miramanga's review
5.0
I know I always rave about this series, (who knew I would fall in love with a crime solving jester based on a character in a Shakespeare play?) but friends let me tell you, Theophilos barely appears in this story (it's narrated by Father Gerald) and it is the best so far.
The storytelling is excellent with real emotion, depth and pathos. It was crafted so well that I was kept on the edge of my seat and I stayed up much later than I should have done to finish it. The final chapters of the book left me reeling and impressed. I loved Amleth and how each of the characters were fully rounded - you understood why they were doing the things they did. It all fell into place wonderfully. On top of this, you got the ambience and feel of historic Paris and Denmark, and what it might be like to be cooped up in a fortress town. It was very immersive.
I discovered, on finishing, that this is a retelling of Hamlet as seen through the eyes of the Fool's Guild, a collection of jesters who work around those in power trying to keep peace and minimise bloodshed.
I'm looking forward to the next one but really dreading coming to the end of this wonderful series.
The storytelling is excellent with real emotion, depth and pathos. It was crafted so well that I was kept on the edge of my seat and I stayed up much later than I should have done to finish it. The final chapters of the book left me reeling and impressed. I loved Amleth and how each of the characters were fully rounded - you understood why they were doing the things they did. It all fell into place wonderfully. On top of this, you got the ambience and feel of historic Paris and Denmark, and what it might be like to be cooped up in a fortress town. It was very immersive.
I discovered, on finishing, that this is a retelling of Hamlet as seen through the eyes of the Fool's Guild, a collection of jesters who work around those in power trying to keep peace and minimise bloodshed.
I'm looking forward to the next one but really dreading coming to the end of this wonderful series.
alexandranoelle's review
5.0
Excellent excellent excellent! I know I've said that about every book in this series, but this one is possibly my favorite yet. It took me a little longer to get into than the others, since it doesn't feature Theophilos for most of the story, but it turned out being at least as wonderful as the previous ones in the series, and certainly more unpredictable. A book where you can't guess at least some of what is going to happen is rare, and this was one of them. I would think I knew what was going to happen, and then the opposite happened instead. A little longer than some of the other Fools' Guild books (or so it seems), but definitely worth the read.
iceangel9's review
4.0
This is the fifth in the Fool's Guild Mystery series. I admit I love this series. This particular installment is a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet from the view of the Fool's Guild. Gordon manages to beautifully weave the play into the mythos of his Fool's Guild characters. This historical fiction mystery made me want to read Hamlet again. Fans of this series, of which I am one, will enjoy this installment.
caidyn's review
5.0
You know what? This is my first five star rating for this book series, and how fitting that this is the last book I have to read in the series. (I, stupidly, started with the very last book, then worked my way through it in some convoluted way that only works for me.)
This book deserves those five stars. There's humor, like usual. Then, there's drama, of course. However, this time, there's no murder mystery. All the books before it deal with some sort of murder mystery that Theophilos has to solve alongside some trusty companions. No, this one took a completely different turn that I wasn't expecting.If I had read the inside cover, then I would have seen it, but oops.
Alan Gordon, already, has proven he loves Shakespeare. He starts off his series by slightly retelling, more imagining the events after, [b:Twelfth Night|1625|Twelfth Night|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416628008s/1625.jpg|3267921]. Mainly, we have Viola -- who Theophilos has some past with -- and her husband having died in a mysterious way. And, from there, it takes off. So, I'm really glad that I read his homage to [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351051208s/1420.jpg|1885548]. Shakespeare's play is one of the first that I ever read, and while it's not my favorite anymore I still have a special place for it in my heart.
Gordon does a brilliant job. He perfectly re-imagines it, complete with very authentic feeling names. Hell, he even goes back to using the historically accurate Amleth instead of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Seriously, Shakespeare just decided to switch one letter to change things up for his readers. Then, he involves so many other characters that it's brilliant. You get to see Yorick. This book literally spans from the time Amelth is two to when we meet him in Shakespeare. And, I absolutely loved it. It was so much deeper than the other books in this series, and I really just want to keep the book and never return it to the library.
While there were aspects of this book I didn't enjoy -- specifically the instances of rape -- it was very good. I hate saying this because it feels so wrong to say, but the rape was used properly. It wasn't random, it wasn't just brushed off. There was build up to it, there were consequences, all of it built characterization. It was well handled, just as it was well-handled in, if I remember correctly, the fourth book of this series. Again, didn't enjoy Gordon using it, but he did a good job with it.
If I told someone where to start with the series, I'd say start with this one, then go through it as you want, so long as you read six before seven. It'll make sense if you just do it that way. My five stars is for this book, along with the series. I might not have rated any other book five stars, but I love the characters, the plots, the everything and I'll be holding out hope that one day there will be more books in this series.
This book deserves those five stars. There's humor, like usual. Then, there's drama, of course. However, this time, there's no murder mystery. All the books before it deal with some sort of murder mystery that Theophilos has to solve alongside some trusty companions. No, this one took a completely different turn that I wasn't expecting.
Alan Gordon, already, has proven he loves Shakespeare. He starts off his series by slightly retelling, more imagining the events after, [b:Twelfth Night|1625|Twelfth Night|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416628008s/1625.jpg|3267921]. Mainly, we have Viola -- who Theophilos has some past with -- and her husband having died in a mysterious way. And, from there, it takes off. So, I'm really glad that I read his homage to [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351051208s/1420.jpg|1885548]. Shakespeare's play is one of the first that I ever read, and while it's not my favorite anymore I still have a special place for it in my heart.
Gordon does a brilliant job. He perfectly re-imagines it, complete with very authentic feeling names. Hell, he even goes back to using the historically accurate Amleth instead of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Seriously, Shakespeare just decided to switch one letter to change things up for his readers. Then, he involves so many other characters that it's brilliant. You get to see Yorick. This book literally spans from the time Amelth is two to when we meet him in Shakespeare. And, I absolutely loved it. It was so much deeper than the other books in this series, and I really just want to keep the book and never return it to the library.
While there were aspects of this book I didn't enjoy -- specifically the instances of rape -- it was very good. I hate saying this because it feels so wrong to say, but the rape was used properly. It wasn't random, it wasn't just brushed off. There was build up to it, there were consequences, all of it built characterization. It was well handled, just as it was well-handled in, if I remember correctly, the fourth book of this series. Again, didn't enjoy Gordon using it, but he did a good job with it.
If I told someone where to start with the series, I'd say start with this one, then go through it as you want, so long as you read six before seven. It'll make sense if you just do it that way. My five stars is for this book, along with the series. I might not have rated any other book five stars, but I love the characters, the plots, the everything and I'll be holding out hope that one day there will be more books in this series.
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