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Martyr
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Review
'A colourful history lesson...leavened by exciting narrative twists'
(The Sunday Telegraph )'The joy of this book is the way it interweaves commonly known history with the story. The atmosphere and attention to detail will commend this book to devotees of the period'
(Crimesquad )'An engrossing thriller'
(Washington Post )'Beautifully done . . . alive and tremendously engrossing'
(Daily Telegraph )'Enjoyable, bloody and brutish'
(Guardian )'An excellent debut'
(Publishers Weekly )'Captivates and carries one along through the strength of its plot and its intelligent main character'
(Dallas Morning News )'Sharp and challenging, this book is missed at one's peril'
(Oxford Times )'The novel wears its historical learning lightly, and Clements seasons it with romance and humour'
(The Mail on Sunday )Review
'A colourful history lesson...leavened by exciting narrative twists' -- The Sunday Telegraph 'The joy of this book is the way it interweaves commonly known history with the story. The atmosphere and attention to detail will commend this book to devotees of the period' -- Crimesquad 'An engrossing thriller' -- Washington Post 'Beautifully done ... alive and tremendously engrossing' -- Daily Telegraph 'Enjoyable, bloody and brutish' -- Guardian 'An excellent debut' -- Publishers Weekly 'Captivates and carries one along through the strength of its plot and its intelligent main character' -- Dallas Morning News 'Sharp and challenging, this book is missed at one's peril' -- Oxford Times 'The novel wears its historical learning lightly, and Clements seasons it with romance and humour' -- The Mail on Sunday
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
England, more particularly London, in the Elizabethan period. The country is torn between the new English Religion and those who prefer the Romish ways, removed by Elizabeths father, Henry VIII, whilst Elizabeth herself resides at Greenwich Palace deciding wether to sign the death warrant of her Stuart cousin, Mary Queen of Scots who is imprisioned at Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire. So the scene is set for a gripping Elizabethan detective novel, essentially based around the fear of a Spanish invasion, and a plot to assasinate Francis Drake, with a number of other smaller sub-plots going on at the same time.
Clements portrays the period well, particularly the fear imposed by government led individuals, acting on behalf of the Queen, and more specifically those still carrying out the practices associated with the Catholic faith. The book is easy to read, the only downside being the sheer number of characters contained within its 400 pages, some of whom are not given any "depth" (as opposed to C J Sansom, who tends to stick with relatively few characters, all of who emerge in detail). Better than Heresy in that it is far more readable, although does involve similar characters (Walsingham appears in both books).
Supposedly the first of a series, and the first couple of chapters of the sequel are included here; which, if the character is allowed to develop in a similar manner to Shardlake, should make for an intersting and exciting insite into Elizabethan England. Worth a read!
Clements portrays the period well, particularly the fear imposed by government led individuals, acting on behalf of the Queen, and more specifically those still carrying out the practices associated with the Catholic faith. The book is easy to read, the only downside being the sheer number of characters contained within its 400 pages, some of whom are not given any "depth" (as opposed to C J Sansom, who tends to stick with relatively few characters, all of who emerge in detail). Better than Heresy in that it is far more readable, although does involve similar characters (Walsingham appears in both books).
Supposedly the first of a series, and the first couple of chapters of the sequel are included here; which, if the character is allowed to develop in a similar manner to Shardlake, should make for an intersting and exciting insite into Elizabethan England. Worth a read!
46 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First things first, the publishers would have you believe that this is on a par with the Shardlake novels by CJ Sansom - well, put simply, it isn't. Having said that, once you put aside the comparisons and read it without prejudice then you will probably enjoy it. The setting in turbulent times, provides plenty of opportunity for period detail and it is clear that Clements has brough to bear all his knowledge as a historian. The result is a kind of medieval Day of the Jackal meets Jack the Ripper via Name of the Rose.
