You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I love books that describe a time period so well. All the flash language stuff was terrific. I haven't read a bad book by Cornwell yet.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Much about the culture of crime and punishment at that historic time. Well-researched. Some character development. Actually about a 3 1/2.
As a writer, Bernard Cornwell can be slotted into the same category as writers like Stephen King and John Grisham. He knows his genre and cranks out novel in that genre at an extraordinary speed. None of his books are particularly fantastic, my memories of them generally fade within a couple of weeks of reading them, yet they are good for entertainment value and keep my attention.
Bernard Cornwell’s genre of choice is historical fiction. Most of his books take place during England’s history (though there are some exceptions) and I appreciate that even though the books are essentially fluffy reads, they do seem to be fairly historically accurate. The Gallow’s Thief follows Rider Sandman, a former army captain who has been disgraced by his father’s suicide. Desperate for work, he takes a job as special investigator for Charles Corday, an artist and convicted murderer. As one would expect in this kind of book, Corday is obviously not guilty, and Captain Sandman has to work for his money in order to find the real killer.
The book follows most of the conventions of both mystery novels and historical fiction novels, complete with carriage chases, gun fights, breaking and entering, and even the occasional cricket match (okay, that’s a little different). It’s not great literature, but it’s entertaining. I bought it for 4,000/= in Tanzania (that’s about 2 dollars), and I don’t feel like I wasted my money.
Bernard Cornwell’s genre of choice is historical fiction. Most of his books take place during England’s history (though there are some exceptions) and I appreciate that even though the books are essentially fluffy reads, they do seem to be fairly historically accurate. The Gallow’s Thief follows Rider Sandman, a former army captain who has been disgraced by his father’s suicide. Desperate for work, he takes a job as special investigator for Charles Corday, an artist and convicted murderer. As one would expect in this kind of book, Corday is obviously not guilty, and Captain Sandman has to work for his money in order to find the real killer.
The book follows most of the conventions of both mystery novels and historical fiction novels, complete with carriage chases, gun fights, breaking and entering, and even the occasional cricket match (okay, that’s a little different). It’s not great literature, but it’s entertaining. I bought it for 4,000/= in Tanzania (that’s about 2 dollars), and I don’t feel like I wasted my money.
Very enjoyable read, with some great (if disturbing) period details.
Excellent period piece--mystery, humor and a love story that's not too annoying! It's the only Cornwell that I have read....and I"m still waiting for a sequel.
Disappointing. I have enjoyed many of Cornwall's books, but I did not like this one. The plot takes forever to develop and keeps getting stalled by irrelevant, redundant, and sometimes excruciatingly irritating dialogue and monologues.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rampament homophobia ruined a perfectly good mystery novel. It's not 'historically accurate' it's just being an asshole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Classism
Minor: Rape, Colonisation
Stand-alone novel(ette) by Bernard Cornwell, that takes place after The Napoleonic Wars: it's 1817 or thereabouts, London, and many of the soldiers who survived Waterloo have fallen on hard times.
Rider Sandman is one such.
With his father having committed suicide to avoid family debts, and with Sandman forced to sell his commission and give up the woman he loves, he takes a job as an investigator: initially meant to 'prove' (by force, if needs be) a condemned mans guilt, he finds himself questioning that very guilt
If I'm honest, this took me a bit to get into: it didn't quite grab me as much from the get-go as most of Cornwell's other works do. I don't know whether that was because of the prologue, describing the horrific details of a public hanging, or whether because I was expecting Sandman to be more of a Sharpe figure than he is, but once I got over the first few chapters it did grip me more and more, to the point where - at times - I almost couldn't put it down!
Rider Sandman is one such.
With his father having committed suicide to avoid family debts, and with Sandman forced to sell his commission and give up the woman he loves, he takes a job as an investigator: initially meant to 'prove' (by force, if needs be) a condemned mans guilt, he finds himself questioning that very guilt
If I'm honest, this took me a bit to get into: it didn't quite grab me as much from the get-go as most of Cornwell's other works do. I don't know whether that was because of the prologue, describing the horrific details of a public hanging, or whether because I was expecting Sandman to be more of a Sharpe figure than he is, but once I got over the first few chapters it did grip me more and more, to the point where - at times - I almost couldn't put it down!