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seagrace's review against another edition
4.0
A funny, swashbuckling, fast paced historical novel. Set in 1601, a time of great upheaval, threats of assassination, and treachery, this is the story of John Lawley, soldier, player, and William Shakespeare's fight designer. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
katybonedirt's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eososray's review against another edition
2.0
More sword fights and the King's Men and less about John Lawley's lovelorn drunken bouts would have improved the story for me.
syren96's review against another edition
3.0
Provided by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark
I, like the author, am a bit of a Shakespeare nut. I have read most of his work and I have read a lot about the author himself. I have been to Stratford to visit his house and Anne Hathaway's house; been to the Globe; all those things any self-respecting Shakespeare fan would do when living in England. So maybe my expectations were skewed a little high when I started reading this.
I felt like it took a long time to get interesting. From about Act III, I was into it, but it was painful to get to that point. Maybe it's because I don't have the same fascination with sword-fighting and the arrangement of fights in the theatre as the author does. Maybe it's because Shakespeare ended up being more of a background character than I had anticipated. I can't really pinpoint what it was that made it a slog to get through the first 2/5ths of the story, but it really was.
That said, I did really enjoy the second part of the book, particularly the last two Acts. The pace quickened and the characters began to really reveal themselves. I liked the development of the plays and how they were used to allow society to reflect on what was happening around them in the upper classes.
I, like the author, am a bit of a Shakespeare nut. I have read most of his work and I have read a lot about the author himself. I have been to Stratford to visit his house and Anne Hathaway's house; been to the Globe; all those things any self-respecting Shakespeare fan would do when living in England. So maybe my expectations were skewed a little high when I started reading this.
I felt like it took a long time to get interesting. From about Act III, I was into it, but it was painful to get to that point. Maybe it's because I don't have the same fascination with sword-fighting and the arrangement of fights in the theatre as the author does. Maybe it's because Shakespeare ended up being more of a background character than I had anticipated. I can't really pinpoint what it was that made it a slog to get through the first 2/5ths of the story, but it really was.
That said, I did really enjoy the second part of the book, particularly the last two Acts. The pace quickened and the characters began to really reveal themselves. I liked the development of the plays and how they were used to allow society to reflect on what was happening around them in the upper classes.
robertlslater's review against another edition
4.0
Really a 4.5. Loved this book. Kept me up late a few nights. Seems to capture the reality of Elizabethan times with all the sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic aspects--literarily and literally!
stephend81d5's review against another edition
3.0
interesting and enjoyable read of the late Elizabethan age with court politics and the stage and how the anti hero john lawley seems to court danger and slip between the two and his loyalty to earl of Essex. not fast paced as others in this genre but feel this is more suspense spy thriller than the adventure thriller though
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