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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
"We are in the middle of a bitter conflict between two religions. It has driven men to extremes, to the impious arrogance of believing they alone can comprehend the vast mysteries of Scripture, let alone the mind of God. Such people are incapable of understanding even their own minds, for they confuse their own needs, for certainty or power, with God's voice speaking to them. I am only surprised that more are not driven to stark madness."
This quote from one of the characters in Sansom's "Revelation" refers, of course, to Tudor times, but it might just as easily have been written about our own times. Human venality combined with religious fanaticism have not changed and remain a blight on society, no less today than when Henry VIII ruled.
Sansom's Matthew Shardlake, the hunchback lawyer, is a very interesting character who has shown the capacity to change. In the first book in the series, he was a rabid reformer sent to oversee the dissolution of a monastery. But because of his own experiences and what he has observed in others, in this fourth entry of the series, he has lost almost all faith and is slowly coming to a scientific view of the human condition. He sees the mad actions of others as being caused by an illness rather than a devil.
The actions of the villain in this piece are mad indeed. He is trying to fulfill the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, and, in so doing, is killing people, whom he has judged as backsliders, in the most horrible ways described in that horrific book.
One of the victims of the madman is Matthew's good friend, a fellow barrister and the husband of a woman for whom Matthew has long had strong feelings. His barbaric killing brings Matthew and his assistant Jack Barak into the investigation and leads them and others deep into the "Valley of the Shadow of Death."
Meantime, Barak, too, is beset by personal troubles as his marriage to Tamasin is on the rocks.
This is a many-layered story, one that shows Shardlake's growing concern for the poor and unfortunate. Both he and Barak are growing into full human beings as this saga progresses. I hope there will be another installment soon.
This quote from one of the characters in Sansom's "Revelation" refers, of course, to Tudor times, but it might just as easily have been written about our own times. Human venality combined with religious fanaticism have not changed and remain a blight on society, no less today than when Henry VIII ruled.
Sansom's Matthew Shardlake, the hunchback lawyer, is a very interesting character who has shown the capacity to change. In the first book in the series, he was a rabid reformer sent to oversee the dissolution of a monastery. But because of his own experiences and what he has observed in others, in this fourth entry of the series, he has lost almost all faith and is slowly coming to a scientific view of the human condition. He sees the mad actions of others as being caused by an illness rather than a devil.
The actions of the villain in this piece are mad indeed. He is trying to fulfill the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, and, in so doing, is killing people, whom he has judged as backsliders, in the most horrible ways described in that horrific book.
One of the victims of the madman is Matthew's good friend, a fellow barrister and the husband of a woman for whom Matthew has long had strong feelings. His barbaric killing brings Matthew and his assistant Jack Barak into the investigation and leads them and others deep into the "Valley of the Shadow of Death."
Meantime, Barak, too, is beset by personal troubles as his marriage to Tamasin is on the rocks.
This is a many-layered story, one that shows Shardlake's growing concern for the poor and unfortunate. Both he and Barak are growing into full human beings as this saga progresses. I hope there will be another installment soon.
This is the second time I’ve read Revelation, the fourth in CJ Sansom’s series with lawyer Matthew Shardlake in the time of Henry VIII. As with most books I reread, I remembered very little, only recalling a scene of horrific torture. What surprised me is that there are many scenes of horrific torture and I didn’t remember them, too. This book is not for the faint of heart.
The overall theme here is mental illness. Shardlake is working on the case of a teenage boy in Bedlam, the hospital for the insane, because he won’t stop praying. At a time when any sort of religious extremism - either Catholic or Protestant - can result in cries of “Heretic,” the boy’s uncontrollable compulsion could have him burned at the stake.
There are also a series of bizarre murders where the victims are tortured before death and then displayed in prominent places so the murderer can make his point - that the Apocalypse as foretold in the book of Revelation is upon us. Because of a tenuous connection to King Henry’s newest love interest, Catherine Parr, the political powers call the clever Shardlake to solve the crimes.
It’s perfectly clear to the 21st C reader that the murderer is psychotic and obsessive. He chooses his victims based on his ideas of what the Bible says, believing himself able to bring about the Apocalypse. It’s also perfectly clear that mental health care in the 16th C was nonexistent. For example, the keeper at Bedlam charges a fee to people who want to come gawk at the patients.
