Robert Wilkerson
2.5 stars. The episodic nature of the narrative hindered the flow of the story, but since it covers about 40 years (if you count the flashbacks to William's childhood) I guess it made sense. I probably would have liked it more if I hadn't recently read George Martin's Knight of the Seven Kingdoms which presents another take on the “penniless knight making good through the tournament circuit” theme. Martin's stories are not set in a real medieval Europe of course, but there is a liveliness about them this lacks.
I'm bumping it up a half star because of Chadwick's fidelity to her source material. I studied Marshal years ago as a graduate student in medieval history and was happy to see names I hadn't read or thought about in a long time in this novelization of Marshal's life. Nothing stood out as too outlandish or utterly unbelievable, which is much more than I can say for some other “historical” fiction.
A disappointing read for a number of reasons. I had hoped this book would focus on the interaction of Western and Chinese culture, and it did to some extent, but mostly in the context of the struggle between Hart's Christian faith and his physical desire for his Chinese concubines. Hart became an integral part of the Chinese imperial administration, but his impact is often “told” and seldom “shown.”
The quality of writing is amateurish. The dialog is often horrible — either exposition masquerading as speech or just unbelievable. The prose is wooden; declarative sentence after declarative sentence. If it weren't for the many lurid sex scenes and occasional gory battle or execution, one could almost imagine this was written for a young audience.
Despite what I can only hope are the author's best intentions, it was difficult to accept this as a serious look at an important historical figure.
3 stars, rounded up to 3.5
Classic noir entertainment and a very enjoyable read. I couldn't help hearing Bogart's voice narrating the terse prose, which was fun at the beginning, but grated by the end.
I was leaning toward a rating closer to 4 stars, but Marlowe's tough guy act wore thin over the course of the novel. I never entirely connected with Marlowe. Are we expected to believe that he's a martyr to his rigid yet opaque ideals of honor and justice? He spends a lot of time and energy berating others for their shortcomings, but doesn't bat an eye when he makes a pass at or attempts to seduce married women. He feels aggrieved and misunderstood, but you never get a good feel for what makes him do the things he does.
The 50s slang hasn't always aged well, but Chandler does a great job of putting the reader into southern California in the years after WWII. Chandler's description of a landscape and city that I'm sure have now changed beyond recognition is excellent.
2.5 stars
A very slight mystery (two stars) set in an interesting time period (bumped up half a star). England in the last era of the Viking wars is the setting. Cnut has just finished his conquest of England, and undertakes to unite the various ethnic groups in his fractious kingdom. A murder occurs on the eve of the Witenagemot, where the assembled nobles are due to give their assent to Cnut's overlordship. The murder threatens to undo Cnut's efforts to cement the various factions in his new realm.
Enter the protagonists, Winston the Illuminator and Halfdan, his companion. Winston is a former monk, who mastered the art of manuscript illumination while a novice. He left his monastery after a falling out with the abbot, but his skills are very much in demand. He encountered Halfdan (who, as his name implies, is half Danish and half Saxon) on the road to Oxford, to which Winston has been summoned to illuminate a manuscript for Cnut's wife. Halfdan's father died fighting against Cnut in the recent war, and the small family estate that would have been Halfdan's has been taken by the king. Halfdan recognizes Cnut's right to the estate as victor in the war, but the loss of his nobility still stings.
Just after Winston and Halfdan arrive in Oxford and present themselves to the royal court, a murder is committed. After Winston makes an astute observation about the victim, Cnut orders Winston and Halfdan to solve the murder in three days.
The heart of the novel shows Winston and Halfdan negotiating not only the competing ethnic groups that have assembled to pledge fealty to the new king, but also the king himself, who may be playing a different game. Winston is portrayed as the brains of the operation (while he doesn't always communicate to Halfdan what exactly he is thinking), while Halfdan is the brawn. Halfdan himself makes a few crucial insights into the case, however.
The murder plot itself is not exactly a page-turner, and the identity of the perpetrator is not hard to figure out. There is not really a lot of tension in the book at all, despite what the king might do to Winston and Halfdan if they don't solve the murder. To be honest, for such a slight book, the pace is rather plodding. What keeps the book going and ultimately saves it, however, is the excellent description of the various groups that comprised the English “nation” at this point: Saxons, Angles, Danes, Jutes and Vikings. The tension between the groups is also felt, and their competing interests well-integrated into the story.
2.5 stars. A literary and historical allusion buffet. The references to mythology, literature and history are fun at first but eventually detract from the book. I often found myself focusing on “this person/situation sounds familiar - where have I heard it before?” instead of the book I was reading. That said, the plot is very thin.
The protagonist (Clarence Shandon, aka Silverlock) is initially characterized as a selfish, incurious heel, seemingly untouched by the world – both his own 1940s era United States, as well as the fantastical Commonwealth into which he finds himself transplanted. This ennui and self-centeredness are challenged throughout the book as Shandon encounters people and situations that work to undermine his indifference.
It is really a book of thirds. The first third introduces Shandon to the Commonwealth through a series of (very) loosely connected episodes. This portion of the book was the hardest to get through, and I set the book down often. Shandon Silverlock meets his guide (Golias, aka Taliesin/Orpheus) in the first scene after being tossed into the sea from a sinking ship. He then finds himself stranded on an island (part of the Commonwealth) and then wanders through several episodes, meeting, among others, Circe, Robin Hood, and Brian Boru.
The middle section has a more cohesive plot, as Golias and Silverlock help Lucius Jones reunite with his estranged lover. This section references portions of the Golden Ass by Apuleius when Jones is turned into a donkey, as well as the raft scene from Huckleberry Finn.
The last third is an epic quest, which takes Silverlock to the Underworld. Faust and the Inferno figure heavily here.
The author's writing style takes some getting used to. There is plenty of early- to mid-20th century American slang (I kept waiting for someone to shout “23 Skidoo!” after one of the several miraculous escapes), which only serves to date the book. Also, the tendency of characters to burst into song (or poetry) grates at times.
There are countless allusions to various works of history, literature and mythology. The ones I mentioned above are just a drop in the bucket. But on the whole, this works better as a teaser for the works that are referenced throughout than it does as a stand alone novel. But maybe that is the point of the novel? If there is a theme, it is the power of literature (as embodied by the Commonwealth) to edify and redeem, as Shandon Silverlock emerges from his travails with a new sense of wonder and engagement with the world.