
The Iron Hand of Mars
The Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries, Book 4
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Simon Prebble
-
By:
-
Lindsey Davis
About this listen
When Germanic troops in the service of the empire begin to rebel and a Roman general disappears, Emperor Vespasian turns to the one man he can trust: Marcus Didius Falco, a private informer whose rates are low enough that even the stingy Vespasian is willing to pay them.
To Falco, an undercover tour of Germany is an assignment from Hades. On a journey that only a stoic could survive, Falco meets with disarray, torture, and murder. His one hope: In the northern forest lives a powerful Druid priestess who perhaps can be persuaded to cease her anti-Rome activities and work for peace—which Falco is eagerly hoping for as, back in Rome, Titus Caesar is busy trying to make time with Helena Justina, a senator's daughter and Falco's girlfriend.
Lindsey Davis' historical mystery The Iron Hand of Mars is a "seamless blending of humor, history, and adventure" (Publishers Weekly).
©1992 Lindsey Davis (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Master and God
- A Novel of the Roman Empire
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lindsey Davis’ Master and God is a vastly entertaining historical novel set in the reign of the Emperor Domitian in first-century Rome. It is on the one hand a love story between Gaius Vinius Clodianus, a valiant but reluctant member of the Praetorian Guard, whose military career is as successful as his marital history is disastrous, and Flavia Lucilla, daughter of a freed slave and hairdresser to the ladies of the imperial household. A devastating fire in Rome brings them together....
-
-
Info Dump with Romance
- By S. Lev-Ami on 10-03-12
By: Lindsey Davis
-
The Course of Honour
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He has no money, no reputation and no famous ancestors.' The love story of the Emperor Vespasian, who brought peace to Rome after years of strife, and his mistress, the freed slave woman Caenis, this book recreates Ancient Rome's most turbulent period - the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Vespasian's rise to power. As their forbidden romance blossoms, Caenis is embroiled in political intrigue, while Vespasian embarks on a glorious career.
-
-
Great love story
- By Julie on 05-04-20
By: Lindsey Davis
-
The Ides of April
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Lucy Brown
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina. From her mother, she learned how to blend in at all levels of society; from her father, she learned the tricks of their mutual professional trade. But her wits and (frequently) sharp tongue are hers alone. Now, working as a private informer in Rome during the reign of Domitian, Flavia has taken over her father’s old ramshackle digs at Fountain Court in the Surbura district, where she plies her trade with energy, determination, and the usual Falco luck.
-
-
Prefer dead old dad
- By readqueen on 10-09-13
By: Lindsey Davis
-
Falco: The Complete BBC Radio Collection
- Five Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Anna Madeley, Anton Lesser, Ben Crowe, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the first five Falco novels by Lindsey Davis, starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco.
-
-
Wonderful but flawed...
- By Amazon Customer on 10-05-18
By: Lindsey Davis
-
Medicus
- A Novel of the Roman Empire
- By: Ruth Downie
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. After a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner. And before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.
-
-
Took Me by Surprise
- By Lehua of Pacifica on 03-29-08
By: Ruth Downie
-
The Throne of Caesar
- By: Steven Saylor
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's Rome, 44 BC, and the Ides of March are approaching. Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he's been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself.
-
-
Oh, How Disappointing!
- By Gillian on 03-01-18
By: Steven Saylor
-
Master and God
- A Novel of the Roman Empire
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lindsey Davis’ Master and God is a vastly entertaining historical novel set in the reign of the Emperor Domitian in first-century Rome. It is on the one hand a love story between Gaius Vinius Clodianus, a valiant but reluctant member of the Praetorian Guard, whose military career is as successful as his marital history is disastrous, and Flavia Lucilla, daughter of a freed slave and hairdresser to the ladies of the imperial household. A devastating fire in Rome brings them together....
-
-
Info Dump with Romance
- By S. Lev-Ami on 10-03-12
By: Lindsey Davis
-
The Course of Honour
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He has no money, no reputation and no famous ancestors.' The love story of the Emperor Vespasian, who brought peace to Rome after years of strife, and his mistress, the freed slave woman Caenis, this book recreates Ancient Rome's most turbulent period - the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Vespasian's rise to power. As their forbidden romance blossoms, Caenis is embroiled in political intrigue, while Vespasian embarks on a glorious career.
-
-
Great love story
- By Julie on 05-04-20
By: Lindsey Davis
-
The Ides of April
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Lucy Brown
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina. From her mother, she learned how to blend in at all levels of society; from her father, she learned the tricks of their mutual professional trade. But her wits and (frequently) sharp tongue are hers alone. Now, working as a private informer in Rome during the reign of Domitian, Flavia has taken over her father’s old ramshackle digs at Fountain Court in the Surbura district, where she plies her trade with energy, determination, and the usual Falco luck.
-
-
Prefer dead old dad
- By readqueen on 10-09-13
By: Lindsey Davis
-
Falco: The Complete BBC Radio Collection
- Five Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Anna Madeley, Anton Lesser, Ben Crowe, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the first five Falco novels by Lindsey Davis, starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco.
-
-
Wonderful but flawed...
- By Amazon Customer on 10-05-18
By: Lindsey Davis
-
Medicus
- A Novel of the Roman Empire
- By: Ruth Downie
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. After a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner. And before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.
-
-
Took Me by Surprise
- By Lehua of Pacifica on 03-29-08
By: Ruth Downie
-
The Throne of Caesar
- By: Steven Saylor
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's Rome, 44 BC, and the Ides of March are approaching. Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he's been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself.
-
-
Oh, How Disappointing!
