Inquisition
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Book Description
A masterful thriller for fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris.
Product Description
A Templar in disguise. A dangerous scientist. And a killer who turns hearts to iron . . . In 14th-century Italy, Mondino is a university anatomist - a man of science in a land governed by the brutal Inquisition. But the corpse brought to Mondino's laboratory one stormy night defies natural law: The victim is a Templar knight, and his heart has been transformed into a block of iron. Is it alchemy? Or the diabolical work of an ingenious killer? Aided by his headstrong student Gerardo - a young man concealing a deadly secret identity - Mondino must outwit both ruthless Inquisitors and vengeful Templars if he's to stop a murderer who threatens to shake the very foundations of Christendom.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Inquisition is an intriguing proposition for fans of historical murder-mystery fiction, written by an Italian author, set during the early Renaissance with the university city of Bologna at the centre, where the whole nasty business of a gruesome killing is mixed up in the affairs of the Knights Templar, the Inquisition and the eternal quest for the secret of alchemy. While the murder-mystery aspect of Inquisition turns out to be fairly conventional however, the period, the setting and the characterisation make the novel much more interesting.
The premise is relatively straightforward - three Knights Templar scattered throughout Europe, in Naples, Cyprus and Toledo, have been sent a letter that piques their interest, the promise of the secret of alchemical transformation waiting for them in Bologna accompanied by a finger that has been turned into iron, but the letter hints at another dark practices. When a victim subsequently turns up in Bologna, his body mutilated, his heart transformed into a solid block of iron, Mondino de Liuzzi, a physician and lecturer at the Bologna School of Medicine becomes involved helping out a young Knight Templar who is in danger of being accused of the crime, a clearly satanic act that is likely to be judged very harshly by the church and its chief Inquisitor in the city, Uberto da Rimini.
The Inquisitor has other reasons for wanting the young Knight Templar convicted of the murder, and it's very much to do with the order falling into disrepute, with its heretical views that threaten the authority of the church during a period when its power is being challenged. Not only is the city divided between Ghibelline factions who support the Emperor's rule and Guelph followers who support the authority of the Pope, but scientific discovery and investigation is also making progress, with many on a quest for knowledge that considers the heathen belief in Alchemy.
Inquisition then is a relatively straightforward murder-mystery with lots of historical interest and period colour and moments of 'grand guignol', but like the best historical crime novels of this type, it manages to consider its subject relevant to the thinking and beliefs of the times. The exploration of mysteries of the world and understanding of the workings of the human body and the mind undertaken by the physician Mondino relates perfectly to this commencement of the Renaissance period where the quest for knowledge is undertaken in the belief that it is for the betterment of mankind - a view that conflicts with the views of the church and how that betterment is achieved, even to the extent of killing heathens and heretics - and this is brought out brilliantly in the novel, without intruding and without over-complicating, but rather adding a layer of richness and depth to the thrilling murder-mystery intrigue.
The premise is relatively straightforward - three Knights Templar scattered throughout Europe, in Naples, Cyprus and Toledo, have been sent a letter that piques their interest, the promise of the secret of alchemical transformation waiting for them in Bologna accompanied by a finger that has been turned into iron, but the letter hints at another dark practices. When a victim subsequently turns up in Bologna, his body mutilated, his heart transformed into a solid block of iron, Mondino de Liuzzi, a physician and lecturer at the Bologna School of Medicine becomes involved helping out a young Knight Templar who is in danger of being accused of the crime, a clearly satanic act that is likely to be judged very harshly by the church and its chief Inquisitor in the city, Uberto da Rimini.
The Inquisitor has other reasons for wanting the young Knight Templar convicted of the murder, and it's very much to do with the order falling into disrepute, with its heretical views that threaten the authority of the church during a period when its power is being challenged. Not only is the city divided between Ghibelline factions who support the Emperor's rule and Guelph followers who support the authority of the Pope, but scientific discovery and investigation is also making progress, with many on a quest for knowledge that considers the heathen belief in Alchemy.
Inquisition then is a relatively straightforward murder-mystery with lots of historical interest and period colour and moments of 'grand guignol', but like the best historical crime novels of this type, it manages to consider its subject relevant to the thinking and beliefs of the times. The exploration of mysteries of the world and understanding of the workings of the human body and the mind undertaken by the physician Mondino relates perfectly to this commencement of the Renaissance period where the quest for knowledge is undertaken in the belief that it is for the betterment of mankind - a view that conflicts with the views of the church and how that betterment is achieved, even to the extent of killing heathens and heretics - and this is brought out brilliantly in the novel, without intruding and without over-complicating, but rather adding a layer of richness and depth to the thrilling murder-mystery intrigue.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A physician autopsies the body of a Templar knight and finds that the man's heart has been turned to iron. And then all hell breaks loose -- it's the time of the Inquisition, and the only thing worse than being a Templar is being a scientist.
This is glorious stuff. I like CJ Sansom and have been looking for another historical fiction writer to read in between Shardlakes, and although I haven't much liked SJ Parris or James Forrester, Inquisition absolutely did it for me. It's smart but fun, full of interesting details about the Inquisition and the science of anatomy, and it's a cracking murder mystery to boot. I read online that the author has written two more books with these characters, and I want to read both.
This is glorious stuff. I like CJ Sansom and have been looking for another historical fiction writer to read in between Shardlakes, and although I haven't much liked SJ Parris or James Forrester, Inquisition absolutely did it for me. It's smart but fun, full of interesting details about the Inquisition and the science of anatomy, and it's a cracking murder mystery to boot. I read online that the author has written two more books with these characters, and I want to read both.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had high hopes for this, thought it would be really good, having read a lot of CJ Sansom and the reviews said if you liked CJ, you would like this. It is translated, which makes some of it a bit stilted. Plot line is good. Did not have the real-world grip that Sansom has. I just did not feel like I was immersed in this world, and the main characters lacked development for me. Overall it was okay, but nowhere near the calibre of the Sansom novels.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Better than Dan Brown!
Let's be honest - this is not great literature and you'll probably struggle to remember it in a year's time, but it is a good, rollicking read. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gruber
Brilliant historical novel
I really really really enjoyed this book - I'm always a little bit wary of books translated into English - sometimes they just don't seem to flow as I imagine they would in their... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keen Reader
A story that grabs attention
This is an excellent story with interesting characters set in the background of an era of religious intolerance and the persecution of the Templars. Read more
Published 7 months ago by 2587
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