This is a very disturbing book, furthering my conviction that religion - any religion - creates more pain that it has ever eased. As with all of Sansom’s Shardlake novels, the writing is excellent, the research extensive, the book riveting. Highly recommended if you can stomach the murder scenes.
The overall theme here is mental illness. Shardlake is working on the case of a teenage boy in Bedlam, the hospital for the insane, because he won’t stop praying. At a time when any sort of religious extremism - either Catholic or Protestant - can result in cries of “Heretic,” the boy’s uncontrollable compulsion could have him burned at the stake.
There are also a series of bizarre murders where the victims are tortured before death and then displayed in prominent places so the murderer can make his point - that the Apocalypse as foretold in the book of Revelation is upon us. Because of a tenuous connection to King Henry’s newest love interest, Catherine Parr, the political powers call the clever Shardlake to solve the crimes.
It’s perfectly clear to the 21st C reader that the murderer is psychotic and obsessive. He chooses his victims based on his ideas of what the Bible says, believing himself able to bring about the Apocalypse. It’s also perfectly clear that mental health care in the 16th C was nonexistent. For example, the keeper at Bedlam charges a fee to people who want to come gawk at the patients.
This is a very disturbing book, furthering my conviction that religion - any religion - creates more pain that it has ever eased. As with all of Sansom’s Shardlake novels, the writing is excellent, the research extensive, the book riveting. Highly recommended if you can stomach the murder scenes.
The fourth in the series and another enjoyable read.
An interesting plot and some unusual deaths.
The setting for this one was not quite as striking as York but the plot itself held the interest.
An interesting plot and some unusual deaths.
The setting for this one was not quite as striking as York but the plot itself held the interest.
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2288072.html[return][return]Revelation is set in the last years of the reign of Henry VIII, and involves an established character, lawyer Matthew Shardlake, pursuing a serial killer who is repeating the opening of the seals in the Book of Revelation. I quite enjoyed the mystery and some of the chrome (the henchman's unhappy marriage, the African doctor) but thought that Sansom laid it on a bit thick in invoking Copernicus and other contemporary thinkers (De revolutionibus orbium cSlestium as a topic of conversation in London in its year of publication? Hardly!) and also overestimates the power of the Tudor police state in successfully covering up gruesome murders, particularly the ones it wasn't actually responsible for. Hilary Mantel catches the idiom of the period much more convincingly in Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. But it is entertaining enough.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After 100 pages I realized that I accidentally read this novel out of order, I had yet to read [b:Sovereign|138684|Sovereign (Matthew Shardlake, #3)|C.J. Sansom|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440215651s/138684.jpg|1698960], however it was too good of a story and too late to stop.
It wasn’t difficult to follow Master Shardlake in this adventure, this time the hunchback lawyer investigates a string of murders that are linked to the book of Revelations.
The books are a bit longer than necessary, rambling at times, and Tudor isn’t my favourite historical period, but I’m really enjoying this series. This novel, with its mix of religious fervor, superstition, hysteria and murder, had many parallels with [b:The Name of the Rose|119073|The Name of the Rose|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415375471s/119073.jpg|3138328] and will appeal to readers of historical fiction and mystery genres.
It wasn’t difficult to follow Master Shardlake in this adventure, this time the hunchback lawyer investigates a string of murders that are linked to the book of Revelations.
The books are a bit longer than necessary, rambling at times, and Tudor isn’t my favourite historical period, but I’m really enjoying this series. This novel, with its mix of religious fervor, superstition, hysteria and murder, had many parallels with [b:The Name of the Rose|119073|The Name of the Rose|Umberto Eco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415375471s/119073.jpg|3138328] and will appeal to readers of historical fiction and mystery genres.
I do enjoy these books - they are so atmospheric you can almost smell the streets.
Poor old Shardlake spends a lot of time recovering from injuries and lost loves.
Serial killers aren't really my thing, but the period setting is very well done.
Serial killers aren't really my thing, but the period setting is very well done.
A well written mystery. Very interesting details on Tudor era thoughts on and care of people with mental issues and on serial killers. Kind of grim but well plotted and paced with familiar characters.
A little boring and quite drawn out. Little character development, difficult to show any empathy.