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malongorose's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gillothen's review against another edition
3.0
OK, but not sure I'll bother with more. There's a strong sense of thirteenth century Oxford, but a rather anachronistic assumption that academics would have "piles" of books, which I find a bit grating. Sensitive depiction of Oxford Jewry.
siria's review against another edition
2.0
Falconer's Crusade is a pretty pallid attempt at historical crime fiction. Set in 13th century Oxford, during the Second Barons' War, it follows the university master William Falconer as he attempts to solve the murder of a young woman. Morson seems to confuse bundles of quirks and unusual characteristics with three-dimensional characterisation. There is no inner life to Falconer or his new student Thomas, and the murder mystery isn't complex enough to compensate for that deficiency.
Perhaps for those with only a slight interest in medieval history, the setting will be enough to appeal, but this medievalist found it weakly drawn and with more than a couple of moments that made me say "... huh?" A book is central to the mystery here, for example, but I'm not sure how any of the characters could have recognised what it was so quickly as it would surely have been written in Occitan. I also wish people would stop with the whole "medieval people thought the world was flat!" idea, because it's second in frustrating misapprehensions only to "the early medieval period was a Dark Age."
Perhaps for those with only a slight interest in medieval history, the setting will be enough to appeal, but this medievalist found it weakly drawn and with more than a couple of moments that made me say "... huh?" A book is central to the mystery here, for example, but I'm not sure how any of the characters could have recognised what it was so quickly as it would surely have been written in Occitan. I also wish people would stop with the whole "medieval people thought the world was flat!" idea, because it's second in frustrating misapprehensions only to "the early medieval period was a Dark Age."
vesper1931's review against another edition
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Oxford 1264. When Margaret Gebetz, servant to Master John Fyssh is murdered Regent Master William Falconer Investigates using Aristotelian Logic.
An enjoyable historical and well-written mystery with its likeable main character. A good start to this series.
An enjoyable historical and well-written mystery with its likeable main character. A good start to this series.
frances_ab's review against another edition
3.0
The first in a series set in Medieval Oxford, this was an enjoyable debut.
julieputty's review against another edition
3.0
Very choppy and with a side character you hope will get knocked unconscious early on so he can stop being such a drip. "Hey, I nearly got killed doing this yesterday. I think I'll do it again today!"
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
3.0
Master William Falconer tinkers with bird skeletons in a vain attempt to understand the princeples of flight in 1264 while Simon de Montfort prepares to challenge the authority of Henry III. Things are uneasy in Oxford and theres a lot of politics making some very strange bedfellows.
When a servant girl is savagely murdered and Thomas Symon is a serious suspect as well as Falconer's student he feels it necessary to investigate and what he finds brings in heresy and a lot of politics.
It's an interesting read, full of interesting characters and the politics are quite detailed.
When a servant girl is savagely murdered and Thomas Symon is a serious suspect as well as Falconer's student he feels it necessary to investigate and what he finds brings in heresy and a lot of politics.
It's an interesting read, full of interesting characters and the politics are quite detailed.
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