A review by grassangel
Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom

3.0

While the full cast audio of [b:Sovereign|35427034|Sovereign (Matthew Shardlake, #3)|C.J. Sansom|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497352674l/35427034._SX50_.jpg|1698960] was engaging and intriguing enough throughout to tempt me to read the entire series, this would not have done so if I had listened to it first. Perhaps I hindered myself by reading the novel first with its oppressive air of summer heat and the steady pressure of numbered days passing by, but this adaptation lacked atmosphere. It's a capable adaptation - being somewhat abridged it lacks details, though nothing's shuffled around too much in the streamlining of the plot - but it feels like it relies too much on merely having actors to add personality to the characters and build relationships between them. Some of this is probably a result of trying to fit everything into just over two hours of run time - yes the plot has been streamlined a little, but there's still an awful lot of going back and forth and the slow trickle of information and bare characterisation does not work well with the time limit this adaptation has.