowyn-unquendor from Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, June 1, 2006
Falco is vandaag bij mij aangekomen! Hij moet nog heel eventjes geduld hebben, want ik heb nog twee boeken die ik eerst moet uitlezen. Ik denk dat ik hem maar moet verstoppen, want hij ziet er héél verleidelijk uit...
Dank je wel voor het opsturen Taowaki, en wat heb je een leuke boekenlegger erin gedaan!
Dank je wel voor het opsturen Taowaki, en wat heb je een leuke boekenlegger erin gedaan!
Journal Entry 4 by eowyn-unquendor from Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, June 7, 2006
I *love* books like this! And I completely agree with Taowaki. Marcus Didius Falco (I never know which name I should use but on the writer's website there's a FAQ entry about it) is irrisistable! I couldn't stop reading.
So, why not give this book a "10" rating? Because I would love to see *more* details about the Roman life and because I'm not really a mystery book reader. I get frustrated when I can't solve the mysteries myself :)
Can't wait to read what will happen next!
Het boek is onderweg naar de volgende lezer. Ik hoop dat Maupi er net zoveel plezier mee heeft!
So, why not give this book a "10" rating? Because I would love to see *more* details about the Roman life and because I'm not really a mystery book reader. I get frustrated when I can't solve the mysteries myself :)
Can't wait to read what will happen next!
Het boek is onderweg naar de volgende lezer. Ik hoop dat Maupi er net zoveel plezier mee heeft!
Gevangen! Dank jullie wel. Ik verheug me op dit boek.
Ooit, toen maupi nog een maupje was (en aardig om te zien), las ik "Caius ist ein Dummkopf", een jeugdboek én detective van Henry Winterfeld over, je raadt het al, Caius. Het speelde in de oudheid. De auteur kreeg het idee voor dit verhaal omdat bij opgravingen in Pompeji een tempelmuur werd uitgegraven waarop "CAIUS ASINUS EST" stond. De auteur was zo gecharmeerd van het idee dat ook in de oudheid kinderen met zulke graffiti hun hart luchtten, dat hij die tijd als setting voor een boek gebruikte. Nou herinner ik me nix van het boek zelf, maar de inspiratiebron is me altijd bijgebleven. Het was de reden waarom ik me meteen voor deze ring heb aangemeld!
Ooit, toen maupi nog een maupje was (en aardig om te zien), las ik "Caius ist ein Dummkopf", een jeugdboek én detective van Henry Winterfeld over, je raadt het al, Caius. Het speelde in de oudheid. De auteur kreeg het idee voor dit verhaal omdat bij opgravingen in Pompeji een tempelmuur werd uitgegraven waarop "CAIUS ASINUS EST" stond. De auteur was zo gecharmeerd van het idee dat ook in de oudheid kinderen met zulke graffiti hun hart luchtten, dat hij die tijd als setting voor een boek gebruikte. Nou herinner ik me nix van het boek zelf, maar de inspiratiebron is me altijd bijgebleven. Het was de reden waarom ik me meteen voor deze ring heb aangemeld!
It was a nice read, but that's it.
Marcus Didius Falco definitely didn't charm my pants off. He was too witty for my taste (and I do like wit!), it started to annoy me at some point. The story was a bit flimsy, the ending disappointed me, I had expected (and hoped for) a more devious twist.
So, surprise, surprise, no more Marcus Didius Falco for me. Maybe it is just not my genre anymore. I used to like this kind of stories, but lately none have managed to capture my interest much.
Off to malagan!
Marcus Didius Falco definitely didn't charm my pants off. He was too witty for my taste (and I do like wit!), it started to annoy me at some point. The story was a bit flimsy, the ending disappointed me, I had expected (and hoped for) a more devious twist.
So, surprise, surprise, no more Marcus Didius Falco for me. Maybe it is just not my genre anymore. I used to like this kind of stories, but lately none have managed to capture my interest much.
Off to malagan!
Received yesterday in the mail. Thanks for sending maupi! I am looking forward to reading this book ;-)
Well, I think it could be a nice book, if the writer would not try to be so terribly funny. I like humor, but this is too witty for me. I did not finish it. I am sure somebody else will appreciate it more than I did, the book is not necessarily bad, it is just not for me ;-) I am going to send it to the next person on the list!
Journal Entry 9 by 
malagan
at Book Relay in Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, September 14, 2006
malagan at Book Relay in Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, September 14, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (9/13/2006 UTC) at Book Relay in Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Op weg naar Muizz
Op weg naar Muizz
I found this book in a pile of mail when I returned from a short holiday. Thanks, Taowaki, for ringing the book and thanks, Malagan, for sending the book.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read this book, but it has to continue it's journey. So now it's on it's way to Plinius. Have fun!
thanks Muizz! This looks like the right book to read while waiting in hospitals, just what I want!
a very good read when you're in hospital! I don't think that Davis is trying to be funny, I understood the 'fun' as a way to colour the story. And the story is colourful, interesting and it even has a happy end. Thanks for sharing, Taowaki!
still nothing from Maddiesmum, so I'll send this to Dutch-flybabe.
