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gilliske's review
2.0
Het begon veelbelovend, maar al snel werd ik teleurgesteld:
De 'dokter van de doden' komt er eigenlijk niet aan toe haar 'kunst' te beoefenen. Veel verder dan vanop een afstandje staren naar een lijk komt ze niet. In plaats daarvan blijkt ze zich opeens te ontplooien tot een detective die haar eigen leven en dat van haar baby op een ongeloofwaardige manier op het spel blijft zetten.
Geen idee of het aan de vertaling lag of aan mij, maar vaak vond ik bepaalde zinnen onbegrijpelijk. Ik kon ze totaal niet plaatsen binnen de context.
Maar ik heb dit boek vaak 's nachts in bed gelezen, dus misschien speelde de vermoeidheid mij wat parten...
De 'dokter van de doden' komt er eigenlijk niet aan toe haar 'kunst' te beoefenen. Veel verder dan vanop een afstandje staren naar een lijk komt ze niet. In plaats daarvan blijkt ze zich opeens te ontplooien tot een detective die haar eigen leven en dat van haar baby op een ongeloofwaardige manier op het spel blijft zetten.
Geen idee of het aan de vertaling lag of aan mij, maar vaak vond ik bepaalde zinnen onbegrijpelijk. Ik kon ze totaal niet plaatsen binnen de context.
Maar ik heb dit boek vaak 's nachts in bed gelezen, dus misschien speelde de vermoeidheid mij wat parten...
ajpearlman12's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book on CD performed by Kate Reading
3.5***
From the book jacket: Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died an agonizing death by poison—and the king's estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry suspects that Rosamund's murder is probably the first move in Eleanor's long-simmering plot to overthrow him. If Eleanor is guilty, the result could be civil war. The king must once again summon Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, to uncover the truth.
My reactions
There are several things I like about this series. I love a strong, independent, resilient and resourceful heroine. Adelia Aguilar is all these things, and then some. Her personal life is more complicated now, but this also adds interest.
I like the return of certain characters (even if I don’t necessarily like all of them): Mansur (Adelia’s Arabic manservant), Gyltha (their housekeeper), Sir Rowley Picot (Bishop of Saint Albans), and King Henry. And I loved her smelly little dog!
Franklin does a lot of research and it shows in the way she sets the tone and describes the landscape and relationships in 12th century England. Book two in this popular series includes much more actual history of the period, though Franklin takes liberties in imagining this plot. The plot is intricate, and had more than one surprise for the reader.
Kate Reading is fast becoming a favorite narrator. She has great pacing, and is a talented voice artist, able to give the many characters unique voices.
3.5***
From the book jacket: Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died an agonizing death by poison—and the king's estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry suspects that Rosamund's murder is probably the first move in Eleanor's long-simmering plot to overthrow him. If Eleanor is guilty, the result could be civil war. The king must once again summon Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, to uncover the truth.
My reactions
There are several things I like about this series. I love a strong, independent, resilient and resourceful heroine. Adelia Aguilar is all these things, and then some. Her personal life is more complicated now
Spoiler
that she is a motherI like the return of certain characters (even if I don’t necessarily like all of them): Mansur (Adelia’s Arabic manservant), Gyltha (their housekeeper), Sir Rowley Picot (Bishop of Saint Albans), and King Henry. And I loved her smelly little dog!
Franklin does a lot of research and it shows in the way she sets the tone and describes the landscape and relationships in 12th century England. Book two in this popular series includes much more actual history of the period, though Franklin takes liberties in imagining this plot. The plot is intricate, and had more than one surprise for the reader.
Kate Reading is fast becoming a favorite narrator. She has great pacing, and is a talented voice artist, able to give the many characters unique voices.
katyanaish's review against another edition
5.0
I really really enjoy this series, everything from the characters to the feminist dialogue. Its fun to watch the mysteries play out, and I really just adore Adelia. I can't wait to read the next one.
kraley's review against another edition
4.0
I love this author's style and subtle way of teaching us about twelfth century England and medical practice along the way. This follow-up to Mistress of the Art of Death didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the mystery, the characters, and the rich setting of the book. I could almost smell the rotting corpse. Great book.
cransell's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
Someone has attempted to poison King Henry II's mistress, Rosamund the Fair, and Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar is summoned in the hopes of quelling a revolt, but Adelia can see that Rosamund may have ingested nightshade and is probably dead. Adelia and her ex-lover Rowley travel to the fantastic Wormwood Tower to investigate. Franklin's historical mysteries are carefully researched and brilliantly written.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-serpents-tale/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-serpents-tale/
nolegirl's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful second book in the series. I may have enjoyed this one a little more then the first.
Adelia finds her newly ordered life living on the fens disrupted once more by King Henry and a murder. This time she has to find out who has murdered the King's mistress and help to thwart yet another uprising against him by his wife, Queen Eleanor, and one of his children.
