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Ratings29
Average rating4.2
C.J. Sansom's Dark Fire is a richly atmospheric and suspenseful historical mystery that continues the adventures of hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake in 16th century Tudor England. This time, the action is set in 1540 amid the volatile politics and tensions surrounding Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Shardlake is called to investigate the bizarre and horrific death of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners at the mansion of a Greek scholar. What initially appears to be a tragic accident soon reveals itself as a twisted case of murder involving long-buried secrets and dangerous conspiracies.
As with the previous books in the Shardlake series, Sansom's painstaking research and grasp of the period shines through on every page. Readers will feel utterly transported to the gritty, vividly rendered streets of London and the oppressive climate of religious and political tensions under Henry VIII's reign. Authentic period language and details immerse you fully in the era.
The highly intelligent and principled Shardlake continues to be a magnetic lead protagonist whose moral courage in pursuit of justice makes him eminently rootable. His relationships with the supporting cast like the fool Barak further enrich the narrative's emotional depth.
Sansom has a true gift for constructing intricate, labyrinthine plots full of endless twists and red herrings. The pace is tautly suspenseful while allowing for nuanced historical context and social commentary. Perhaps the ending gets slightly too convoluted and mystical toward the climax, but the resolution still feels wholly satisfying.
With its lethal blend of thrills, compelling characters, and immersive authenticity, Dark Fire is another riveting and transporting historical novel from Sansom. I give it a hearty 4 out of 5 stars and recommendation, especially for fans of the genre. Sansom's Shardlake series goes from strength to strength.
A perfect sequel
The first book in this series introduced you to the main character and tried to give you an understanding of the climate of England during the early-mid 1500s. This book continues this theme whilst giving you even more insight into the political movements whilst producing a simple wonderful story with incredibly thought out characters. It is very hard to make characters feel real whilst also making them seem nice. Nice people in real life lose their temper, say mean things and sometimes make questionable decisions. You far too often see “nice” characters always just doing the “right” thing. Characters in this book don't and it made my truly appreciate them more!
This was a pretty good read overall. Somewhere between three and four stars. There are a couple of mystery plots, and one of them was more interesting to me than the other. Oddly for me, the one I enjoyed more was a family drama, and the other was about court intrigue, etc.
There's also a friendship plot, which I enjoyed very much. Shardlake has to work with a cynical street tough. It looks like he'll continue as a sidekick, and I look forward to his appearance in future books.
It's very difficult to focus on books that are new to me right now, so I'm very glad I was able to finish this. I'll continue with this series at some point. It's a little dull, but that's a good escape for me sometimes.
