Once again, the twisted frame of the medieval lawyer Shardlake is more than compensated for by his well tuned mind. We are willing to suspend our disbelief when the flawed hero brings his anachronistic sympathies to bear on filthy beggar children who are rude to him and dear old horses who die under him. Thoroughly entertaining.

In this Second novel Dark Fire, two stories have been entwined over a twelve day period; C. J Sansom has brought us forward three years to 1540, the hottest summer of the 16th century. Based in London where brutality of life is harsh, noisome, sweat, stench and greed is everywhere. Thomas Cromwell's position as chief of staff for King Henry VIII is filled with great uncertainty, for the King is preparing to dump yet another wife Anne of Cleves. Sansom has also questioned Hunchback London lawyer Matthew Shardlake views after his Dissolution experience, he is now less sure of his political position, religious convictions and more sceptical of others.

Shardlake had been trying to keep a low profile; business had not been great since he had been out of favour with Cromwell. A case had come his way unexpectedly by helping an old friend's niece. Even though the Judge ruled against Shardlake in court, he suddenly had a change of heart outside of it; the Judge agreed to a stay of execution for two weeks. But Shardlake was about to realise darker forces had intervened, Cromwell's network had been doing overtime and the girl was only to keep a longer life span if Shardlake was to help his old nemesis, another pressing matter awaited.

Cromwell had witnessed with his own eyes a demonstration of Greek fire or Byzantine fire of liquid. It was capable of discharging a stream of burning fluid effective on both sea and land, inextinguishable, dreaded and feared by any enemy on attack. The secret behind Greek fire was handed down from one emperor to another and no one else had been able to produce it, but in history the formula had been lost long ago. What a war weapon to behold, not to mention it would put Cromwell back in favour with the King, whom he'd already promised a demonstration to, in two weeks. The problem was these men who had held the liquid formula were shrewd, willing for it to go to the highest bidder either in England or overseas; this was conspiracy against the King. Shardlake's commission was to find out about these men, quietly, also obtain the formula and source of Dark Fire, Cromwell appointed a minder for this dangerous mission one Jack Barak, the chase across London Begins.

Fantastic! Sansom gives us a broad view of politics in the Tudor era, conspiracies of court, a political system based on birth not merit, the division between church and state, prisoners who are tried without representation, housing and sewage problems, even Jack Barak is mocked for being the descendant of Jews. Shardlake is given plenty of scope to debate the morality of the world. Sansom does a great job of weaving real history with fiction so it flows remains easy to read and understandable.

This book is longer than Dissolution, but it's so enjoyable it's not noticeable, with its history and mixes of real names in history such as Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Howard The Duke of Norfolk even an overview of Henry VIII and his wives entwined with fictitious characters. Mathew Shardlake is a great fiction character at last given the opportunity for some sexual tension between him and a lady of higher standing. But adding the character Jack Barak to this novel is a wonderful touch of writing; Shardlake and Barak complement each other. Shardlake's quiet, logical and has formality, Barak's younger, slightly arrogant, rough and ready with touches of violence if needed and an eye for the ladies, the two get into no end of trouble.

Thoroughly enjoyable History. Highly Recommended!

Andrea Bowhill ( )

Plot-wise and historical detail wise, this kept me very intrigued, informed and entertained. Historical mysteries can get hung up in too much detail and explanation or too little; assuming the reader has as much knowledge as the author when it comes to the time period described. Sanson adroitly sidestepped both pitfalls. I was neither bored nor patronized. Sanson also avoided hero-worship by placing a fictional character central in the story and allowing real historical figures to play supporting roles only.

Brother Shardlake, a lawyer, is our central figure. He has a disfigurement in the form of a hunched back and doesn’t hide his great intelligence or perception. Class-wise he’s middling. A professional man with some standing, but he’s not high enough to retain the esteem of a certain woman of nobility. There is definite attraction on both sides, but because of his low birth and dim prospects for elevation, they go their separate ways. It was a sad testament to the way things were when the classes were bound and separated.

There were a lot of unfortunate things about the times then. Infuriating things that I’m so glad the western culture has moved beyond. Suspicion of science. Religious intolerance. Oppression of women. Religious entanglement in secular law and order. Rampaging ignorance. Amazing we got anything done at all.

