The Invention of Fire (John Gower, #2)

Posted on 03 July 2017 by Bruce Holsinger

The author of the acclaimed medieval mystery A Burnable Book once again brings fourteenth century London alive in all its color and detail in this riveting thriller featuring medieval poet and fixer John Gower a twisty tale rife with intrigue, danger mystery, and murder.Though he is one of England s most acclaimed intellectuals, John Gower is no stranger to London s wretched slums and dark corners, and he knows how to trade on the secrets of the kingdom s most powerful men When the bodies of sixteen unknown men are found in a privy, the Sheriff of London seeks Gower s help The men s wounds ragged holes created by an unknown object are unlike anything the sheriff s men have ever seen Tossed into the sewer, the bodies were meant to be found Gower believes the men may have been used in an experiment a test for a fearsome new war weapon his informants call the handgonne, claiming it will be the future of death if its design can be perfected.Propelled by questions of his own, Gower turns to courtier and civil servant Geoffrey Chaucer, who is working on some poems about pilgrims that Gower finds rather vulgar Chaucer thinks he just may know who commissioned this new weapon, an extremely valuable piece of information that some will pay a high price for and others will kill to conceal. Best Read [ The Invention of Fire (John Gower, #2) ] Author [ Bruce Holsinger ] – kino-fada.fr Bruce Holsinger, please keep writing John Gower books Simon Vance, please keep reading them to me.This is the perfect combination of story and voice The topic of this second volume of John Gower adventures is that despised new invention, handgonnes Their use is off to a bad start, of course a mass murder 1300s England comes to life through the failing eyes of John Gower, his friend Geoffrey Chaucer, and various other characters from nobility to riffraff and everyone in between I was pl Bruce Holsinge...I picked this up in my library with no knowledge of the author and only as it was being put out on the shelf as I passed by, and a shiny new library book is always a pleasure to grab and take home.This is a very well written and enjoyable fictional glimpse into medieval England and in particular London in 1386 during the reign of Richard II What I really enjoyed was the author s who is an American professor of English language and literature description of life, law and lawlessness during h I picked this up in my library with no knowledge of the author a...Whew Difficult read.It s a 4.5 star but I rounded it up for the incredible amount of research and authenticity for the late 14th century in England that Bruce Holsinger develops within this book.This is a John Gower, our sheriff and finder, his book 2 But it was completely a stand alone in its scope and its detail I had not read 1 and yet found this book entrancing.SO MANY WORDS, English words and usages that are archaic or at least not in common state of grammar And the baseness of some o Whew Difficult read.It s a 4.5 star but I rounded it up for the incredible amount of research and authenticity for the late 14th century in England that Bruce Holsinger develops within this book.This is a John Gower, our sheriff and finder, his book 2 But it was completely a stand alone in its scope and its detail I had not read 1 and yet found this book entrancing.SO M...Disclosure up front I took a Coursera class led by Prof Bruce Holsinger two years ago.This is the second of Bruce Holsinger s books featuring poet John Gower as a detective Like A Burnable Book, the first tale, this book is rich in historical detail and entertaining characters.There are a couple of subplots that eventually come together The first plot begins when 16 dead bodies are found in London s Long Drop public privy by the night soil removers The second involves Stephen Marsh, a ski Disclosure up front I took a Coursera class led by Prof Bruce Holsinger two years ago.This is the second of Bruce Holsinger s books featuring poet John Gower as a detective Like A Burnable Book, the first tale, this book is rich in historical detail and entertaining characters.There are a couple of subplots that eventually come together The first plot begins when 16 dead bodies are found in London s Long Drop public privy by the night soil removers The second involves Stephen Marsh, a skilled metalworker who is indentured to the bell maker for whom he was once an employee The third involves Gower himself, who is losing his sight and wondering how he is going to make a living.The mystery concerni...I read this for the Readers Group I run, and although I do normally really enjoy this type of historical fiction, I found this book a bit too long and at times confusing I felt there were too many characters in the book and the ch...A rewarding tale of returns and the dangers of playing with fire This savory historical series continues to claim my attention and to be a solid recommendation to other readers who may have been searching for a literary experience that quickly immerses them into embattled lanes of survival in 14th century London and beyond the realm That not only holds brilliantly noted facets of historical research that ties everything together by the final page but offers the chance to follow a shrewd narrato A rewarding tale of returns and the dangers of playing with fire This savory historical series continues to claim my attention and to be a solid recommendation to other readers who may have been searching for a literary experience that quickly immerses them into embattled lanes of survival in 14th century London and beyond the realm That not only holds brilliantly noted facets of historical research that ties everything together by the final page but offers the chance to follow a shrewd narrator into the very depths of intrigue, greed and betrayal that courses through 14th century Europe And believe me when I say, this can become quite the ride if the reader is patient enough to find out what will happen next In The Invention of Fire, Mr Holsinger takes us on a fascinating journey that begins with a ghastly discovery of mass murder The story then slinks into the voice of John Gower who seizes the opportunity to find out the ulti...The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger is a terrific mystery about the age of modern weaponry and it s introduction into the English culture It is London, 1386, and mass murder has taken place within the city walls Sixteen dead bodies have been found, bearing wounds like none that have been seen before Shield fragments, I would say, said Baker Carried there by the ball, and lodged in the skin around the point of penetration We both knew, in that moment, what he was about to tell us The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger is a terrific mystery about the age of modern weaponry and it s introduction into the English culture It is London, 1386, and mass murder has taken place within the city walls Sixteen dead bodies have been found, bearing wounds like none that have been seen before Shield fragments, I would say, said Baker Carried there by the ball, and lodged in the skin around the point ...It is the year 1386, and the bodies of 16 men have been found dumped in a public privy in the city of London, all of the corpses bearing strange wounds John Gower, who makes his living trading secrets, is hired to discover not only the cause of death and the culprit responsible but who these men are As he follows the evidence, he discovers that they were killed by a very recent invention the handgonne.His investigation is stymied by some very powerful men including the Mayor of London as wel It is the year 1386, and the bodies of 16 men have been found dumped in a public privy in the city of London, all of the corpses bearing strange wounds John Gower, who makes his living trading secrets, is hired to discover not only the cause of death and the culprit responsible but who these men are As he follows the evidence, he discovers that they were killed by a very recent invention the handgonne.His investigation is stymied by some very powerful men including the Mayor of London as well as his failing eyesight and even hi...Last February, I reviewed Bruce Holsinger s novel A Burnable Book, which was set during the reign of Richard II with a central character drawn from history, the poet John Gower, who he also depicts as a blackmailer and detective and a friend of the better known writer Chaucer Now, in The Invention of Fire, John Gower is back, attempting to solve a multiple murder and international intrigue that revolves around the newly developed handgonne Holsinger, a much honored scholar of the medieval per Last February, I reviewed Bruce Holsinger s novel A Burnable Book, which was set during the reign of Richard II with a central character drawn from history, the poet John Gower, who he also depicts as a blackmailer and detective and a friend of the bet...Mr Holsinger has once again written a marvelous historical fiction mystery involving both John Gower as his primary amateur sleuth and including other colorful characters like Chaucer and the Duke of Gloucester The plot twists and turns but deals with the introduction of the first handguns in warfare, which remarkably changed the tenor of warfare It is a well written book incorporating real historical figures an...

03 July 2017

Bruce Holsinger