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Revelation (Matthew Shardlake 4)

Author: C.j. Sansom
Publisher: Macmillan
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

10 reviews
Sales Rank: 13

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 452
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 2.1

ISBN: 1405092726
EAN: 9781405092722
ASIN: 1405092726

Publication Date: April 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Unwanted gift

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - Revelation

Similar Items:

•	Dark Fire (Matthew Shardlake 2)
•	Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake 1)
•	Sovereign (Matthew Shardlake 3)
•	The Girl of His Dreams
•	The Lady Elizabeth

Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

SUPERB.................................. May 7, 2008
An excellent contribution to the Matthew Shardlake Saga. The bodies drop in rapid succession, the murderer inspired by the Book of Revelations.
A lengthy book, it is sometimes repetitive and there is the odd printing error, however, it is a cracking good yarn. The characters are interesting and well developed, and frankly, I found it difficult to put down.
The book ends at the time of Henry VIII's sixth marriage, and I am hoping that Mr Sansom will continue with this marvellous series.
Readers would be advised to start with "Dissolution" the first of the saga, and read on from there, but each book stands quite well on its own.
This is a super book and I would certainly read it again.

5 out of 5 stars

NOT A SPOILER!!!! Fantastic return from Mr Sansom! May 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

fantastic return to form. this book continues the story of our hero Shardlake on his fourth adventure. it doesnt take long for the action to begin and this time the killings are more gruesome than ever!!! the plot and characters leave you guessing who did it until they're revealed but that could just be me. fantastic read and a nice gruesome depiction of england at it's most turbulent time!!!(less importantly of course)but very nice looking book as well!

4 out of 5 stars

A gripping read - but annoyingly error-strewn April 24, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I think this is a big improvement over 'Sovereign', which I found very laboured.
There's no doubt this is a gripping read, even though it's a rather improbable Tudor serial killer story. Once again, it was also pretty easy to work out mid-way through whodunnit - think Mr Sansom needs to get a bit better at keeping us guessing, but this doesn't detract from the read overall. You certainly want to get to the end, and the characters are generally well drawn and involving.
What's really annoying is that the anachronisms and silly errors persist from the earlier books in the series.
At one point, Shardlake (the hero) describes the killer as 'a sadist'. How can a Tudor person 250 years before de Sade, possibly use the term 'a sadist'? It just spoils the otherwise generally authentic flavour.
Someone else (Sir Thomas Seymour, a rather pantomimic figure) describes the type of young man he favours in his household as 'sporty'. This is just so comically Blackadderish ('well, young Bob, you're a sporty young feller and no mistake') that it screams inauthenticity.
These occasional gaffes take the shine off what should otherwise be a well written novel.
Worse still are major plot bungles: at one point, the killer is nearly apprehended and has to abandon something - a very large item - I won't spoil it by saying what - in the street. And yet several chapters later, when the killer's lair is eventually found, said large item is found there. How?
Seems the author forgot the killer had already legged it and abandoned the item concerned in the street several chapters earlier.
There were similar boo-boos in the previous books. Are these down to the author, or to lazy, over-hasty editing?
Or are these books, clearly commercially successful, just getting churned out a little too fast?
It's a shame, because these could be great books. As it is, they're are undeniably enjoyable, but spoiled by odd little mistakes and a lack of attention to detail. A good read nonetheless, but I wish Mr Sansom's editor would raise his or her game a bit.

5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, educational escapism April 24, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

They don't sound like Tudor people and some of their attitudes are very obviously 21st century but the detail is cleverly done and the plots hang together. Sansom is good at creating characters that are believable and fixing the story firmly in the politics of the time; there is no doubt about it, the series is a very entertaining one which has been scrupulously researched. In any case, having studied Tudor literature, I am very certain that if they sounded Tudor the books would be unreadable.

Out of the four novels so far (and I hope there are more) this is probably the most interesting and harrowing. I found `Sovereign' a little thin plotwise but whatever was lacking there is made up for here. This has a strong sense of direction towards the final denouement. I worked out who the serial killer had to be very early on (I'm afraid I've worked out every story so far; I'm irritating like that) so it was amusing to watch Matthew gradually catch up with me but perhaps it was easier for me because he knew by then who the killer is and left sufficient clues - perhaps unconsciously (see how believable it is).

I can recommend the series. Matthew is not a detective who gets things right all the time, he has faults and flaws and a bad temper but it is the fact that he isn't perfect that makes him so appealing and realistic. What is appealing too is that the waifs and strays he picks up along the way are woven into the history. He has developed a better relationship with the horse Genesis who in `Dark Fire' he complains about as having not much of a personality but by `Sovereign' the horse is clearly pleased to see him. By now, Matthew has learned to appreciate his strength and sees him as a friend. Guy too has developed and is gradually becoming a more accepted part of the community.

Matthew doesn't have much luck with women though and I wonder if Sansom will relent and give him a break. The poor guy seems to have very little going for him and as each novel appears he seems to become more and more physically frail. Again, given that each novel has a space of a year or more between them in Matthew's life, this is well captured by Sansom.

I very rarely read novels these days, preferring fact so I'm choosey about what I spend my time on. But I have to say, this is an author I look out for. His books are fun, pure escapism and some history along the way so that even whilst I'm being entertained , I can pick up some facts along the way.

I read the novels in order and I recommend doing that if you want to get the impact of the characterisation but in fact each of the novels stands very well alone and Sansom explains sufficient of his background for a reader to start the series anywhere. Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars

This book is educational but highly entertaining and engaging. April 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I am absolutely hooked on the Shardlake novels by C J Sansom. Being born in 1977, my state education did not seem to see it fit to teach me anything of Tudor England, I therefore feel shamefully ignorant over my own country's political/social history and are lazily filling in the gaps about the Tudors by reading novels like this! I'm reliably informed by the author himself that he has researched the novel with historical accuracy wherever possible..that's good enough for me.
I am of the view that these novels get better and better. Sansom manages to weave breathtakingly 3 dimensional descriptions into his prose without you ever thinking "here we go i am now reading a huge paragraph of description about this scene." It feels like I am following Shardlake around the whole time and that he is sharing all his thoughts and worries with me; this suits me down to the the ground I am a 'people person' and feel privileged to be let in on their inner most thoughts and understanding what makes them tick.
Sanom's use of part of the prophecy of revelation in the book (don't want to give too much away for those who haven't read it) is a stroke of genius as it also allows the author to explore the climate of Christian views at the time both of the domineering "religious leaders"and the ordinary folk of the day which then had a profound influence on both peoples mind sets, attitudes and relationships. It is here that we really feel for Matthew as he struggles in his personal relationship with God and has to deal on a professional capacity with people with fervent views of a certain stance in the biblical understanding of Christianity.
I would recommend this book for anyone but especially folks like me with poor knowledge of Tudor England and for those interested in biblical theology as it helps us in some way understand how the bible was interpreted and used at this time in history.