- By Gillian on 03-01-18
By: Steven Saylor
-
Twinborn Chronicles: Awakening Collection
- By: J.S. Morin
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 67 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kyrus had lived a quiet life as a scribe until his dreams begin seeping into his waking life. Fanciful tales of magic and battle turn out to be real. In his sleep, he witnesses the adventures of his twin. Kyrus is swept up in the intrigues of those who already know of this connection between worlds. As his knowledge of the two worlds grows, so does his entanglement in the intrigues between them. Kyrus discovers friends, lovers, and adversaries among the twinborn. His knowledge of magic grows until he becomes a valuable pawn for masterminds of plots that threaten empires.
-
-
Better than Expected
- By Kal Teague on 12-01-18
By: J.S. Morin
-
The Far Pavilions
- By: M. M. Kaye
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 48 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When The Far Pavilions was first published 19 years ago, it moved the critic Edmund Fuller to write this: "Were Miss Kaye to produce no other book, The Far Pavilions might stand as a lasting accomplishment in a single work comparable to Margaret Mitchell's achievement in Gond With the Wind." From its beginning in the foothills of the towering Himalayas, M. M. Kaye's masterwork is a vast, rich, and vibrant tapestry of love and war that ranks with the greatest panoramic sagas of modern fiction.
-
-
Heroism, adventure, sadistic cruelty, and love.
- By Velan on 02-19-13
By: M. M. Kaye
-
Trickster's Choice
- By: Tamora Pierce
- Narrated by: Trini Alvarado
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tamora Pierce brings readers another Tortall adventure! Alianne is the teenage daughter of the famed Alanna, the first lady knight in Tortall. Young Aly follows in the quieter footsteps of her father, however, delighting in the art of spying. When she is captured and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Islands, it is this skill that makes a difference in a world filled with political intrigue, murderous conspiracy, and warring gods.
-
-
STOP! WAIT!
- By Benjamin on 05-16-05
By: Tamora Pierce
-
The Robe
- By: Lloyd C. Douglas
- Narrated by: Stuart Langton
- Length: 22 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe, a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity. Set against the vividly drawn background of ancient Rome, this is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.
-
-
Simply the Best
- By Jerrilynn on 11-18-05
By: Lloyd C. Douglas
-
Roman Mask
- By: Thomas M. D. Brooke
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 19 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Augustus Caesar rules Imperial Rome at the height of its power, as the Roman Empire stretches across the known world. Cassius, son of one of her most powerful families, is the personification of Rome's imperial strength: wealthy, popular, a war hero with a decorated military career, he hides a secret. After his nerve is broken in Germany, the thought of genuine armed combat is enough to send him into a cold sweat of fear and shame.
-
-
One of the best Roman Historical Novels EVER
- By Gail N. on 05-17-21
-
The King’s Gambit
- By: John Maddox Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy.
-
-
Great start to a series
- By P. Johnson on 09-21-17
-
The Reluctant Swordsman
- By: Dave Duncan
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true?
-
-
An enjoyable listen
- By Joe on 10-21-12
By: Dave Duncan
-
The Skystone
- Camulod Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows the story-how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and about the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams. But what of the time before Arthur and the forces that created him?
-
-
Fascinating new series
- By Jim R. Whitt Jr. on 08-27-13
By: Jack Whyte
-
Vindolanda
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
AD, 98. The bustling army base at Vindolanda lies on the northern frontier of Britannia and the entire Roman world. In just over 20 years' time, the Emperor Hadrian will build his famous wall. But for now, defences are weak as tribes rebel against Rome. It falls to Flavius Ferox, Briton and Roman centurion, to keep the peace. But it will take more than just a soldier's courage to survive life in Roman Britain.
-
-
Much like Bernard Cornwell in style
- By Daniel P. Fradl on 06-28-18
-
Give Me Back My Legions!
- A Novel of Ancient Rome
- By: Harry Turtledove
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman politician, is summoned by the Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Arminius, a prince of the Cherusci, is playing a deadly game. He serves in the Roman army, gaining Roman citizenship and an officer's rank, and learning the arts of war and policy as practiced by the Romans. An epic battle is brewing, and these two men stand on opposite sides of what will forever be known as the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest---a ferocious, bloody clash that will change the course of history.
-
-
Correcting a misleading review
- By mike Wayshak on 10-30-09
By: Harry Turtledove
-
Eagles at War
- By: Ben Kane
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on real historical events. A time for vengeance AD 9, German frontier: Close to the Rhine, a Roman centurion, Lucius Tullus, prepares to take his soldiers on patrol. On the opposite side of the river, German tribes are resentful of the harsh taxes about to be imposed upon them. Suspicious that there might be unrest, Tullus knows that his men's survival will be determined not just by their training and discipline, but by his leadership.
-
-
Arminius
- By D.Rockwood on 10-29-20
By: Ben Kane
-
Jester Leaps In
- A Medieval Mystery
- By: Alan Gordon
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 13th century Europe, political turmoil is the order of the day and the Fool's Guild and its agents - jesters, jugglers, and knaves to a man - works behind the scenes to manipulate events, trying to maintain a balance of power. Theophilos, a member of the Guild known by many names, is still recovering from his last mission during which he was severely wounded and nearly lost his life but, in the person of Viola, found himself an apprentice and a wife. But there is no rest for the wicked.
-
-
further entertainment
- By wylie smith on 09-16-24
By: Alan Gordon
I love the series and I like audiobooks.
second read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Way better than the dramatized audio book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
clever historical mystery
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another great adventure in ancient Rome/Germany
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lindsey does it again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Neat Plot and Twists
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
another great performance of a great story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love these novels - they really bring Ancient Rome to life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Where does The Iron Hand of Mars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Top Ten List. Love this series.What other book might you compare The Iron Hand of Mars to and why?
Bruce Macbain Series, SPQR, Steven Saylor Series, Roma Sub Rosa. They all have history, mystery and a romance along with delightful humor.Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
YesFantastic
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another great story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.