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'This book is a moving and eye-opening story of brilliance and bravery, and the fight against bigotry and closed-mindedness' DAILY MAIL 'Stuart Clark follows a game of galactic hide-and-seek' NEW SCIENTIST 'Clark's account is superb ... a cracking good read' COOLSCIENCEBOOKS 'Well stocked with informative historical asides' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'An intelligent book that neither romanticises the past, nor distorts it to suit modern Sensibilities' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
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At the dawn of the 17th century, it was believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth. Yet some men knew that the Heavens did not move as they should and began to believe exactly the opposite - a heresy punishable by being burned alive. The Sky's Dark Labyrinth follows the stories of Johannes Kepler - a German Lutheran and the first man to distill how stars and planets moved according to mathematical laws - and Galileo Galilei. An Italian Catholic, Galileo tries to claim Kepler's success for his own Church, and finds himself enmeshed in a web of intrigue originating from within the Vatican itself. Both men and their families are trapped by human ignorance and terror in one of the darkest, yet also one of the most enlightening, periods of European history. The Sky's Dark Labyrinth is the first of a trilogy of novels inspired by the dramatic struggles, personal and professional, and key historical events in man's quest to understand the Universe.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I saw this book on the shelf in a book store I knew I had to read it. While being a fiction book it revolves around a time when physics was changing the world, featuring both the characters of Kepler (who first put the idea of elliptical orbits, as proof that the Earth rotated the Sun) and Galileo (who first invents the telescope). It shows their struggles to keep their ideas in line with church (Lutheran and Roman Catholic respectively) while still pushing the boundaries of the limits of human knowledge.
This isn't your heaving bosoms type of historical fiction, this is the sort of fiction written about real characters in a hugely important time period. This is both highly entertaining, I couldn't put it down, and genuinely interesting.
This book would be a great present for those with a passing interest in physics (or it's history), but don't worry there are no complicated concepts or physics equations here. No knowledge of physics is necessary to get enjoyment from this book :)
The next book in the series, I believe, looks at Newton and his later discoveries. I can't wait for it!
This isn't your heaving bosoms type of historical fiction, this is the sort of fiction written about real characters in a hugely important time period. This is both highly entertaining, I couldn't put it down, and genuinely interesting.
This book would be a great present for those with a passing interest in physics (or it's history), but don't worry there are no complicated concepts or physics equations here. No knowledge of physics is necessary to get enjoyment from this book :)
The next book in the series, I believe, looks at Newton and his later discoveries. I can't wait for it!
Format:Paperback
the skys dark labyrinth by stuart clarke the first of a trilogy about 17th century science
this book tells the story of kepler and galileo
better on the chapters wih kepler played out against the events leading up to the thirty yeaers war with astrology obessed emperors, religious hatreds and astronomical egos, galileo less interesting as played out like bad brecht which let the book down
the next book ia about newton. halley and the royal society
waiting for this four stars to the author
this book tells the story of kepler and galileo
better on the chapters wih kepler played out against the events leading up to the thirty yeaers war with astrology obessed emperors, religious hatreds and astronomical egos, galileo less interesting as played out like bad brecht which let the book down
the next book ia about newton. halley and the royal society
waiting for this four stars to the author
Format:Paperback
Although they sat on different sides of the Catholic/Protestant religious divide, Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler were joined in their scientific rigor, in their support for Copernicus, and in being distrusted by religious authorities. Galileo narrowly avoided being convicted of heresy for daring to claim that the Copernican system was more than simply a hypothesis. Kepler, nominally Lutheran, was ostracized by his church for being unable to accept the literal presence of Christ in the sacrament--but he could not fully assent to the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. This left Kepler between a rock and a hard place, unable to find permanent employ within the Holy Roman Empire, yet unprotected by powerful Lutheran forces--a severe disadvantage as the Thirty Years War ravaged Europe in the seventeenth century.
Nonetheless, Kepler managed to revolutionize astronomy with his tables and calculations, formulating laws that accurately plotted planetary orbits--even if it took Isaac Newton to describe the mechanisms involved. In this fictionalized history, Clark paints a sympathetic picture of this giant of astronomy, deftly showing how he struggled with his tutors and paymasters, yet remained true to his convictions. For Kepler, the universe was wondrous yet understandable, a way for man to know God; this insistence on believing the evidence kept him (and Galileo) two steps ahead of the dogma-bound Jesuits. A tale this full of excitement, danger, and drama can only be based on real life. Stuart Clark has wrought a stunning novel that will leave you impatient for the next two books in the trilogy.
(reproduced from my article in The Scientist magazine, 1 July 2011)
Nonetheless, Kepler managed to revolutionize astronomy with his tables and calculations, formulating laws that accurately plotted planetary orbits--even if it took Isaac Newton to describe the mechanisms involved. In this fictionalized history, Clark paints a sympathetic picture of this giant of astronomy, deftly showing how he struggled with his tutors and paymasters, yet remained true to his convictions. For Kepler, the universe was wondrous yet understandable, a way for man to know God; this insistence on believing the evidence kept him (and Galileo) two steps ahead of the dogma-bound Jesuits. A tale this full of excitement, danger, and drama can only be based on real life. Stuart Clark has wrought a stunning novel that will leave you impatient for the next two books in the trilogy.
(reproduced from my article in The Scientist magazine, 1 July 2011)
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