Journal Entry 15 by dutch-flybabe from Lent (gem. Nijmegen), Gelderland Netherlands on Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Received the book today. Will start reading as soon as I'm done with the book I'm reading now.<-- thanks for the neat card Plinius :-)
Journal Entry 16 by dutch-flybabe from Lent (gem. Nijmegen), Gelderland Netherlands on Friday, March 16, 2007
It took me a while to get into the story, slow start or me getting used to (reading about) ancient Rome ? It turned out to be a pleasant book to read and I learned a bit about life in ancient Rome as well.
Journal Entry 17 by dutch-flybabe at A mailbox in town in Ede, Gelderland, Netherlands -- Controlled Releases on Friday, March 16, 2007
Released 17 yrs ago (3/16/2007 UTC) at A mailbox in town in Ede, Gelderland, Netherlands -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES: I'm mailing the book today. Happy reading violoncellix!
The book arrived this afternoon. Looks really nice, especially because I will be spending some time in Siena and Rome this Spring...
Taowaki, thank you for starting the ring, and dutch-flybabe, thank you for sending me the book.
Taowaki, thank you for starting the ring, and dutch-flybabe, thank you for sending me the book.
In overleg met Taowaki neem ik dit boek vier weken mee naar Siena. Het lijkt me heerlijk om daar te lezen over een Romeinse detective. Rond 6 mei stuur ik het boek door naar de volgende op de lijst.
Onderhoudend boek, leuke Romeinse details. Ik vond de humor van Marcus Didius Falco niet zozeer vermoeiend, maar had wel soms moeite om de gegevens van het moordverhaal tussen de grappen uit te destilleren.
Het volgende citaat verwijst naar het 'love element' dat in een detective thuishoort. Om de mogelijke verrassing voor volgende deelnemers niet al te zeer te verstoren heb ik de naam van de betreffende dame vervangen door 'X Y'.
Love! That took me by surprise.
However, I was ready for it. I knew what to expect too. Some heartless little button of a girl, pretty as glass. No one who would want me (I intended to suffer; I was a spare-time poet). I could cope with that (I could scribble whole rivers of verse). Some bright enamelled button, or a whole string, until I found one whose hard-nosed father I could wear down to a wedding, then sink like any dutiful citizen into convenience and boredom...
Knowing X Y would never be convenient. She was a person I could study for half a lifetime with no danger of becoming bored. Had my status been different, I might have regretted not having half a lifetime to spare.
I could not afford it. Not even the button. A man bowed down by my negative bank balance had to brace himself for chasing rich widows of the elderly grateful kind...
Het volgende citaat verwijst naar het 'love element' dat in een detective thuishoort. Om de mogelijke verrassing voor volgende deelnemers niet al te zeer te verstoren heb ik de naam van de betreffende dame vervangen door 'X Y'.
Love! That took me by surprise.
However, I was ready for it. I knew what to expect too. Some heartless little button of a girl, pretty as glass. No one who would want me (I intended to suffer; I was a spare-time poet). I could cope with that (I could scribble whole rivers of verse). Some bright enamelled button, or a whole string, until I found one whose hard-nosed father I could wear down to a wedding, then sink like any dutiful citizen into convenience and boredom...
Knowing X Y would never be convenient. She was a person I could study for half a lifetime with no danger of becoming bored. Had my status been different, I might have regretted not having half a lifetime to spare.
I could not afford it. Not even the button. A man bowed down by my negative bank balance had to brace himself for chasing rich widows of the elderly grateful kind...
The book arrived safely at my place. Thank you for sending it to me, violoncellix, and for the very beautiful postcard! Also many thanks to Taowaki for ringing this book. I will start on it as soon as I am done with my current read.
Nice enough read. Sometimes Falco's way of thinking seemed a bit too modern, which made it difficult for me to keep believing that the story was set in Roman times. It was nice to make Marcus Didius Falco's acquaintance, but I donot think our paths will ever cross again.
Update 21 May: book is on its way to EmEli.
Update 21 May: book is on its way to EmEli.
I received the book today. I have one other ringbook waiting to be read but I am a bit busier than usual so it might take a while before I finish it.
Finally read this book and I thought it was a very nice story. Thank you for ringing it!
Het boek is weer thuis, kan ik het fijn nog eens lezen. Bedankt voor jullie entries, en EmEli bedankt voor het terugsturen.
Journal Entry 26 by Taowaki at Minibieb Kruiskampkast in Amersfoort, Utrecht Netherlands on Saturday, February 24, 2024
Released 2 mos ago (2/24/2024 UTC) at Minibieb Kruiskampkast in Amersfoort, Utrecht Netherlands
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
in the minilibrary
