Dark Entry by M J Trow

Background

M J (Meirion James) Trow as well as being an author is also a teacher of History and Politics. He is quite a prolific writer with well over 30 novels based around the characters of ‘Lestrade’ (Think Sherlock Holmes) and Peter Maxwell (An Amateur Sleuth) along with a number of non fiction offerings.

Dark entry is set to be the first of a series based on the Kit Marlowe character and Trow’s academic background shines through in this period ‘who done it’ with many of the primary characters being real historical characters (Kit Marlowe, Sir Roger Manwood and Dr John Dee) 

It is also worth adding that it rumoured that Marlow was at least an influence on Shakespeare with some believing that it may have been Marlow that penned Shakespeare’s actual works.

Synopsys

Set in Cambridge in 1583, Christopher (Kit) Marlowe Is about to graduate from Corpus Christi College, where he spends his days studying and his nights carousing with friends. But when one his oldest friends, Ralph Whitingside, is discovered lying dead in his King's College room, mouth open in a silent, black-edged scream, Marlowe refuses to accept the official verdict of suicide.

Calling on the help of his mentor, Sir Roger Manwood, Justice of the Peace, and Dr John Dee, a man who knows more of poisons than anyone else, Marlowe sets out to prove that his boyhood friend was murdered.

Review

This book is written in what I would consider a very ‘flowery’ and elegant style, which suits the period it is set, very well. As the main characters, of which there are quite a few, are introduced they are immediately fleshed out and made real to the reader, this again, is done in a well constructed manner, possibly because a number of them have their origins in fact. 

Both the plot and the story it contains are well thought out, and although the book is a piece of historic fiction, it works exceptionally well as a murder mystery – and, in my opinion, up there with some of the best.

As I have eluded to, there are quite a few characters in this book, not just main and primary but also secondary and walk on, so at times things can seem ‘complicated’ but in my opinion not overly so and the ‘heavy traffic’ helps move the plot a long at a pace where I found it hard to put this book down.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rate it as excellent and I will be watching out for more in the series, and may go back and read some of Trow’s other novels to see if this quality is consistent throughout his work.

Rating

I give this book 9.5 out of 10, possibly one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time.

WW

On a Pale Horse: by Piers Anthony

Background

On a Pale Horse is the first book in the (currently) eight book ‘Incarnations of Immortality’ series by Piers Anthony, The first seven books each focus on one of seven main supernatural "offices" of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, and Good, in a fictional reality and history that runs parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology in equal measures. 

The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans, called "Incarnations", who hold these supernatural positions for a period of time.

Synopsis

When Zane, a bit of a looser in life, shoots Death, he learns, too late, that he would have to take the place of the grim reaper, speeding over the world riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others, and weighing there worth, deciding on haven or hell for there souls … or even purgatory.  

Then sooner than he would have thought possible, Zane found himself being drawn to Satan's plot. Already the Prince of Evil was forging a trap in which Zane must act to destroy Luna, the woman he loved...unless he could discover the only way out....

Review

Let me start from the off and say that the best thing about this book is the main character, Zane/Death, the book quickly batters Zane down the starts the rebuild, in the process a fully believable 3-D character is formed that as a reader I rooted for and empathised with.

I am not putting the rest of the book down; I am just saying the main character was superbly formed.

As a whole the story kept me hooked and I read the book over a couple of weekends, so not fully a ‘couldn’t put down’ read but quite close.  The story unfolds at a reasonable pace with a consistent direction and a smattering of humour; I also found the parallel universe where the action takes place very well contrived.  

What I would warn though is if you are looking for something similar to ‘Mort by Terry Pratchett’ this is not it – ‘On a Pale Horse’ is a much more sophisticated read.

Towards the end of the book I found my self drifting for a chapter or so, where I thought the book lost some of its pace and enjoyment, but that was more a transient moment rather that the complete book and the story soon recovers to deliver an excellent climax.

A well written good read :)

Rating

I give this book 7.5 out of 10. I’d say this is a series that I may go back to and read the others.

WW