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spacegrass's review against another edition
5.0
What a fantastic book. Started a bit slowly and did take a little getting into but very well worth it.
Everyone should read this.
Everyone should read this.
collegecate's review against another edition
4.0
The ending is a little bit lame, but the central narrative is good. The atmosphere and setting is really great, believable.
mirandaaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
Finally finished this chunk woop woop. Took me a while to read, partly as the secret history put me in a slight slump and because it took eons to 'set the scene' when the scene very much did not need to be set. It was boring and a drag. Main man David was set up like 'I looked through the tube window at my dark, curly hair and thin face' or whatever. Like tf is that?? Scene setting is poorly and obviously set, which I disliked. Also the constant iteration of him reflecting on him diving or whatever had no relevance at all. Fully didn't know why that was repeated 50000 times and just irritated me quite honestly. OOOH well DONE David for swimming what a clever boy. Not to mention he was an arse, which I don't mind in a character but it was written like he was an absolute saviour and lovely??? No.
The first half or whatever I would have much rather have read the back of a cereal packet, and I did. This was sad because I've read the Shardlake books and they are BRILLIANT, so well written and just yes. This however read like Sansom wrote it before, couldn't get it published, then after acclaim with Shardlake could finally publish and the publishers greedy for easy money did it.
It did get better later on and I thought the final 'scene' was written well. With tension etc. Although once again dropping with the 10 months later chapter which was simply a shoddy tying up of threads with random questions that high up officials seemed to weirdly know about nonentities. Hmm.
I also thought there was weird racism in the book. Like yes I get its set in 1950s fascist state etc so there will be racist remarks but some of it was completely not needed and uncalled for. Like at one point this resistance guys dog is named the N word. This was unneeded because the dog literally barks so frankly didn't need a name and also really did not have to be called that at all.
Overall, will not recommend and some major flaws in the book which made me dislike and not enjoy as much. Although some parts were good.
The first half or whatever I would have much rather have read the back of a cereal packet, and I did. This was sad because I've read the Shardlake books and they are BRILLIANT, so well written and just yes. This however read like Sansom wrote it before, couldn't get it published, then after acclaim with Shardlake could finally publish and the publishers greedy for easy money did it.
It did get better later on and I thought the final 'scene' was written well. With tension etc. Although once again dropping with the 10 months later chapter which was simply a shoddy tying up of threads with random questions that high up officials seemed to weirdly know about nonentities. Hmm.
I also thought there was weird racism in the book. Like yes I get its set in 1950s fascist state etc so there will be racist remarks but some of it was completely not needed and uncalled for. Like at one point this resistance guys dog is named the N word. This was unneeded because the dog literally barks so frankly didn't need a name and also really did not have to be called that at all.
Overall, will not recommend and some major flaws in the book which made me dislike and not enjoy as much. Although some parts were good.
the_walrus's review against another edition
2.0
Compelling story, but lazy characters, doesn't leave an lasting impression. Needed tighter editing. Would not recommend
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
3.0
Even though I have read all of the Shardlake novels by C J Sansom and loved them I found Dominion to be completely different. The first half of the novel made me feel very uneasy for reasons I can't really explain. The feelings eased a bit in the second half of the book, when I felt that the style of writing changed completely. I read it to the end but it was a struggle.
2 and 1/2 stars.
2 and 1/2 stars.
unisonlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I like all of Sansom’s work, particularly the Shardlake series but this is quite a big diversion from that and I was unsure what I might make of it. As it happens I thought it was brilliant; I suppose you can loosely call it a thriller but there’s a lot of literary merit here and plenty of research that went in to evaluating the build up to WWII and no little invention in creating the imaginary world where Britain is a colonial tool of the German Empire. The characters are captured really well, with no simple “goodies and baddies” stuff; they’re all flawed in their own way, some more than others and their humanity comes through strongly, even with the Gestapo officer, Gunther. Real historical figures are involved but they show up only sporadically in conversations or news reports that the characters pick up on, something I appreciated since I didn’t want a fictional book about Churchill vs Hitler or something. There are some interesting parallels for our own society as well, usually centred around how we treat “the other”, be they disabled, racially or religiously different. The narrative is built incredibly well and the suspenseful nature of the story is expertly handled. It’s quite a long book at almost 600 pages but it doesn’t feel it. I don’t usually go in for “thrillers” these days but I honestly really enjoyed this.
secre's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst the premise of this novel is interesting, I don’t think it was expertly executed. So much of it focuses on what is actually a fairly mundane plot that it drags along rather than engrossing you in this alternate world. The characters didn’t quite jump off the page at you and they take forever to go anywhere.
The set up is well done and you can see how this alternative history came about, but in reality an 800 page book revolves around a really quite dreary mission that has no bearing on anything in particular anyway. It opens with a real historical scene and from there on the timeline alters, however from the opening scene you would be forgiven for thinking that this is going to be focussed on political figures and high end Resistance missions. It’s not. You are chucked into a single mission and you can’t help but feel that Sansom has really missed a trick here.
I kept having to force myself to pick it back up. I just found it somewhat boring if I’m brutally honest... the writing is well done but it just doesn’t thrill or excite. In fact, I think it’s possibly fair to say that Sansom has neglected crucial aspects of his narrative in order to make a point about Facism. The point is a fair one, but this isn’t a historical treatise, it’s a novel and it really does seem to be missing some crucial elements that make a novel work.
