Ex-Libris

A Mr Potato Head Historical Novel: Remember that toy, Mr Potato Head? It consisted of various plastic ears, noses, and hats that you could pin onto a potato to turn it into Mr Potato Head. Children loved it, but to adults it was only a potato with plastic trimmings. Just so with Ross King's dreadful Ex Libris. Although it is crammed with recondite allusions to hermetic philosophy, the Thirty Years War, colonial malfeasance, and Restoration-era intrigue, they nothing more than gratuitous add-ons. When you see through the rather heavy-handed "historical" material, what you have here is a total potato: starchy, bland, and shapeless. Ross's work has been compared to that of Ian Pears, Lawrence Norfolk, and Charles Palliser and the show more comparisons are totally invidious. The above named are terrific authors whose works are immersed in, and engage with, history. Ross's work is less an historical fiction than a wretched pastiche of others' historical fictions. It is woodenly written; the characters are flat; and the pacing is as limp and flaccid as a week old lettuce. It was a struggle to finish. Read Instance of the Fingerpost instead . . . show less

I was rather disappointed by this book. A historic mystery involving a library, a mysterious woman, a swashbuckling adventurer, espionage, and secret books—how could you go wrong? Ross King manages to, though. An unexpectedly somber ending seemed totally inappropriate for the amusing, sometimes comic, story that precedes. The convoluted resolution, including the destinies of some key characters, was abruptly and unsatisfyingly explained to us like a history lesson in the final few pages. By the end, I was quite confused, but that was okay because I just didn't care.

I commend Ross King's rich vocabulary, dipping effortlessly into the arcane language of bookbinding, alchemy, shipbuilding and navigation; his command of Seventeenth Century history; his familiarity with the buildings and alleyways of London and Prague; his magical ability to conjure long-dead tastes, smells and sounds. But labouring through this book is like walking knee-deep in sucking mud. Every chapter swings from one plot to another metronomically, every character is a passive pawn of inexplicable circumstance, every plot thread is overburdened with pages of historical explanation. The ludicrous plot turns out to be a sham in the end, the heroine disappears from the narrative for most of the middle of the book, and the dread agents show more of evil in pursuit of the hero are swept away in the end by a deus ex machina just in the nick of time. The weak plot and unmotivated characters fail to support the dense architecture of historical fact built over them, and the entire story simply crumbles into waterlogged earth like Pontifex Hall in the final chapters. show less

The language and detail demonstrates the deep command the author holds over the relevant materials. The result is the evocation of a real world that actually exists. Plot-wise, I feel the setup is brilliant and intriguing, albeit slightly disappointing in conclusion. What would have been nice, I think, is an author's note identifying what parts are genuine historical facts, and which are invention.

This was billed as a literary mystery and it was enjoyable in that respect but there was also alot of history and religion and my knowledge of the Thirty Year's War and Counter-Reformation were pretty severely strained. It was enjoyable to read, I just let it pull me along and didn't worry much about sorting out too much of the names and places, just did my best with it. My biggest complaint is that the grand conclusion, soon followed by the stunning loss of vital knowledge, didn't seem so stunning because we've got that all now. But fun to read and not the boring awful chore of some simliar works. (The Name of the Rose, The Rule of Four , The Geographer's Library

I really wanted to like this one. There were lots of individual details that were nice to stumble into, but somehow the end results didn't blend into a tale that captured my attention. It seemed like it would have all the right ingredients: English history, mystery, books, but it didn't work for me.

Love this book's and the author's impressive command and use of the English language, fine historian too. The plot and characterisation were of such a high standard that the denouement was, ever so slightly, below par. I still recommend it highly in the 'Increase Your Word-power' genre and I'll look forward to more.