When I first stumbled upon Martyr, I was looking for something to replace C.J. Sansom's Mathew Shardlake series. Honestly,  I wasn't expecting to ever find something. The Shardlake series is a rarity when it comes to Tudor-era fiction. Clements has been more than up to the task with his John Shakespeare series. They have a gritty, edge to them that is very comparable to Sansom's work. 

There is a but here. It's going to be a fancy but (Friends reference anyone?). However, Sansom's characters are just a little bit more compelling. John is not a bad guy. His only fault is he is incredibly naive. For someone who works for one of the biggest spymasters in history, he sure doesn't play the game very well. I think that changes after the tragedy suffered in this novel. John's sidekick, Boltfoot Cooper, seems to be the one who suffers the most from his bosses inability to figure things out. 

Currently this is a seven book series so one could assume that being this is only book three, there's time for John Shakespeare to develop in to a cold, calculating agent working for the good of Her Majesty's realm. We all know what happens when you assume things. This book isn't actually the third book in a seven book series. It's more like the fifth book in a seven book series. See this series has two different orders. One order is the publication order. The other is the chronological order within the books. Books six and seven are actually books one and two. Normally, this wouldn't bother me. At least I don't think it would. I can't actually recall reading a series where the author suddenly decides mid-series to go back to the beginning. It annoys me just a little bit to think that this had to be the author's plan from the beginning. I had to stop reading Prince at about the 10-15% mark. There were so many references to previous cases that I couldn't keep up. I had to stop reading and go order books six and seven which are the books in which these previous cases are addressed. Confused yet? 

I promise I have a point with this review. I'm getting there. Just kidding, I'm there. My point is if you want to read these novels (which I do recommend), read them in the chronological order, not the published order. 

Here's the difference-

Publication Order

Martyr

Revenger

Prince

Traitor

The Heretics

The Man in the Snow (Short Story)

The Queen's Man

Holy Spy

Chronological Order (per book events)

The Queen's Man

Holy Spy

Martyr

Revenger

Prince

Traitor

The Heretics

The Man in the Snow (Short Story) 

I highly recommend the chronological order. Personally, I'm planning a re-read of the entire series just so I can better appreciate the chain of events. 

I'm getting a little long winded here and I've not really mentioned anything about this specific book. I don't have much to add on that front. As pointed out in a previous post, I found the book's commentary on immigration in Tudor England to be rather enlightening. The fact that as a society we haven't actually changed much over the centuries actually gives me a little hope for the future. I mean if we've made it this far being horribly ignorant and unwilling to accept blame for our own failures, I guess there's no reason to believe future generations can't survive. Right? *eye roll*

I have come to love this series because the books are quick reads. They are dramatic. The mysteries are intriguing. 

Here comes the but. However (that's just a fancy but), the characters are getting a little outrageous. In this novel, Emily goes from being the widowed wife of a Lord to taking a position as a lady's maid. I'm suppose to believe that society girl, Emily, would pass off as a lady's maid? Seriously? And how have we gotten to this point with Charlotte? She spends more time in society houses than her own house. And yet, society hasn't figured out who she is yet? Nobody realizes that this woman magically appears every time there's a scandal? For as much tea room gossip as there seems to be, I find it hard to believe nobody has yet realized that while Charlotte is the sister of the well-connected Emily, she's also the wife of the police officer who is constantly at their door. 

All of that being said, I'm still going to devour the next book in the series. 

The problem with finishing these books so quickly is that I have to wait so long for the next installment. My husband informs me that it is much like how he feels every day I tell him we don't have time to go see Endgame.

Tiny rant incoming.

1.) Thursday night is a school night. I can't be out that late on a school night and neither can our babysitter. 2.) On Friday night I had to help host a party for a friend 3.) I had a vendor/craft event all day yesterday. 4.) Today we have to go to his nephew's Eagle Scout ceremony. 4.) The idea of being in a small space with that many people terrifies me and gives me horrible anxiety. For now, my husband just needs to stay off the internet until next weekend when we have time.

Books are much easier to spend time with. They fit in my purse. I can read in the car while someone else drives. 

Tiny rant over.

This is the best book I have read all year. There was just so much to love about it. The only think that didn't really work for me was the cheesy last page but otherwise, I loved every word. 

Stoker is dangerously close to overthrowing my current literary boyfriend, Uhtred. He's just so damn dreamy. If these books had been written 10-ish years ago and adapted for any sort of screen, Clive Owen is my pick for Stoker. Feel free to put forward your own suggestions. Not only, is he dreamy but we have a few things in common. Stoker can provide a Keats reference for any situation he finds himself in. My Keats is terribly rusty. However, I can make a Friends reference for anything. Ask all of my co-workers. We both spend time with a female who likes to plunge headfirst into situations without assessing the danger. Granted my seven year old usually finds herself in different situations than Veronica but he ability to assess danger is non existent. Ask the doctor who has seen her twice this year for head injuries. Unlike Stoker, I've never sailed. My ability to swim is questionable. My brothers are all bigger than me and hitting them wouldn't end well. I also have huge issues with blood. 

Veronica is much less Veronica in this novel. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it. By the end of the book, it worked. This Veronica is a little more subtle. She still speaks when she shouldn't. She still makes rash decisions. There's just less of it. The Veronica spends so much time with her own personal conflicts that she forgets to jump to conclusions about the people and mysteries around her. I realize the entire series has been about whatever is developing between Veronica and Stoker. I felt this book spent much less time on the mystery at hand and more time really fleshing out the Veronica/Stoker relationship. Based on the way this novel ended, I get the impression, the reverse will be true in the next novel. 

I took a sip and nearly chocked. "This is not cider," I protested as I wheezed.

"Of course it is," she told me, taking a great swallow of the stuff and smacking her lips appreciatively. "With a bit of rum in it."

"How much rum, Mother Nance?"

"No more'n half a teacup in each," she promised.

Mother Nance and I make apple cider using very similar methods. 

I love reading about the histories of words, the etymology of language, especially in English since it's my mother tongue.

This book is almost 30 years out of date, however, and I obtained it through a strange series of happenstance. The black and, well, cream colored wood engraving print illustrations by Barry Moser are beautiful and I am very tempted to cut or copy them out and frame them on a wall. The choice of words explained are interesting, and some of the stories are interesting, but most are about as dry as I remember my linguistics textbook being. It's better suited to being a coffee table book for the academically inclined guest in my opinion, and I'll probably keep it just for that reason.