Tuesday 23 December 2014

COURT OF CONSPIRACY by April Taylor

5 out of 5 stars

Historical, Tudor, fantasy


Originally posted on Amazon UK HERE on 28 November 2014
On Amazon.com HERE



I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not - a mix of Tudor history and fantasy/magic? I was pleased to find that it was excellent, and I read it in two days!

The author clearly knows her subjects very well indeed, which always makes such a difference. The history itself is detailed and accurate, and I very much liked the accounts of the day to day domestic life of the period. I'm fascinated by the thought of possible alternative lives, and the idea of what might have happened had Henry VIII believed his wife Anne Boleyn over the accusations of her enemies is an intriguing one. Of course all events have a butterfly's wing effect, and Ms Taylor imagined the fates of other members of the Tudor court cleverly. The politics of the day are so well described, too; how quickly, in those dangerous and turbulent times, one could fall from favour...





I am not usually one for magic/fantasy novels, but this element of the story was most convincing; it made me think of a more grown up and serious Hogwarts! I wonder how much of it was just the author's imagination and how much was taken from the beliefs and practices of the time; I imagine it's a combination of the two. I particularly liked the parts about numerology and the breaking of codes; oddly enough I was only watching a TV programme last night about the use of codes in secret communications during Elizabethan times, and Ms Taylor has all this spot on. To sum up, the fusing of history with fantasy is very successful, and I shall definitely be reading the next book in the series before too long. I think it would appeal to anyone interested in the Tudor period, and to those who enjoy reading believable fantasy.


TASTE OF TREASON by April Taylor reviewed HERE 


MANTLE OF MALICE by April Taylor reviewed HERE

 

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