Addictive. Exhilarating. Eye-opening. Christopher Sansom's follow-up to his first novel, Dissolution, is definitely not disappointing. Our hunchbacked hero, idealistic barrister Matthew Shardlake finds himself once again reluctantly in the services of the Machiavellian Lord Cromwell. Anne of Cleaves, the German Princess Cromwell had convinced King Henry VIII to marry to strengthen his ties to mainland Europe, turned out to be a horse-faced, odiferous, German-speaking, country clod that the King couldn't bring himself to procreate with, thus dashing his dreams for another son. Out of favor with the King, Cromwell buys into a plan to introduce the King to an ancient weapon so destructive, the King would probably let him live and retain his services. Though history suggests that Cromwell would have stayed in favor had he helped the King break from the queen, as he did with Anne Boleyn whom he essentially had framed for adultery and had beheaded, Sansom weaves in his fictitious plot filled with murder, mayhem and intrigue, as well as a swordfight or two. It is a dream plot for movie producers, one I hope to see in the big screen soon. As a side bar but not any less compelling is the case Shardlake was originally hired for that Cromwell uses as bait to get Shardlake to accept his commission. A young orphan living in her wealthy uncle's home is accused of the murder of her 12 year old cousin. Refusing to utter a single word in her defense, she is condemned to the press (a torture technique where heavy slabs of stone are placed on the subject's chess until they speak or die - as opposed to the kind of paparazzi that led to Princess Di's untimely death). Cromwell gives Shardlake two weeks, a handsomely roguish assistant, free reign over Londoners, and eventually a horse, so that he can negotiate the sale of "Greek Fire" from the two hustlers who have offered to sell it to Cromwell so that Cromwell can bring it to the King. Unfortunately for Shardlake, murder shadows his every move and every lead eventually turns up dead.
Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to read Sansom's book aside from the sinister plot is the backdrop scenery of 16th Century London Sansom paints for us. Where Dissolution was set in the unforgiving cold (before electric heaters, insulation, and double-paned windows!), Dark Fire, is appropriately set in the torpid heat of a London summer. Squalid. Malodorous. Abysmal. Air condition-less. Sansom captures 16th Century London in all its wretched glory.
Sansom also reveals much of its sordid history. Petty thieves were hung for stealing anything worth one shilling (about 12 pence, or 1/20th of a pound), yet manslaughter is punishable by prison with a possibility of buying a pardon from the King. Refusing to plead warranted the press and heretics, Anabaptists, and all those refusing to accept the King's takeover of the Church were summarily executed by burning at the stake. You could however, denounce your faith and escape execution, which some did. Along with the more serious historical notes, Samson includes the colorful cultural trivias as well. Women blackened their teeth on purpose to show that they mainly lived on fine sugar ( a sign of high class and wealth). Dead people's teeth were mounted on wooden plates to serve as false teeth. The banana was first introduced from the new world. And one must bring his own dinner knife if invited to a dinner party, even if its just a sugar banquet which means desserts only. Though the cultural asides sometimes can seem awkwardly inserted (my only criticism, so far!), they are nevertheless charming and will someday prove useful as cocktail party conversation tidbits or if one is selected to play on Jeopardy!
At the center of the book is the ideological debate the swirls among the three main characters, Shardlake with his ivory tower belief of an established class system necessary in the order of society and unabashed reformist views, Barak, his assistant, mistrustful of the class system but loyal to his murderous master, and Guy Malton, the former monk turned apothecary whose existence provides a canvas for the bigotry and small-mindedness of 16th century England. It is pleasing to see Shardlake change and grow with his adventures, as well as see his trusting nature upended by people he admires. Somehow, Sansom is able to give his readers a history lecture along with his entertaining storytelling, and one is left with an itching desire to go back to the history books (if just to get Henry's wives straight!) to feed the curiosity Sansom has stoked about the seemingly improbable way humanity once conducted its affairs.
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Popular Highlights in this book
‘Man is an angry, savage being. Sometimes faith becomes an excuse for battle. It is no real faith then. In justifying their positions in the name of God, men silence God.’Highlighted by 314 Kindle readers- Truly, as the ancients taught us, there is nothing under the moon, however fine, that is not subject to corruption.Highlighted by 189 Kindle readers
- ‘Why does faith bring out the worst in so many, Guy?’ I blurted out. ‘How is it that it can turn men, papist and reformer both, into brutes?’Highlighted by 142 Kindle readers
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Where's the cover?
I received the book when they said it would arrive. I was very disappointed that the cover was missing tho. This is not what their photo showed. The photo showed the book with the cover, which is what I purchased, not book without cover.
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2010
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Top reviews from other countries
- KaliReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2005
Dark Fire is as HOT as its title
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Danielle EspositoReviewed in France on May 16, 2011
Le deuxième roman, captivant comme le premier
