Mail on Sunday
'A very superior entertainment.'
The Times
'Sansom's deft sense of dramatic timing takes us effortlessly through this fat, juicy book...'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
323 of 342 people found the following review helpful
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!
116 of 125 people found the following review helpful
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.
71 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Sansoms complete grasp of the minutaie and wider politico/religious issues that dominated the Tudor period is a delight. It is this knowledge that enables him to create believable and accurate backdrops against which his plot lines are set and proceed. Throughout his four books there is no diminution in the standard of his narrative skills. Although dark his stories are never less than a joy to read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Nice for the historic setting but I just wanted it to end!
Our hunchback lawyer becomes a detective on the trail of a serial murderer. All his associates are potential suspects. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Mc Adams
Master Sharlake - master detective!
I have read all the Matthew Shardlake stores and I love them. The author's ability to conjure up an England in Tudor times is incredible - like being there, the sights, sounds and... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Sheel
Compulsive!
Excellent story-teller, and coming from an academic background, it's factually accurate. Can't get enough of Sansom's stuff; got to be one of the best writers around. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lissie62
Shardlake delivers again
I'm a bit addicted to this series and each one delivers to expectations with an entirely new mystery. I love the way it brings this period in history to life. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Webster
Brilliant series!
The shardlake series is so so addictive! I've brought one book after the other after being given the first one as part of world books day.... Read more
Published 3 months ago by CurlyWurlyZoe
4th Shardlake
A great follow on from book 3. This is an excellent series of novels and long may he solve the crimes......
Published 4 months ago by GMR
Revelation
These books are addictive, once you pick it up you can not put it down. Set in the Tudor period, Sansom manages to really capture the atmosphere and intrigue of the times. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lucy
Good book
Enjoyed this book. The first time I have read a Shardlake story. Bought all five in the series. Now I am worried that the other four will be repetitive plots of the same... Read more
Published 5 months ago by SJHEARN
very very good
just as I expected it to be; like the previous ones : Dissolution, Dark fire, Sovereign
For those who like inquiries with an historical background, where the fiction meets the... Read more
For those who like inquiries with an historical background, where the fiction meets the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by amélie
Absolutely Love These Books
I really do enjoy reading these books, with Revelation being book four out of five (at time of writing). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Suenos6
Popular Highlights
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But if we never acted except when we were certain our motives were pure, we would never act at all.
Highlighted by 17 Kindle users
impious arrogance of believing they alone can comprehend the vast mysteries of Scripture, let alone the mind of God. Such people are incapable of understanding even their own minds, for they confuse their own needs, for certainty or power, with Gods voice speaking to them.
Highlighted by 10 Kindle users
I try in my poor way to follow the much harder path of humility. Facing squarely the terrible mysteries of suffering and cruelty in Gods world, doubting whether through prayer you have understood Gods will or his voice or even his presence. Yes, I believe humility is the greatest human virtue.
Highlighted by 10 Kindle users
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