Overview

[Tudor Book Blog]

Week V overview and general thoughts. For specific discussions (for example, a thought or question about a particular character or event) please start a new topic under the Week V folder.

[Lynsay]

I know I'm ahead but I couldn't put the book down, it was great!!

[Jaclyn]

Just finished - so good! Shardlake is an interesting character. I will definitely need to read another in the series.

[yeoman]

just to update, I've fallen for this character and have spent a few weeks going beck to him in my mind after finishing the book. Started Dark Fire last weekend.

[Heidi]

I loved reading this, such an enjoyable read. like everyone else I loved the attention to the small detail and that the major tudor players were background characters. I also managed to solve a bit of the murder although not all of it. I will definitely be looking out for more Shardlake books in my local secondhand bookshop.

[Tasha]

I enjoyed that book and all the other Shardlake novels. What I like is that you get a bit of a sense of the times that were....makes me want to return to London (it's been a really long time) and take a proper wander around the old city.

[Tiffany]

I FINALLY finished it! I started this in Nov. with you all, but got so busy I couldn't keep up and set it aside. I finally got to finsih up with another group that selected it in May (and even then, I still managed to get a week behind)... but I did it! lol

I was really impressed with Sansom's solid historical foundation for this book. It's obvious the research time was there and he knows his stuff. As I mentioned back in the fall, I like that we were given a different take on Cromwell, given our current post-Wolf Hall (and even post-Tudors TV series) atmosphere. I think he showed how fear would have run rampant - and fear of Cromwell (which only further solidifies his fall which we know inevitably comes).

The descriptions were vivid and richly detailed. He brought the times and the people to life - far beyond the romanticized version we usually get with Tudor fiction. He really brought out how gross the city was, with the stench, dumped pisspots, and infrequent bathing. I also LOVED the descriptions of how the bathroom was set up - daily life decoded, finally! lol I will think of it every time I see a creek for the rest of my life.

He also did a fantastic job of highlighting the politics of the time: the juxtaposition of how cruelly Henry (via Cromwell) enforced his Reform changes with the hypocritical corruption and political power of the church at that time. This idea also seemed to be mimicked to a degree in how the monks treated the girls (violating everything they stood for) vs how Shardlake and Poer treated Alice (despite all their judgment, they too, felt the pull of temptation).

Plus, the mystery wasn't completely predictable.

My biggest complaint, really, was that I just never got overly jazzed about reading it. It wasn't a book I couldn't wait to pick up again. On the other hand, when I did get to set aside some time with it, I was absorbed into the world and story.

Overall, I would give it about 4 stars. I hope to read more of the series - but not right away. :)