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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A gripping and convincing novel of Tudor London "Dark Fire" is the second novel in C.J. Sansom's series set in King Henry VIII's England, following the career of the hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake. It is the summer of 1540, a time of political and religious turmoil as various factions at court vie for the king's attentions. When Shardlake is asked to defend a girl accused of murder, the case brings him into contact once again with his old employer, Earl Cromwell. The earl has a new assignment for him, of vital importance to the state: the... more info
16th century murder mystery Having read "Dissolution" and thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought I'd give "Dark Fire" a go. I must admit I didn't enjoy it so much. It was a little pedestrian in places - I wanted it to move a little quicker. Also the plot got a little convoluted in places. But... I DID feel I was "living" in the 16th century with Thomas Cromwell and his ilk. Sansom is good at scene setting. For this alone it deserves the four stars!
Brilliant I have just finished this book and, after Dissolution, I am well and truly addicted to this series. I really like the lead character of Matthew Shardlake and the other characters in this and the previous book. Will be starting on Sovereign asap and can't wait to read Revelation from what I've read on Amazon about that story. There seems to be a plethora of murder-thriller type books set in the 15th-16th century around at the moment but this is without doubt the best of them all.
pure pleasure This was such a pleasure to read. I always appreciate novels whose authors work hard on evoking a particular setting, and Sansom does this both in terms of the location and the period. It's great to see Shardlake on his home turf, and the pacing of the plot is just superb. An almost perfect piece of storytelling.
