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Revelation (Shardlake Series)
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Review
`Tudor mystery as gripping and vital as any modern thriller.' --The Times
'This superb thriller bursts with impeccably researched period detail.'<BR> --anon
`A serial killer is using the Book of Revelation for his murders in this outstanding whodunit featuring the bestselling Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake.' --anon
'This superb thriller bursts with impeccably researched period detail.'<BR> --anon
`A serial killer is using the Book of Revelation for his murders in this outstanding whodunit featuring the bestselling Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake.' --anon
Review
'This superb thriller bursts with impeccably researched period detail.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
347 of 368 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shardlake back in action - but radical religion is the problem at every turn
8 April 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having thought that Shardlake hung up his detecting laurels after the traumas of the last book (Sovereign), we thought we had seen the last of him. But his reappearance has got hearts racing and excitement levels raised - because Sansom is undoubtedly a great thriller writer - with an incredible eye for historical detail and nuances to boot. What more could you want in an historical novel. As Colin Dexter said in his review of the earlier books, Sansom makes the past feel like the present.
This book drags Shardlake, Barak & Guy into a grizzly world of a religious fanatic serial killer who is driven by a scary misreading of the Book of Revelation. These three are modern heroes - they are our guides in a world that is at one level so alien from ours (with the twists and turns of religious battles affecting the lives of countless mortals, from London butchers caught selling meat during Lent to the priggish hypocrisy of reformist clergy dominating the lives of their parishioners); and yet as Sansom mentions in his afterword, one which bears uncomfortable resonances in to our era, intimidated as it is by the terrorism and implacable hatred of zealots.
I suppose as someone who is a Christian, and who is equally horrified by the lengths people's principles enable them to go, I am disappointed that there are few sympathetic characters in London's religious world. Perhaps that is accurate. Cranmer is the only one who seems really to draw our empathy in this murky world - forced daily, even hourly, to exist in the tension between principle and pragmatism.
But that is not so much a criticism of the book as an observation - because historical novels tend to say more about the era in which they are written than the period they describe. And that is very much the spirit of the age. It doesn't detract from the book, though. It was gripping as ever - and investigates some serious problems and questions - such as the nature of madness, the cruelties of those in power, the absurdities of a monarch's marital whims causing societal earthquakes. But above all - this is all weaved into a great story. And that is what makes Sansom such a satisfying writer. Let's hope Shardlake returns for more! And that they don't go and ruin it by trying to make a TV series of them all, and thus obliterate all the skillful complexities!
This book drags Shardlake, Barak & Guy into a grizzly world of a religious fanatic serial killer who is driven by a scary misreading of the Book of Revelation. These three are modern heroes - they are our guides in a world that is at one level so alien from ours (with the twists and turns of religious battles affecting the lives of countless mortals, from London butchers caught selling meat during Lent to the priggish hypocrisy of reformist clergy dominating the lives of their parishioners); and yet as Sansom mentions in his afterword, one which bears uncomfortable resonances in to our era, intimidated as it is by the terrorism and implacable hatred of zealots.
I suppose as someone who is a Christian, and who is equally horrified by the lengths people's principles enable them to go, I am disappointed that there are few sympathetic characters in London's religious world. Perhaps that is accurate. Cranmer is the only one who seems really to draw our empathy in this murky world - forced daily, even hourly, to exist in the tension between principle and pragmatism.
But that is not so much a criticism of the book as an observation - because historical novels tend to say more about the era in which they are written than the period they describe. And that is very much the spirit of the age. It doesn't detract from the book, though. It was gripping as ever - and investigates some serious problems and questions - such as the nature of madness, the cruelties of those in power, the absurdities of a monarch's marital whims causing societal earthquakes. But above all - this is all weaved into a great story. And that is what makes Sansom such a satisfying writer. Let's hope Shardlake returns for more! And that they don't go and ruin it by trying to make a TV series of them all, and thus obliterate all the skillful complexities!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By E. McInnes
Format:Paperback
CJ Sansom's series of books set in reformation England capture the mood, fears, sights, smells and society of the time wonderfully. Without devoting pages and pages to descriptions the reader is fully immersed in the world of main character Shardlake. The story itself is subtle, dramatic and intelligent. Reminiscent of Morse stories or those by PD James. I'd recommend this to anyone who is a fan of well written, intelligent crime dramas whether they're a fan of history or not.
