Dark Fire by C J Sansom - Revision history

Sue at 16:17, 18 February 2018

2018-02-18T16:17:37Z

Sue at 10:12, 9 November 2014

2014-11-09T10:12:06Z

Sue at 16:19, 8 January 2011

2011-01-08T16:19:42Z

Sue at 13:41, 8 January 2011

2011-01-08T13:41:01Z

Sue at 13:39, 8 January 2011

2011-01-08T13:39:53Z

Sue: Created page with '{{infobox |title=Dark Fire |sort=Dark Fire |author=C J Sansom |reviewer=Sue Magee |genre=Crime (Historical) |summary=The second book in the Matthew Shardlake series is a murder m…'

2011-01-01T14:28:47Z

Created page with '{{infobox |title=Dark Fire |sort=Dark Fire |author=C J Sansom |reviewer=Sue Magee |genre=Crime (Historical) |summary=The second book in the Matthew Shardlake series is a murder m…'

New review

{{infobox
|title=Dark Fire
|sort=Dark Fire
|author=C J Sansom
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime (Historical)
|summary=The second book in the Matthew Shardlake series is a murder mystery and a story of political intrigue - highly recommended.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=es
|paperback=0330450786
|hardback=
|audiobook=0230529135
|ebook=B003O86FLI
|pages=512
|publisher=Pan Books
|date=May 2007
|isbn=978-0330450782
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330450786</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>B003O86FLI</amazonus>
}}

1540 was the hottest summer of the sixteenth century but Matthew Shardlake was doing his best to hold his legal practice together, which was made more difficult by the fact that he believed himself to be out of favour with Thomas Cromwell. He tried to keep a low profile but when he defended the accused in a most unpopular case – that of a girl accused of brutally murdering her cousin – he found that the king's chief minister had a new assignment for him. Unless he could solve Cromwell's problem his client was likely to die a slow and nasty death.

Cromwell's problem is Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies. Jack Barack has seen a demonstration and he knows just how impressive the substance is. Cromwell has told the king about it, but the problem is that the substance has disappeared. Shardlake's assignment is to find the substance and the formula within a matter of days. Few things are as they seem though and Shardlake is worried about whether or not he would like to hand such a deadly weapon to Cromwell when the inevitable result is that an untold number of people will die. To make matters worse Cromwell's grasp on power is slipping.

The writing in this book is of such quality that you will feel and smell Tudor London. It's not written from specific research with every known fact shoe-horned in somewhere, but from a depth of knowledge that leaves you in no doubt that there's a lot more known, but not said. It's not just the intricate political situation which is understood, but the way that people lived and thought – and their limitations.

There's a brilliant murder mystery in there too. Why will the girl who's accused of murdering her cousin by pushing him down a well not plead her innocence – or guilt – or even speak at all? And why did the boy's body smell so dreadful? It's a dreadful pressure on Shardlake as he knows that he has limited time to find the Greek Fire and to work out what happened at the well. The pages turn themselves and it's a book that once you're into it there's no way that you can put it down.

For more of Tudor England we can recommend the brilliant [[Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel]].

{{amazontext|amazon=0330450786}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=5612458}}

{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Historical Fiction]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 was the hottest summer of the sixteenth century but Matthew Shardlake was doing his best to hold his legal practice together, which was made more difficult by the fact that he believed himself to be out of favour with Thomas Cromwell.  He tried to keep a low profile but when he defended the accused in a most unpopular case – that of a girl accused of brutally murdering her cousin – he found that the king's chief minister had a new assignment for him.  Unless he could solve Cromwell's problem his client was likely to die a slow and nasty death.
-Cromwell's problem is Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies.  Jack Barack has seen a demonstration and he knows just how impressive it is.  Cromwell has told the king about it, but the problem is that the substance has disappeared.  Shardlake's assignment is to find the substance and the formula within a matter of days.  Few things are as they seem though and Shardlake is worried about whether or not he would like to hand such a deadly weapon to Cromwell when the inevitable result is that an untold number of people will die. To make matters worse Cromwell's grasp on power is slipping.
+Cromwell's problem is Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies.  Jack Barack has seen a demonstration and he knows just how impressive it is.  Cromwell has told the king about it, but the problem is that the substance has disappeared.  Shardlake's assignment is to find not just Dark Fire but also the formula - and all within a matter of days.  Few things are as they seem though and Shardlake is worried about whether or not he would like to hand such a deadly weapon to Cromwell when the inevitable result is that an untold number of people will die. To make matters worse Cromwell's grasp on power is slipping.
 The writing in this book is of such quality that you will feel and smell Tudor London.  It's not written from specific research with every known fact shoe-horned in somewhere, but from a depth of knowledge that leaves you in no doubt that there's a lot more known, but not said.  It's not just the intricate political situation which is understood, but the way that people lived and thought – and their limitations.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title=Dark Fire
 |author=C J Sansom
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date=May 2007
 |isbn=978-0330450782
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330450786</amazonuk>
+|cover=Sansom_Dark
-|amazonus=<amazonus>B003O86FLI</amazonus>
+|aznuk=0330450786
 }}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox
 |title=Dark Fire
 |author=C J Sansom
 |reviewer=Sue Magee
@@ Line 9: / Line 8: @@
 |buy=Yes
 |borrow=es
 |pages=512
 |publisher=Pan Books
@@ Line 33: / Line 28: @@
 [[C J Sansom's Matthew Shardlake Novels in Chronological Order]]
-{{amazontext|amazon=0330450786}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=5612458}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0330450786}}
 {{commenthead}}
 [[Category:Historical Fiction]]

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 There's a brilliant murder mystery in there too.  Why will the girl who's accused of murdering her cousin by pushing him down a well not plead her innocence – or guilt – or even speak at all?  And why did the boy's body smell so dreadful?  It's a dreadful pressure on Shardlake as he knows that he has limited time to find the Greek Fire and to work out what happened at the well.  The pages turn themselves and it's a book that once you're into it there's no way that you can put it down.
 For more of Tudor England we can recommend the brilliant [[Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0330450786}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=5612458}}