Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 C.J. Sansom - Matthew Shardlake series August 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Have read all four of the Shardlake series, all brilliant. I am now having withdrawal. Sansom has you totally engrossed, you can picture the scene, a detailed version of the violent times of Henry V111. I cannot find a single fault. Will there be anymore, please.
If you like historical whodunnits, these are for you, difficult to put down, extremely well written, who needs television.
Wonderful August 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having read all four novels, all I can say is that they are great, addictive and a must for all book lovers.
Marriage and murder in Tudor England August 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
First Sentence: The high chandeliers in the Great Hall of Lincoln's Inn were ablaze with candles, for it was late afternoon when the play began.
Henry VIII has asked to marry Catherine Parr and England is in a time of religious turmoil.
The Dissolution of the monasteries is done but now Henry, and the reformists, are moving back toward Catholic ways, under the King rather than the Pope, at the same time as the rise in Protestantism. An English version of the Bible has been published, but only Churches and the upper class are allowed to read it.
One of lawyer Matthew Shardlake's closest friends has been murdered and his body publicly displayed. Brought before Archbishop Cramer, Matthew learns this is not the first such killing. A serial killer is using versus in the Book of Revelations to carry out his killings.
Sansom brings Tutor England to life and makes us see what a difficult time it was in which to live. He doesn't present the romanticized image, but gives us a look at the dangers of the time from social and religious reforms to poverty to mental illness being labeled possession, without ever slowing down the story or being preachy.
The dialogue is, naturally enough, not of the time, but flavored with a sense of the time. I always learn a lot reading Sansom.
Shardlake is a wonderful character who has grown and improved as a character through the series. He is supported by Barak, for whom Matthew tries to do a bit of marriage counseling, and Guy, a Moor, once a monk, now a doctor.
Sansom is an evocative writer and masterful at combining historical detail with a multilayered story, and suspenseful mystery. I am continually impressed by the quality of Sansom's writing.
Excellent Tudor Era Murder Mystery! August 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Revelation is set in 1543. A serial killer is on the loose in
London using quotes from the Book of Revelations, as the
inspiration for his murder spree. The books main protagonist,
Matthew Shardlake, and his assistant Jack Barak, are called in
to hunt the killer down, by Archbishop Cranmer, when it becomes
apparent that the murders are religiously motivated.
I found this book a fascinating read, the latest in a very
enjoyable series. At first, I was worried the story could turn
out to be similar to the earlier novel 'Darkfire', as they are
both set mainly in the same area of London, but this story is
quite different.
The interaction between the factual, and fictional characters is
very well done, and the attention to detail is second to none.
You almost feel as if you are a bystander, watching the action
unfold in front of you. An excellent read, and I hope there is
more to come in this series.
 hstorical fantasy August 2, 2008
An interesting story that bring some sense of the Tudor times with Sansom's descriptions. Unfortunately the book is not really about those times but a modern view of them.
We have all the modern paraphernalia of obsessions, compulsions, modern medicine, hypnosis and serial killer that do not belong.
The identity of the killer may be a surprise but there is no way he could commit those crimes unless he was Superman.
It also needs some careful editing, for example for no reason Samuel Elliard's name was changed to Stephen.
Take the book with you on your holidays and enjoy it as you sip your glass of wine.
I would like to see Mr. Sansom take more time with the next book and really get inside the Tudor mind. (See Hiliary Mantel's book coming out next year).Revelation
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