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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I read this a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. A bit different to Matthew Reilly's other works.
There was a lot of sex in it, and it was quite graphic. I understand the reasoning behind it, but it was still rather gratuitous at times, especially since one of the characters was describing various parties (which were basically orgies) to another character. I felt that the sex could have been more alluded to than spelt out, and the second character's reaction described would have allowed readers to work out what sort of things were going on at these parties.
But other than that, it was a fun read, an interesting take on an event that may or may not have taken place in the 16th century, and a little slower paced than Reilly's mile-a-minute action/adventure thrillers!
There was a lot of sex in it, and it was quite graphic. I understand the reasoning behind it, but it was still rather gratuitous at times, especially since one of the characters was describing various parties (which were basically orgies) to another character. I felt that the sex could have been more alluded to than spelt out, and the second character's reaction described would have allowed readers to work out what sort of things were going on at these parties.
But other than that, it was a fun read, an interesting take on an event that may or may not have taken place in the 16th century, and a little slower paced than Reilly's mile-a-minute action/adventure thrillers!
The Tournament was considered a departure for thriller author Matthew Reilly when it appeared in 2013, as it featured no high-tech gear, a teenaged girl and her teacher as protagonists and not a lot of fisticuffery.
Of course, since it's a hidden few months in the life of Queen Elizabeth I before she took the throne and it's set in 1546-47, some changes could be expected.
Suleiman the Magnificent, the greatest Ottoman Sultan, has called on the rulers of the nations in Europe and even in Asia to send forth their best champions of chess for a tournament in Constantinople. England's candidate, selected by King Henry VIII, is a friend to Roger Ascham, the tutor to Princess Elizabeth. Roger decides to travel with the caravan and take his teenaged charge away from a palace threatened by the plague and swarming with intrigue. He also reasons it will help broaden her experience should she ever have to take the throne of England. Once in Constantinople, the English contingent is enthralled by the ancient and exotic city, as well as surrounded by a host of other historical characters, like Michelangelo, Ignatius of Loyola, Ivan the Terrible and Suleiman himself. But they also find foul murder afoot, and Suleiman enlists Roger's keen mind and deductive reasoning to solve the crime. Elizabeth, acting like a mix of Dr. Watson and Nancy Drew, accompanies him so he can keep watch on her.
The Tournament carries with it a lot of issues, ranging from cultural to religious, but probably not that many more than a lot of suspense thrillers and murder mysteries do. Yes, the religious leaders of the story are almost uniformly vile and vice-ridden, the Muslim Turks treacherous, sneaky cheaters, and I don't remember if any villain ever actually twirls a mustache but if not it's because he's clean-shaven. The chess match conceit is supposed to offer the book a structure as Ascham tries to outwit an opponent as he would if they faced each other across a board, but it's pretty flimsy. And Ascham offers Reilly an excellent example for how to see the 16th century through a 21st century center-left political and cultural lens as he drips disdain on all the backward folks that we would drip disdain upon were we to meet them.
Still, much of that could be forgiven, but... The Tournament challenges the Implausibility Barrier with Suleiman, Ivan, Ignatius, Michelangelo and Elizabeth gathered in the same place and time for a chess tournament. In order to coerce disbelief into hanging from that high a wire, it needs one thing above all others: Fun. There are plenty of lurid sex scenes courtesy of a lusty teenage lady-in-waiting and her eagerness to describe them to Elizabeth, as well as the rich and powerful who slake their lusts upon the poor and powerless. There's plenty of Ascham bemoaning the superstitious yokels with which this time and place have saddled him and commiserating with Michelangelo about the doof-itude of the undeserving rich and powerful. But there is so little fun served up on a table set for that kind of whimsy that long before The Tournament ends, you're reading just so you can find out who did it and get out of that book.
Original available here.
Of course, since it's a hidden few months in the life of Queen Elizabeth I before she took the throne and it's set in 1546-47, some changes could be expected.
Suleiman the Magnificent, the greatest Ottoman Sultan, has called on the rulers of the nations in Europe and even in Asia to send forth their best champions of chess for a tournament in Constantinople. England's candidate, selected by King Henry VIII, is a friend to Roger Ascham, the tutor to Princess Elizabeth. Roger decides to travel with the caravan and take his teenaged charge away from a palace threatened by the plague and swarming with intrigue. He also reasons it will help broaden her experience should she ever have to take the throne of England. Once in Constantinople, the English contingent is enthralled by the ancient and exotic city, as well as surrounded by a host of other historical characters, like Michelangelo, Ignatius of Loyola, Ivan the Terrible and Suleiman himself. But they also find foul murder afoot, and Suleiman enlists Roger's keen mind and deductive reasoning to solve the crime. Elizabeth, acting like a mix of Dr. Watson and Nancy Drew, accompanies him so he can keep watch on her.
The Tournament carries with it a lot of issues, ranging from cultural to religious, but probably not that many more than a lot of suspense thrillers and murder mysteries do. Yes, the religious leaders of the story are almost uniformly vile and vice-ridden, the Muslim Turks treacherous, sneaky cheaters, and I don't remember if any villain ever actually twirls a mustache but if not it's because he's clean-shaven. The chess match conceit is supposed to offer the book a structure as Ascham tries to outwit an opponent as he would if they faced each other across a board, but it's pretty flimsy. And Ascham offers Reilly an excellent example for how to see the 16th century through a 21st century center-left political and cultural lens as he drips disdain on all the backward folks that we would drip disdain upon were we to meet them.
Still, much of that could be forgiven, but... The Tournament challenges the Implausibility Barrier with Suleiman, Ivan, Ignatius, Michelangelo and Elizabeth gathered in the same place and time for a chess tournament. In order to coerce disbelief into hanging from that high a wire, it needs one thing above all others: Fun. There are plenty of lurid sex scenes courtesy of a lusty teenage lady-in-waiting and her eagerness to describe them to Elizabeth, as well as the rich and powerful who slake their lusts upon the poor and powerless. There's plenty of Ascham bemoaning the superstitious yokels with which this time and place have saddled him and commiserating with Michelangelo about the doof-itude of the undeserving rich and powerful. But there is so little fun served up on a table set for that kind of whimsy that long before The Tournament ends, you're reading just so you can find out who did it and get out of that book.
Original available here.
historical thriller based in the ottoman empire in the mid 16th century with the future queen elizabeth with her teacher and group to a chess tournament held by the sultan, where murders happened and follow her teacher as he tries to solve the mystery and crimes. felt the book could of been slightly shorter
A departure from Reilly's normal stuff, and also a departure for me. Reilly is one of my favorite authors and this book is just one of only 2 I haven't read yet by him, so I wanted to get to it. It kept my interest. The religion crap bored the tar outta me, but all the rest and the murder mystery was engaging. Very neat fiction about very real people! Detailed review to come.