In fact for what is meant to be an alternate historical spy thriller, this just isn’t thrilling and I can’t see how Sansom has managed that. All of the pieces are there but they just aren’t put together in the right ways. The plot revolves around Frank Muncaster, a geologist who has learned a dangerous secret that the Nazi’s want. The problem is that Frank isn’t the right kind of scientist to properly understand any of the mechanics of the secret he has been told and doesn’t know any details anyway, so why there is such a big panic to keep him out of the hands of the Germans I don’t know.
On top of that, all of the characters simply seem flat. There aren’t any complex motivations to make them seem real, it’s very much as black and white as Nazi equals bad, Resistance equals good. Any British who support the Nazi program are Blackshirts and fundamentally bad. Any Nazi is a Nazi and fundamentally bad. All Resistance are good but we are not quite sure why they are actually good. Yet we know that many regular Germans stood by and did nothing out of fear, we know from Milgram that people obey authority without necessarily being bad people, we know that people are not black and white, yet none of this is depicted in this novel.
This would perhaps have been far more exciting and indeed more plausible if Churchill had been given a more leading role rather than lurking in the shadows. The prologue and the epilogue are perhaps the most interesting sections of this novel, and indeed the focus in on key historical and political figures. If Sansom had cut the 500 pages in the middle and replaced them with a politically fraught thriller this would have been a far better book. The focus on mundane characters in a mundane mission about a secret that really wouldn’t do anyone much good anyway simply doesn’t quite work.
Overall it just came across as extraordinarily ordinary and yet at the same time strangely implausible... the historical depth is here but at the expense of interesting characters or a narrative worth writing home about. It isn’t bad writing, but it isn’t excellent or even particularly good. It’s overly long and plodding in pace, the characters are cardboard cut outs that don’t have any real flash or flair and there are no twists or turns that make you sit up and go wow. It’s a mediocre book that is reasonably well written but could be so much better.
The set up is well done and you can see how this alternative history came about, but in reality an 800 page book revolves around a really quite dreary mission that has no bearing on anything in particular anyway. It opens with a real historical scene and from there on the timeline alters, however from the opening scene you would be forgiven for thinking that this is going to be focussed on political figures and high end Resistance missions. It’s not. You are chucked into a single mission and you can’t help but feel that Sansom has really missed a trick here.
I kept having to force myself to pick it back up. I just found it somewhat boring if I’m brutally honest... the writing is well done but it just doesn’t thrill or excite. In fact, I think it’s possibly fair to say that Sansom has neglected crucial aspects of his narrative in order to make a point about Facism. The point is a fair one, but this isn’t a historical treatise, it’s a novel and it really does seem to be missing some crucial elements that make a novel work.
In fact for what is meant to be an alternate historical spy thriller, this just isn’t thrilling and I can’t see how Sansom has managed that. All of the pieces are there but they just aren’t put together in the right ways. The plot revolves around Frank Muncaster, a geologist who has learned a dangerous secret that the Nazi’s want. The problem is that Frank isn’t the right kind of scientist to properly understand any of the mechanics of the secret he has been told and doesn’t know any details anyway, so why there is such a big panic to keep him out of the hands of the Germans I don’t know.
On top of that, all of the characters simply seem flat. There aren’t any complex motivations to make them seem real, it’s very much as black and white as Nazi equals bad, Resistance equals good. Any British who support the Nazi program are Blackshirts and fundamentally bad. Any Nazi is a Nazi and fundamentally bad. All Resistance are good but we are not quite sure why they are actually good. Yet we know that many regular Germans stood by and did nothing out of fear, we know from Milgram that people obey authority without necessarily being bad people, we know that people are not black and white, yet none of this is depicted in this novel.
This would perhaps have been far more exciting and indeed more plausible if Churchill had been given a more leading role rather than lurking in the shadows. The prologue and the epilogue are perhaps the most interesting sections of this novel, and indeed the focus in on key historical and political figures. If Sansom had cut the 500 pages in the middle and replaced them with a politically fraught thriller this would have been a far better book. The focus on mundane characters in a mundane mission about a secret that really wouldn’t do anyone much good anyway simply doesn’t quite work.
Overall it just came across as extraordinarily ordinary and yet at the same time strangely implausible... the historical depth is here but at the expense of interesting characters or a narrative worth writing home about. It isn’t bad writing, but it isn’t excellent or even particularly good. It’s overly long and plodding in pace, the characters are cardboard cut outs that don’t have any real flash or flair and there are no twists or turns that make you sit up and go wow. It’s a mediocre book that is reasonably well written but could be so much better.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
Well done historical fiction with a quietly believable alternate view of England after capitulation to the Nazis.
wendel's review against another edition
3.0
The jury's still out on this one... Not sure what to think of it. The concept is certainly interesting. The story is carefully set up with a complete set of character-introductions. But perhaps that is also what I dislike. The book attempts to be overly complete. Most of the time, you read the same scene multiple times from different points of view. Perhaps some things are better left to imagination.
gmhmeredith's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Every character was interesting and he's obviously based it in a lot of historical fact, which is cool. The ending was a tiny bit rushed, quite a lot happens but it felt a little without impact.