Although Rowley shows up, he isn't as main a character and I enjoyed the fact that Adelia is truly the main "sleuth" in this book. I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship continues and how Ms. Franklin develops the very interesting character of King Henry in these fictional accounts.
Adelia finds her newly ordered life living on the fens disrupted once more by King Henry and a murder. This time she has to find out who has murdered the King's mistress and help to thwart yet another uprising against him by his wife, Queen Eleanor, and one of his children.
Although Rowley shows up, he isn't as main a character and I enjoyed the fact that Adelia is truly the main "sleuth" in this book. I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship continues and how Ms. Franklin develops the very interesting character of King Henry in these fictional accounts.
heatherg213's review against another edition
4.0
Any regular readers of my blog know that I am a fan of mysteries. While I choose more literary fiction when my brain can handle it, when I am super busy and stressed with work, home, and life in general a good mystery is like comfort food. The authors I tend to read write characters and stories that are predictable in the best sense of the word. Slipping into an Alex Delaware novel or a Myron Bolitar story is like putting on a comfy old pair of jeans. But sometimes a mystery writer will surprise me, and I have to say that my last read was a pleasant surprise indeed.
I guess the universe must have sensed I was ready for something different, because instead of the usual formula mystery I picked up The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin. I was intrigued by the premise, and I was right to be. Ms. Franklin blends modern mystery sensibilities with historical fiction in a new and ingenious way. Her heroine, Adelia Aguilar, is a doctor of the dead, trained by the illustrious medical school in Salerno-during the 12th century. It is a time of superstition and blind devotion to Catholicism for most people, but not for the forward thinking Adelia and her Saracen helper, Mansur. When Henry II's mistress, the Fair Rosamund, is poisoned, she uses her medical knowledge and fierce intelligence to discover who the murderer is-and to avert a civil war between Henry and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Having been interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine for her early feminism since my teens, I've read a fair amount on her life. It seems that Ms. Franklin is spot on with her historical accuracy. She deftly describes the contradictions of the time-blind faith in the superiority of Catholicism, coupled with bishops and priests having relations outside their vows of chastity; the plight of the poor against the noblesse oblige of the rich. It is almost as though Adelia herself is a visitor from our own time to this strange land of our cultural ancestors. So trapped is she by the assumptions and attitudes people have about both women and science that she must sacrifice the man she loves just to be allowed to continue her calling to medicine-a calling she can only fulfill by pretending to be the assistant of her Muslim friend. In that time of the Crusades, those ruling England would rather put their trust in an infidel who happened to be male than in a Christian female. Yet within this rigid social construct she is able to use her scientific mind in ways that mirror many modern forensic techniques-at least the ones that don't require 21st century technology. There is a lot going on in this novel, but despite the questions and challenges it raises for the reader it is not a difficult read. As this is actually the second novel in a series, I am going to go back and read the first, Mistress of the Art of Death, as there was some backstory I was obviously missing. If you haven't read Ariana Franklin before, I suggest you do the same. But either way, The Serpent's Tale is worth the time.
I guess the universe must have sensed I was ready for something different, because instead of the usual formula mystery I picked up The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin. I was intrigued by the premise, and I was right to be. Ms. Franklin blends modern mystery sensibilities with historical fiction in a new and ingenious way. Her heroine, Adelia Aguilar, is a doctor of the dead, trained by the illustrious medical school in Salerno-during the 12th century. It is a time of superstition and blind devotion to Catholicism for most people, but not for the forward thinking Adelia and her Saracen helper, Mansur. When Henry II's mistress, the Fair Rosamund, is poisoned, she uses her medical knowledge and fierce intelligence to discover who the murderer is-and to avert a civil war between Henry and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Having been interested in Eleanor of Aquitaine for her early feminism since my teens, I've read a fair amount on her life. It seems that Ms. Franklin is spot on with her historical accuracy. She deftly describes the contradictions of the time-blind faith in the superiority of Catholicism, coupled with bishops and priests having relations outside their vows of chastity; the plight of the poor against the noblesse oblige of the rich. It is almost as though Adelia herself is a visitor from our own time to this strange land of our cultural ancestors. So trapped is she by the assumptions and attitudes people have about both women and science that she must sacrifice the man she loves just to be allowed to continue her calling to medicine-a calling she can only fulfill by pretending to be the assistant of her Muslim friend. In that time of the Crusades, those ruling England would rather put their trust in an infidel who happened to be male than in a Christian female. Yet within this rigid social construct she is able to use her scientific mind in ways that mirror many modern forensic techniques-at least the ones that don't require 21st century technology. There is a lot going on in this novel, but despite the questions and challenges it raises for the reader it is not a difficult read. As this is actually the second novel in a series, I am going to go back and read the first, Mistress of the Art of Death, as there was some backstory I was obviously missing. If you haven't read Ariana Franklin before, I suggest you do the same. But either way, The Serpent's Tale is worth the time.
la5's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0