120 of 130 people found the following review helpful
By W. H. Keery
Format:Hardcover
I've only recently discovered the real treasure of being able to immerse oneself in the 16th century world of Matthew Shardlake and what fascinates me about Sansom's magnificent achievement is his evocation of a society which truly senses it is out of control following the destruction of the monasteries during King Henry's reign of greed and terror.
Shardlake and characters like Guy Malton are the beacons of logic and light in a London which still believes in demonic darkness. Yes, this is a cracking character-based murder mystery which could sit comfortably alongside anything written by P.D. James and much of Ruth Rendell but, for me, the real heart of the Sharldlake series (and Revelation certainly doesn't disappoint!) is the writer's ability to dig deep into the dark motives that have always urged men to do what they feel they must in order to gain fulfilment. In relation to the religious fanaticism that pervades Sharlake's time, one is tempted to scoff from our so-called safe position nearly five hundred years on but we know it's not that black and white.
That's a big part of the joy of Sansom's series: we are made aware that life has always been chaotic and that "...our leaders" will always be driven by avarice and self-preservation.
Shardlake and characters like Guy Malton are the beacons of logic and light in a London which still believes in demonic darkness. Yes, this is a cracking character-based murder mystery which could sit comfortably alongside anything written by P.D. James and much of Ruth Rendell but, for me, the real heart of the Sharldlake series (and Revelation certainly doesn't disappoint!) is the writer's ability to dig deep into the dark motives that have always urged men to do what they feel they must in order to gain fulfilment. In relation to the religious fanaticism that pervades Sharlake's time, one is tempted to scoff from our so-called safe position nearly five hundred years on but we know it's not that black and white.
That's a big part of the joy of Sansom's series: we are made aware that life has always been chaotic and that "...our leaders" will always be driven by avarice and self-preservation.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
An intriguing mystery set in Tudor England with many twists and turns that will leave the reader guessing until the very end.
Published 8 hours ago by G. Owen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book of a great series.
Wonderful historic fiction, the Shardlake series is great, though I'd start at the beginning and work forward, something I didn't do as I picked up the third book from a book shop... Read more
Published 1 day ago by D. Cosby
5.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly compelling
These are brilliant historical novels and the characters come alive as do the squalor and pain of life in Tudor England
Published 9 days ago by R. J. Cowley
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best one yet?
C J Sansom's 'Shardlake' series just gets better. The trouble I find with this series of historical novels set around the reign of Henry VIII is that I fall straight in to them... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Mrs J Grebby
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Really good read, great mixture of the thriller and the historical novel. Some of the Revelation allusions were perhaps a bit overdone, but it does make some interesting comments... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Hillary
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelation
I love this series. C J Sansom's writing is a pleasure to read, as he sweeps the reader into the time of Henry 8th. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Mrs Jackum Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
V clever
All the Shardlake books are excellent. They rollick along with historical detail, some not in my school texts books. In my opinion these books beat Wolf Hall into a cocked hat.
Published 16 days ago by teacher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eexcellent
No problems, excellent, bought it for my mother, she is happy.
No problems, excellent, bought it for my mother, she is happy.
No problems, excellent, bought it for my mother, she is happy.
Published 25 days ago by Mr David Lightfoot
5.0 out of 5 stars
A guided tour into Bedlam !!
This is the 4th of the Shardlake series, and I have come to love and appreciate the rhythymn of CJ Sanson's stories, as well as the characters he conjures up- Shardlake the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tga Donaldson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
I don't want the series to end. I can't put them down. The whole family have read them now. More please
Published 1 month ago by shaney
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