All my life I’ve been vaguely aware of the Protestant Reformation and King Henry VIII’s part in it, but I hadn’t understood the scope of what happened. I’m sure this novel only scratched the surface, but it was enough to give me a new perspective on those events. Sure, the Catholic Church has been one of the most corrupt entities in the history of the world, but the dismantling of their infrastructure in Great Britain was painful and unjust to the least of the population. Basically the monasteries, churches, orphanages and hospitals were sold off and some just plain given away and dismantled. When this happened many of the church officials were executed. Those who gave up their vows and allegiance to the Pope were spared, but not always. Worst of all were the patients and orphans who were just turned out into the streets. Of course then the nobles and officials complained of the subsequent crowding, disease and crime. Define irony.

Then there is the upper crust wrangling for power. Cromwell is Henry’s chief minister and advisor, recipient of the Order of the Garter. For over a decade he’s served his king and his own interests. But now there are others who want a return to Catholicism; ostensibly to avoid a war with the allied countries of France and Spain. None of Henry’s marriages has been able to secure England against the Papists. Some want to capitulate and return to the old order. But Henry is having too good a time being King and head of the Church to possibly do that. Sickly and at the end of his reign, he also wants an heir. Of course we know what happens, but it is interesting to see it from Shardlake’s perspective. It was also interesting to see how Sanson would cover Cromwell’s arrest and execution which loomed so close during the story.

He does this by inserting the quest for Dark Fire. Also known as Greek Fire. Again, I’d heard of it, but didn’t know its historical context. Invented by the Greeks, harnessed somewhat by the Romans, but pivotal to the Byzantines, this substance was lost and became mythic. Then rumors surfaced that some survived and various alchemists were employed to essentially reverse-engineer the stuff and try to make more. It would be especially useful against the Papists. Cromwell saw it as his last chance to keep his head. If he got Henry Greek Fire, maybe the Cleves marriage debacle would be mitigated. He sends Shardlake out to find the stuff and reprieves Elizabeth’s Pressing for 12 days; the time in which he promised Henry to produce Greek Fire. Little does he know it’s all a plot to bring his downfall. Shardlake only figured it out in the end. A nice little exercise of alternative thought process. Even though he resents Cromwell’s power over him, he feels a scrap of left-over allegiance and really does try to keep Cromwell from the executioner.

I really felt for the guy. He was truly between a rock and a hard place. Cromwell or any other nobleman of his rank could make Shardlake’s life hardly worth living. They could destroy his career, confiscate his property and throw him in jail. Hanging on a trumped up charge is totally conceivable as well. It’s frightening how vulnerable everyone was to the whims of those higher up. Sure, there were laws, but many of those were made and enforced only to protect those in power. Even if there was a hearing, the judges were often corrupt. It was funny to see lawyers as sneered at and slandered as they are now. Poor Shardlake. He was a rare good one.

The case of Elizabeth’s imprisonment is a perfect example. I’m not sure that the crime itself isn’t a bit too modern to fit here, but it would be as horrific a thing as anyone could have seen in those days. Here in the 21st century, psychopathic killers are too commonplace to be as shocking.

That’s basically what we have; evidence of a child’s torture and murder of animals and another boy are found at the bottom of a well. Because basically the whole household is against her, Elizabeth has no one to turn to when she discovers the grisly remains. She didn’t push her cousin down the well, but his sisters conspire to frame her and everyone else just falls into line. Because she doesn’t speak in her own defense she will be sentenced to Pressing; the practice of placing heavier and heavier weights on a person’s chest to make them either speak or die. This is in lieu of a trial. Logical and brilliant to be sure.

Of course Shardlake and Barak solve her case and save her skin; outing the real murderers at the same time. He’s made enemies though; the judge and some nobles. They’re sure to rear their ugly heads in future installments. I like the disparate pairing of Shardlake and Barak though. It works. Shardlake needs a guy of Barak’s talents. He’s educated, but his intelligence is more shrewd than strictly clever. He’s also physical and knows weapons and how to use them. Crafty, but sensitive (he points out poor Skelly’s myopia and Shardlake berates himself for not recognizing it earlier) he’s a complementary force to Shardlakes and I’m looking forward to seeing what they get up to in future novels. ( )

Another stonking read from old CJ. This one was not as good at the first book "Dissolution" but still a good read. There was so much going on and so many characters sometimes it was hard to keep up with what was going on. However you feel as though you are right there in the action - I was totally gripped and couldn't put the book down - always a good sign. I have the next one all lined up ready to go. Can't wait ! ( )

Second in the Shardlake series and this one was an improvement on the first - the author really seemed to settle in with the character, which made the writing flow better. The introduction of Jack Barak is a good one, as he's street savvy. Loved the intrigue between Norfolk, Rich and Cromwell and how easy it was for Shardlake to get sucked into the politics of a Tudor court. ( )