Revelation: A Gruesome Mystery of Murder and Sin from the Bestselling Historical Series (The Shardlake Series Book 4)

This is the second book I have read by this author and it certainly hasn’t disappointed. I will definitely be reading more.

Great storeytelling. Historically dramatic and convincing.So called anachronisms crop up, in partular in conversations. Probaby makes for easy reading. He can obviouly create top bestsellers.

Great series. Un put down able

I borrowed the whole series of the Shardlake books from a friend and liked them so much I've bought my own copies to read again. They are set in the Tudor era and each book has Shardlake (a lawyer) solving a crime. The books could be read as stand alone stories but I would recommend reading them in chronological order as there's always the Tudor events intermingled with the crime that Shardlake has been appointed to solve, at the behest of senior members of the Tudor Court. At times Shardlake is himself at risk but this does not stop him from solving the crime. Like so many he also has enemies and becomes involved in the politics of the Tudor Court. Each of the crimes is a 'Tudor' crime rather than a modern one in an historical context. I found myself being able to 'see' the characters and the scenes due to the author's brilliant writing style. Sansom is a graduate from Birmingham University and has a PhD in history. He subsequently retrained as a solicitor which prompted him to make Shardlake, the central character, a lawyer.I thoroughly recommend these books to anyone interested in Tudor history and crime.

Having thought that Shardlake hung up his detecting laurels after the traumas of the last book (Sovereign), we thought we had seen the last of him. But his reappearance has got hearts racing and excitement levels raised - because Sansom is undoubtedly a great thriller writer - with an incredible eye for historical detail and nuances to boot. What more could you want in an historical novel. As Colin Dexter said in his review of the earlier books, Sansom makes the past feel like the present.This book drags Shardlake, Barak & Guy into a grizzly world of a religious fanatic serial killer who is driven by a scary misreading of the Book of Revelation. These three are modern heroes - they are our guides in a world that is at one level so alien from ours (with the twists and turns of religious battles affecting the lives of countless mortals, from London butchers caught selling meat during Lent to the priggish hypocrisy of reformist clergy dominating the lives of their parishioners); and yet as Sansom mentions in his afterword, one which bears uncomfortable resonances in to our era, intimidated as it is by the terrorism and implacable hatred of zealots.I suppose as someone who is a Christian, and who is equally horrified by the lengths people's principles enable them to go, I am disappointed that there are few sympathetic characters in London's religious world. Perhaps that is accurate. Cranmer is the only one who seems really to draw our empathy in this murky world - forced daily, even hourly, to exist in the tension between principle and pragmatism.But that is not so much a criticism of the book as an observation - because historical novels tend to say more about the era in which they are written than the period they describe. And that is very much the spirit of the age. It doesn't detract from the book, though. It was gripping as ever - and investigates some serious problems and questions - such as the nature of madness, the cruelties of those in power, the absurdities of a monarch's marital whims causing societal earthquakes. But above all - this is all weaved into a great story. And that is what makes Sansom such a satisfying writer. Let's hope Shardlake returns for more! And that they don't go and ruin it by trying to make a TV series of them all, and thus obliterate all the skillful complexities!

I'd recently finished Alison Weir's latest book about Catherine Parr so I was delighted to see that this book (fourth in the series) begins as Henry VIII is wooing Catherine whilst stirring up the predictable religious chaos with members of the court moving from Catholicism to a more reformist agenda then back again.Shardlake had worked hard in the first three books - I was expecting more danger, mystery and drama which was all delivered.It's another big book - 624 pages split into 46 chapters.As always the author picks up on the mood of society at the time of the story with both Shardlake and his assistant being aware of the latest gossip and societal changes. We can look back with the benefit of 450 years of advancement at a representation of 1543 which is portrayed in an authentic way.The plots weave together the totally fictional and the historical facts with plenty of grey in between, challenged any reader to be certain about where lines are drawn.Barak, the assistant, works very well in the story as he allows Shardlake to explain his thought processes and he is capable of enacting the physical side of the investigations where needed.Throughout the book there are wonderful snippets of historical information, for example, an explanation of why Westminster Abbey is called an abbey rather than the cathedral that it is.Henry VIII is an important part of this story with Catherine's influence becoming stronger as the plot moves on. Neither appears to any significant degree yet are always close by.The core of the plot surrounds a series of murders with a modern feeling due to the connections and theme. The term "serial killer" was not used in Tudor times but any 21st century reader will recognise the pattern and escalation, making this book a modern read despite it's setting.London is a prominent character in the book. It's population is 60,000 and the countryside is very easily accessed. Shardlake often refers to areas and specific streets that will be familiar to the reader which makes the book a comfortable read.Many review describe this as gripping but I wouldn't go as far as that. It is a good read but I found it was easy to put down - the depth of the historical background is rich but the volume of description make it a thick book - maybe a little less description would make the plot tighter and the book more compelling.Many strands emerge from the investigations, most of which are not directly connected to the murder which is reminiscent of real life. Everything needs Shardlake's attention and it is only when some of the periphery problems are resolved that the murderer starts to become clear.

Great book

io sto leggendo tutta la serie in inglese, secondo me varrebbe la pena che qualcuno li traducesse in italiano.Ho qualche riserva solo sul primo perchè mi ha fatto venire in mente (ovviamente non con lo stesso spessore) " Il nome della rosa". Per il resto la trama del giallo è buona e un po' diversa da quello tradizionale, trattandosi di romanzi storici. La Storia (ho verificato!) è quella vera.

Addictive, fascinating, excellent book, part of a series, recommended to anyone interested in the human side of Tudor life - very well described scenery, aspects of daily life, you are there in the midst of it all!

I find all the Shardlake novels entertaining y very interesting. They are also very illustrative of bow society functioned in the Tudor period. You really don't get any idea from the history books on just how hard life was for the majority of the people. We have certainly progressed a hell of a lot especially in medicine and our social structure. This particular novel also moved a little faster than some of the others and was more action packed.

This edition of cjs shardlake series does not disappoint. Accurate historical references, complex, yet compelling plot had meeting eagerly reading until the last page.

1543年春、世間では６人目の妃キャサリン・パーが誕生かと噂している。その一方、改革派カンタベリー主教クランマーと守旧派カソリックの暗闘が激化し、社会に息詰まる緊張がみなぎっている。そんな中、シャードレイクが引き受けたのは自分が救われない罪人と絶望に陥った若者の救済だった。そしてある日、友人の弁護士が惨殺される。真っ赤に染まった噴水に突っ込まれていたのだ。やがておぞましい殺人事件が次から次へと・・・タイトルは黙示録のこと。連続猟奇殺人は黙示録に触発されていたのだ！！当時の宗教対立が生んだ憎悪が黙示録と出会っておぞましい殺意に昇華する、その時代の息遣いが見事に描かれている。これが無ければ最近よくあるサイコパスによる猟奇連続殺人の焼き直しに過ぎなかった。624頁が一気に読める。最後の解説も役に立つし、英語もとても読み易い。