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nica00's review against another edition
5.0
This ode to The Canterbury Tales satisfied my yearning for well researched but still accessibly readable medieval historical fiction. It has a dark & twisty plot, social commentary, stories within stories, characters you hate to love & love to hate, historical tidbits about lives of common folk living in an uncommon time in history.
A real delight & right up my alley.
A real delight & right up my alley.
evenshadow's review against another edition
1.0
I had such high hopes for this book. I love a good historical adventure. I had no idea anyone could make something like the plague be so boring. The story didn't start to get good till page 300 or so, and the resolution... well, there was none. Lots of loose ends, and the kind of ending that makes you wonder what the point of starting was. Absolutely horrible.
tshrope's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn’t sure if I would like this book since it is set in England during the mid 1300’s, not my favorite time period. But I was pleasantly surprised and was kept enthralled throughout the book. Nine traveling strangers meet along the road as they desperately try to outrun the Plague. All have secrets and all try to cover their secrets through lies to each other and sometimes even to themselves with deadly consequences. I was able to figure out a couple of the secrets early on, but others not at all until they were revealed at the very end.
Although this is set during the Middle Ages, most of us would agree that it was still an unenlightened era similar to the Dark Ages when the Church still ruled and controlled every aspect of every life through fear-mongering, taxation, religious mysticism, and pagan ritual. Maitland’s research of this era is excellent and her descriptions of both characters and landscape are vivid and realistic.
What Maitland captures best is the idea that although much has changed in terms of enlightenment and living conditions since this period, basic driving forces like love, lust, jealousy, and fear of the unknown have not changed at all.
Maitland holds the reader’s attention to the last page of its 576 pages with suspense and tension. This is historical suspense at its best.
Although this is set during the Middle Ages, most of us would agree that it was still an unenlightened era similar to the Dark Ages when the Church still ruled and controlled every aspect of every life through fear-mongering, taxation, religious mysticism, and pagan ritual. Maitland’s research of this era is excellent and her descriptions of both characters and landscape are vivid and realistic.
What Maitland captures best is the idea that although much has changed in terms of enlightenment and living conditions since this period, basic driving forces like love, lust, jealousy, and fear of the unknown have not changed at all.
Maitland holds the reader’s attention to the last page of its 576 pages with suspense and tension. This is historical suspense at its best.
emilybryk's review against another edition
1.0
this is a book in which characters have secrets. and know how you recognize what the secrets are before the other characters do? the secrets? are in italics. or, um, er, are bracketed by characters making an, um, hesitant, uh, linguistic misstep.
seriously guys. this is insulting.
seriously guys. this is insulting.
eososray's review against another edition
4.0
The author does a wonderful job of immersing her readers in a medieval world afflicted by the Pestilence.
The characters were very well written and realized. The mystery, or I should say the mysteries because every character has their own secrets that are doled out through the tale, are fascinating and kept me enthralled though impatient to find out what the next secret would be.
I learned a few very interesting items and look forward to reading more from this author.
The characters were very well written and realized. The mystery, or I should say the mysteries because every character has their own secrets that are doled out through the tale, are fascinating and kept me enthralled though impatient to find out what the next secret would be.
I learned a few very interesting items and look forward to reading more from this author.
gfarinas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kelbi's review against another edition
5.0
Phew. I didn't know if I would enjoy this at first but it really grabbed me after a short time. Of its genre it is excellent. I was engrossed, and the author has definitely worked hard on her research to get such a good sense of period. Not so keen on the ending though
durbeyfield's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75