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  • Revelation

  • Shardlake, Book 4
  • By: C. J. Sansom
  • Narrated by: Steven Crossley
  • Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,569 ratings)
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Revelation cover art

Revelation

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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Summary

The fourth novel in the Shardlake series. Spring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy who has been placed in the Bedlam insane asylum, before his terrifying religious mania leads to him being burned as a heretic.

When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake vows to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to Cranmer and Catherine Parr - and to the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation.

As London's Bishop Bonner prepares a purge of Protestants Shardlake, together with his assistant, Jack Barak, and his friend, Guy Malton, investigate a series of horrific murders which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and demonic possession - for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer . . .?

©2008 C. J. Sansom (P)2014 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

What listeners say about Revelation

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Story lost its way

I love Sansom's Shardlake series so far, but this instalment seemed to lose its way a little and I felt my attention wandering - whereas others have focused greatly on the history of the times, I found Revelation turned in to more of a whodunnit, with the characters chasing after the bad guy and continually being thwarted. It hasn't put me off though and I am looking forward to the next novel.

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8 people found this helpful

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Fascinating!

A serial killer in a Tudor environment without the modern profiling and associated technology? This is creativity at its best. Reminded me of a recent film. However, the introduction of the seven vials from Revelation was a stroke of genius!.

The way in which the differing theological and reformist views was handled showed a real grasp of the issues involved. I particularly enjoyed the cameos of the movers and shakers of the reformist tradition as they were woven into the story. It gave a real foundation to the elements of political dogma and politicking of the time.

This has been the one Sansom volume I was unable to put down! I would certainly listen to it again, for I think there are many nuances which I have not picked up in a first encounter.

Hreartily recommended!

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Just love this series!

C. J. Sansom's story lines keep the suspense going. I have read all the books so far in this series. I love the main characters who are warm and likeable, Barak adds colour and humour even in the most dire situations. I can't wait to get into the next book. Highly recommended!

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5 people found this helpful

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Brilliance

To write about a period in history that has been 'over written' without making the reader feel like they have heard it all before is a real achievement. It was so refreshing to visualise thus era with a complete and utter joy and an act of sheer brilliance!

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Simmering darkness

Having listened consecutively now from Dissolution this book took me by surprise.

First the negatives: better editing would have cut about 2hrs worth of listening at least and the story would have been better for it. There are numerous ramblings that add naught. I found there were far more repetitive phrases that did get a tad irksome. The subtext of Baraks marriage problems and this not being explored fully would not be missed within the larger plot, it just seemed like a superfluous addition.

The positives: Narration for me once again was excellent the 'voices' of the main characters have remained consistent and this is no mean feat.

This book is dark, full of foreboding and is really quite grim, with much less hopefulness. Usually there is much made of the political skullduggery this was less evident and was refreshing. Revolving moreover around religious fervour of the time and it's effects on individuals and society in general.

Another positive was the reduction in swearing (which was liberally applied in Sovereign and which did not add but rather detracted from the whole. )

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent murder mystery

A rather gruesome but well thought out story, full of local knowledge coupled with a fascinating account of the history of the day - I could not put it down.

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3 people found this helpful

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I'm hooked so another 5 stars

Well spun plot, in which we learn more of the back story of our main characters and that Tudor mental health problem were treated as humanely as we do today (not very well)

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3 people found this helpful

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Excellent!

In this we delve a little deeper into both Baraks and Shardlakes characters and emotions. The story is, as usual, utterly fascinating and gripping! Bring on Heartstone.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

Having now disposed of wife number 5, loveable heart-throb Henry VIII is busily wooing lucky Catherine Parr, who unaccountably seems a little reluctant to become his bride. It’s unclear if her objection is to the weeping, stinking sores on his legs or to his habit of beheading earlier spouses – some women are just picky, I guess. However, Archbishop Cranmer is determined to bring the wedding about, since he hopes that Catherine will drag Henry back onto the path of Reform from which he has been straying in recent years. So when a man in Catherine’s entourage is found brutally murdered, Cranmer is determined that the murderer shall be found before any whiff of scandal can attach itself to the Lady, thus jeopardising the King’s plan to marry her. Meantime, a fellow lawyer and friend of Matthew Shardlake is also found brutally slain, in circumstances that suggest the two crimes may be linked. Shardlake finds himself working for Cranmer in the hunt for a man who seems to be on a murderous spree inspired by the Book of Revelation…

This fourth book in the Shardlake series continues to show the troubled era of Henry VIII and the English Reformation through the various crimes in which Shardlake becomes involved because of his connection to the power brokers in Henry’s court. By this stage, Henry has changed his mind about religion so often that the whole issue has become fraught with peril for his subjects, with the result that sects and cults are growing, each with their own interpretation of the Bible and matters such as predestination, purgatory and hell. Fanatics preach extremism to the gullible, while Henry’s men purge those who believe in the wrong version, and heretics – who only a few years earlier would have been seen as orthodox – are burned at the stake. And some, so messed up by the confused preaching of the times, become crazed, seeking to gain entry to Heaven by following their own corrupted version of the Word. It all sounds very 21st century, in fact!

Our murderer here appears to be attempting to bring about the End Times by acting out the horrors in Revelation. I’m not a Bible person myself, but I must admit Revelation sounds great – I really must read it! Gore, cruelty, torture, shrieking and screaming, eternal damnation and demonic mayhem – not quite Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, ‘Cos the Bible Tells Me So (which is about as deep as my religious education went). Through his characters, Sansom makes the point that many Christians didn’t feel Revelation should be considered part of the Bible, but also that it was then, as it still is, an excellent excuse for all kinds of craziness being allowed to flourish in certain sects. Shardlake himself shows the other side – that all the different versions of the “true faith” and all the cruelties done in the name of religion make it increasingly hard for many to believe in a loving God at all, however much they would like to. As well as the murders, Shardlake finds himself representing a young man, so screwed up by hellfire preaching about sin that he has become a psychological wreck, convinced of his own eternal damnation. He’s one of the lucky ones, though – merely committed to Bedlam rather being burned at the stake, so far at least.

As always, this is a massive and slow-moving book, both adjectives which should put me off completely. But it’s the depth of the characterisation and setting that holds my attention. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a bit like watching a long-running drama serial – spending time with the much-loved characters is actually more important than the plot. I’ve been listening to the books this time around, read by Steven Crossley, and he’s the perfect narrator for them. He maintains each voice consistently throughout the book, or the series if they are recurring characters, so that it’s always clear who is speaking. This isn’t always the case with audiobooks, since authors write for the page and allow punctuation marks to do a lot of the work, so if a narrator doesn’t clearly differentiate it can become confusing.

All the regulars play a full part in this one, too, which is an added bonus. Shardlake is still the same honourable, decent, kind man as always, collecting waifs and strays as he goes. Barak and Tamasin are going through some problems in their marriage, and Guy has taken in a young apprentice, Piers. It’s the conversations between Shardlake and Guy that shed most light on the religious upheavals of the time, as each man tries to make sense of the many changes they have lived through. Theirs has become a deep and loyal friendship now, although there’s still room for them to disagree from time to time.

It’s redundant to say this is an excellent entry in the series, because they’re all excellent. I think this may be the only series to every book of which I have given the full five stars, and of course this is no exception. Highly recommended, book and audiobook both.

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Gripping & Page Turnibg

This is the fourth instalment of the Shardlake series and the darkest this one Shardlake and Barrack are pitted against a gruesome serial killer intent on bringing to life the prophecies of Revelation through a series of Biblical-inspired killings.

The descriptions of Tudor London give a real picture of life you can almost smell the streets

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