The plot and sense of time and place are excellent, and Clements delights in the gruesome, as Shakespeare pursues his serial killer/assasin, all the time trying to stay one step ahead of his rival, Richard Topville. And therein lies a problem, why create a brother for William Shakespeare, when everything else was so historically accurate? Was it merely to facilitate one unlikely setpiece late in the book, because I could see no real need for it. There are a couple of other out of place elements, which I won't specify as to do so would spoil the atory if you want to read it, but suffice to say that they appear out of place for the 16th Century.
I also felt that the ending of the book left much to be desired - there seemed to be a few false starts, as if the author wanted to bring things to a climax, but the publisher neede more, so he strung things out for 50 or so more pages. The result was several loose ends, obviously to allow for a sequel or two, and a highly manufactured resolution to Shakespeare's domestic arrangements and his love life, the latter, an aspect of his character which never seemed quite convincing.
So if this is the start of a series, it is one which will probably prosper, but the writing needs to be sharper, the plot a little pacier and the characters given more depth.
The plot and sense of time and place are excellent, and Clements delights in the gruesome, as Shakespeare pursues his serial killer/assasin, all the time trying to stay one step ahead of his rival, Richard Topville. And therein lies a problem, why create a brother for William Shakespeare, when everything else was so historically accurate? Was it merely to facilitate one unlikely setpiece late in the book, because I could see no real need for it. There are a couple of other out of place elements, which I won't specify as to do so would spoil the atory if you want to read it, but suffice to say that they appear out of place for the 16th Century.
I also felt that the ending of the book left much to be desired - there seemed to be a few false starts, as if the author wanted to bring things to a climax, but the publisher neede more, so he strung things out for 50 or so more pages. The result was several loose ends, obviously to allow for a sequel or two, and a highly manufactured resolution to Shakespeare's domestic arrangements and his love life, the latter, an aspect of his character which never seemed quite convincing.
So if this is the start of a series, it is one which will probably prosper, but the writing needs to be sharper, the plot a little pacier and the characters given more depth.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found the opening of this novel quite irritating, relying as it did on reporting historical background, rather than revealing it gradually. However, once the plot took off, this was less noticeable and the book became genuinely interesting. I, too, wondered why Rory Clements made the central protaganist the brother of the famous Shakespeare; there appears to be no reason for the link, nor for the implied connection with Andrew Marvell. Also, the ending felt very contrived and strangely flat, which was a pity because the story had really gripped me for the last two hundred pages. I will definitely read the next one - well, I've just bought it - because it looks as though these novels could develop into something really good. Not quite up to CJ Samson's level yet though.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good debut
An assassin, sent by the Spanish, is on the streets of London, his target: Sir Francis Drake. The year is 1587, Queen Elizabeth contemplates whether or not to execute Mary Queen of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Steve D
Enjoyable
Rattling through books since getting my new Kindle at Christmas! I have to say I enjoyed this one - so much so that I've just bought the second in the series. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. P. MACLEAN
Entertaining.
This is an easy read, a sort of Elizabethan Shardlake (and probably riding on the bandwaggon). It has it noble hero (William Shakespeare's elder brother no less) working for the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk
Fabulous
I couldn't put Martyr down. It is well written with good attention to detail. Full of suspense and intrigue. Read more
Published 7 months ago by jayb
FAIRLY MEDIOCRE HISTORICAL MYSTERY
It would be unfair to describe this as "so bad it's good", but we're not far off that territory in this, yet another jumper upon the Shardlake bandwagon. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Sou'Wester
Martyr
An excellent book. All 3 book in the series are excellent and I hope that there will be more to come.
Published 9 months ago by Omi
Hard work and unlikeable characters
Covering a fascinating period in history and looking at some still relevant questions of how far a state should go to protect itself, this could have been a great read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. Winston
Good first novel in the series...
Rory Clements' first novel in his John Shakespeare series of Elizabethan mysteries is "Martyr". It is followed by "Revenger" which has just been published. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jill Meyer
Climbing on the Bandwagon
In any list of recently published books there is clear evidence of the publishing industry herd instinct at work. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rosie Blythe
Quick service good value for money
Book arrived promptly. Great way to get hold of a book quickly and cheaply that you know you won't want to keep
Published 12 months ago by A. Morgan
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