Thursday 7 June 2012

June's big reads (for me anyway!)



I started the month of really well finishing the second book in the James Forrester Trilogy about the adventures of William Harley Clarenceux King Of Arms to Queen Elizabeth I - The Roots Of Betrayal. I absolutely adored the first book, Sacred Treason, but was slightly trepidatious about reading this follow up. Would it be as enjoyable as the first, would Forrester be able to re-capture the quick as lightening pace, the exciting who-did-it-and-where'd-he-go theme of the Sacred Treason?

Well in a word - yes. Although the novel got off to a slower start, for me at least, as I didn't engage with the story until I was the first couple of chapters or so into the book when I suddenly found myself gripped.

Forrester is clever enough to paint the sort of word pictures that make you feel that you are watching the action rather than merely reading about it. The sea battle was a stand-out. I could smell the gunpowder and the fear of the men - and women -  as they fought off the enemy. I could hear the sound of the ships' planking tearing apart and splintering as a cannonball rammed through.

My one slight let-down is that once again, as he does in Sacred Treason, Forrester brings the story  to a somewhat abrupt end. It was as though he had only a page or two left of a finite limit and he had to pull it together quickly. It was all a bit too neat and tidy - but not enough to spoil an otherwise excellent adventure of derring-do.

I look forward to the publication of the third book in the series, The Final Sacrament, later this year.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great read! Might have to find the first one and read them in sequence. (I'm a bit anal that way . . . )

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  2. Sounds like a good read, thanks for the review

    Lainy (from RISI) http://www.alwaysreading.net

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  3. Thanks for the introduction to a new author to me.
    Enjoy blogging :)

    Lindsay
    http://thelittlereaderlibrary.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. I must get round to reading this series - great review :)

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  5. Thank you all for taking the time and trouble to comment. I appreciate it!

    Marion

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  6. When you gonna review some more books?!?!?

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