Mary Gentle

I liked it enough to finish it, but it was a bit laborious to read. I liked the world and the discoveries, but it was too descriptive for me. Ok, we´re on an alien world, so I´m ok with some descriptions of what is different, but I don´t want to know what every single plant and animal looks like, most certainly not if you´re then going to move to a different part of the world where everything looks different again. I felt a bit the same about the storyline; did she really have to be accused of murder and hunted across country twice?
I did like the relationships, the way the natives were different and the history of the world.… (more)

This is quite a blend of historical fiction with touches of fantasy and eroticism with some scenes that may shock some readers; a love story with duels and plenty of political intrigue and conspiracies. You’ll be forgiven for thinking you’re reading a gay romance to begin with, but then the book takes a turn. That’s not to say it’s an easy read. Often I get through 100 pages a day, even when it’s a complex plot, but found I needed to take my time with this. This mostly gripped me, but there was a sense of wondering whether I’d ever finish, although it’s hard to say why. I’ve read books more involved than this, but some scenes felt needlessly long. I can’t help feeling I’m doing the book a disservice by saying some pages flashed by, others were a slow amble, and the tone of the book changed throughout, which also threw me. The author is meticulous, maybe overly so, but I found sticking with this worthwhile. A story that begins in France with the arrangement of an assassination moves on across the world.… (more)

This is a difficult book to review. It is an alternative history in which, among other things, a coup is staged against James I/VI by a Doctor Robert Fludd, an astrologer who can predict the future using a complex mathematical theory. The said Doctor has calculated that a comet is due to destroy Earth in the 22nd century, but if he can pull off the assassination of James I/VI, a society will arise capable of producing technology to avert the comet. Hmm.... didn't find that at all believable.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a character who apparently did exist though was undoubtedly nothing like the way he is portrayed here. Valentin de Rochefort as I'll call him for short (his actual name is much longer) is a duellist, spy and sometime assassin working for the Duc de Sully, a chief minister of King Henri of France. Rochefort is blackmailed into helping to assassinate the king, as the party concerned has arranged to kill his master if he doesn't comply. He tries to bungle it, but the attempt succeeds in spite of him, and he has to flee France, forced to accept the company of a young duellist, Dariole, who has a thing about humiliating Rochefort which soon turns sexual. On the coast they rescue a shipwrecked Japanese military man who was part of an ambassador's entourage to James I/VI. He is the sole survivor and feels duty-bound to continue the mission. So all three go to England and try to arrange to see King James. Before long, Fludd forces them into trying to bring about his design and some very unlikely happenings occur involving actors, cross dressing, a masque staged in a cave, a nun who turns out to be a colleague of Fludd's, and other peculiar people and events.

I note the synopsis on Goodreads for this particular edition has two major spoilers: annoyingly, I couldn't help seeing them when adding the book to my shelf. Funnily enough, the second one, concerning Rochefort's sister, isn't true at all. Anyway, the first is a true spoiler but is revealed after about 100 pages so it wasn't a major issue when reading the rest of this long book. What was a major issue, however, was the character of Dariole who I found a right royal pain. I didn't appreciate the whole sado-masochistic nature of her relationship with Rochefort. Although it eventually is supposed to be a 'game' for them, at one point she savagely beats him. In fact, there is a lot of violence in this book, graphically described, but that's partly due to the subject matter - sword fights etc. It is well written but the main premise lacks conviction for me and I didn't like Dariole so I can only rate it 2 stars.… (more)