The Iron Hand of Mars

A good adventure story in which Falco exposes himself reluctantly to the dangers of a seemingly impossible mission in Germany, only parts of which have been conquered by the Romans. He benefits from the company of Helena Justina's likeable brother Justinus, who's stationed there, and we see something of Helena herself, but not enough. She goes as far as the civilized parts of Germany, but naturally stays out of the way of real danger. Falco has to venture into the uncivilized parts, where no Roman is safe; and at the beginning of winter, too.

We learn in passing about the tribes of Germany and about commercial rivalry in the pottery industry.

The Iron Hand of Mars is a heavy metal object that Falco is obliged to carry with him to present to the 14th Legion as a gift from the Emperor. It has no particular function in the plot.

As usual, Falco has plenty of problems and some suffering to endure, but he survives it all and even accomplishes his impossible mission—because, although things sometimes seem to be going badly for him, on balance he has an implausible amount of good luck. He also has Helena's brother, who turns out to be surprisingly resourceful, and saves his life more than once.