Revelation

A Matthew Shardlake Mystery

By: C. J. Sansom

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake mysteries whisk listeners back in time to the tumultuous court of King Henry VIII. Shardlake has his hands full this time defending a young religious fanatic who has been thrown into Bedlam. On top of that, Shardlake's friend is murdered, and the quest to find the killer leads Shardlake right to the steps of the king's latest romantic conquest, Catherine Parr.

©2008 C.J. Sansom (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent history lesson

Gives real insight into our forbears and reminds us the more things change the more we realize human nature does not really change.

Love this series!

I love Matthew Shardlake. The novel is well written and the period details are great.

What a ride!

Okay, it moves a bit slow at times but this book packs plenty of tension and mystery. I was able to figure some things out before Master Shardlake yet that did not dim my enjoyment one whit! The time covered was one of religious strife in England. I came away with a new appreciation of what an intelligent person in England must have gone through during those time. I also came away with a real sense of just how EVIL Henry VIII was.
This man brought terror to a land that had been fairly content.

Each book keeps getting better

I love long books that keep me interested and entertained on my long drives to and from work and this book does not disappoint. Looking forward to the next in the series.

An excellent portrayal of Henry the eighth's time

Shardlake and his sidekick Jack, narrowly escape death again, but despite knowing that there are more adventures to come, you really wonder if he can make it this time.....

Tudor Lawyer/Detective - Sansom's Punching Bag

Would you listen to Revelation again? Why?

CJ Sansom takes prodigious care to paint his plot and the Tudor London which surrounds it (perhaps too much, if you are a reader who prefers fiction to move along in the third person, rather than with the much slower pace of first-person dialogue). This mystery, like the previous ones in the series, skillfully blends historical truth (eg., Henry VIII's health, the rising conflict between more Reformed and more Catholic-leaning members of his court, the parlous position of Katharine Parr, the effete and power-hungry Sir Thomas Seymour, the horrors of Tudor Bedlam, the filth of the London sewer system, and the dreadful, hide-bound ignorance of Aristotelian "medicine") with a ghastly plot. In this instance, Lawyer Shardlake and his assistant, Jack Barak, seek to find a gruesome serial killer. As usual (it seems Sansom has established this as his pattern), these detectives suffer great physical and mental anguish as they wend their way towards accomplishing their goal. Sansom (I think) delights in portraying truly nasty personalities with evil, self-centered motives. Shardlake is the only character operating under altruistic motives. If this mystery were portrayed cinematographically, it would be the blackest of film noir.

What did you like best about this story?

The description of Tudor London.

What does Steven Crossley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Crossley attemptes to voice the different characters differently - but frankly, I think the range and number of characters in this book extend beyond his ability to distinguish each by sound. I'm not sure any actor could successfully portray a clear vocal delineation between so many characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The continuous suffering of Shardlake, the almost-omnipresent loathing, mocking, and hatred against him, whether by out and out villains, corrupt officials, or personages seeking to protect their own gain (and necks) is becoming rather wearisome. Hence the reason for my removal of a star from my rating concerning "story" and "overall."

Any additional comments?

Except for Matthew Shardlake, there are only shades of blackest black and grey in this mystery. Borrowing from the Bible, perhaps he is too "innocent as a dove" - he needs to incorporate a bit of (self-serving) serpent's wisdom into his actions.

Another mesmerizing story from CJ Sansom

Forget Wolf Hall – the Mathew Shardlake stories will teach you more than you could ever retain about the politics and the life of the court and of the lower orders in Henry the eighth England Not to mention the power of religious but fanaticism to pervert common sense and morality. AND keep you listening long after you should put it down and come back to it the next day. These stories are hugely entertaining and full of memorable characters and I can't wait for the next one!

Great series

Great books! The themes for the books carry through
Wonderfully suspenseful
With several different story lines

What an author CJ Sansom is!

Fourth book I've read in the series and just loved it! What a fabulous writer and what an exciting story. The way that the author, CJ Sansom, wrote the story made It easy for me to become absorbed in living in that era with all of that religious tension. It was also easy to engross myself in the Tudor England period.

I enjoyed getting to know the character Guy, a former monk who is now a doctor. It was also very interesting and funny to learn about the false teeth that were becoming popular!

Once again, excellent narration by Steven Crossley!

can't stop listening

I just finished listening to this book for the 6th time. I love it every time. I am a huge CJ Sansom fan and this is one of the best in the Shardlake series.