Thrillers & Suspense
![Bruce Holsinger - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001IXPZ4E.jpg)
The Invention of Fire: A Novel
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. . .
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. . .
Editorial Reviews
"The poet John Gower is the perfect narrator and amateur sleuth. . . . Holsinger's research, alongside the energetic vulgarity of a language in flux, delivers up a world where even the filth is colorful." -- New York Times Book Review
"[A] skillful and engrossing second medieval whodunit… Holsinger is equally adept at depicting the machinations of the rich and powerful and the fears and hopes of the working class." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This excellent period mystery is narrated in a gloriously earthy language that is, long before Shakespeare and the King James Bible, still in the process of taking shape. Fans of the previous book as well as aficionados of the historical genre won't be able to put this novel down. " -- Library Journal (starred review)
"Absorbing . . . Gower's self-deprecating wit and Holsinger's skillful conjuring of detailed mental images will appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Ariana Franklin." -- Booklist
"Authenticity is the hallmark of this world Holsinger so vividly brings to life, and his use of period language and words (wherry, groats) adds another fascinating layer of believability….Holsinger's medieval mystery featuring two famous writers succeeds on every level and will have readers hoping for more." -- Shelf Awareness
"I was swept along by the quality of the writing and the remarkable wealth of detail; at the end I thought all its pieces came together in a satisfying whole . . . The past rarely comes this splendidly to life." -- Washington Post
"Perhaps the unlikeliest sleuthing duo in literary-thriller history, Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, return in Holsinger's second medieval mystery…What they find has terrible implication for their era - and ours - in this fascinating, bawdy and quite fun book." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Holsinger is a graceful guide to the 14th century, lacing his thriller with just the right seasoning of antique words and all the necessary historical detail without any of the fusty smell of a documentary." -- Washington Post
"[A] skillful and engrossing second medieval whodunit… Holsinger is equally adept at depicting the machinations of the rich and powerful and the fears and hopes of the working class." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This excellent period mystery is narrated in a gloriously earthy language that is, long before Shakespeare and the King James Bible, still in the process of taking shape. Fans of the previous book as well as aficionados of the historical genre won't be able to put this novel down. " -- Library Journal (starred review)
"Absorbing . . . Gower's self-deprecating wit and Holsinger's skillful conjuring of detailed mental images will appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Ariana Franklin." -- Booklist
"Authenticity is the hallmark of this world Holsinger so vividly brings to life, and his use of period language and words (wherry, groats) adds another fascinating layer of believability….Holsinger's medieval mystery featuring two famous writers succeeds on every level and will have readers hoping for more." -- Shelf Awareness
"I was swept along by the quality of the writing and the remarkable wealth of detail; at the end I thought all its pieces came together in a satisfying whole . . . The past rarely comes this splendidly to life." -- Washington Post
"Perhaps the unlikeliest sleuthing duo in literary-thriller history, Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, return in Holsinger's second medieval mystery…What they find has terrible implication for their era - and ours - in this fascinating, bawdy and quite fun book." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Holsinger is a graceful guide to the 14th century, lacing his thriller with just the right seasoning of antique words and all the necessary historical detail without any of the fusty smell of a documentary." -- Washington Post
Readers Top Reviews
John.hallBig BandoRa
Not to lmpressed to much much back ground ending a bit feeble not as good as the shadrake series
Sighthound
Really enjoyed this book. Recommended. Is pretty faithful to the era, and a good plot.
lindo
Although I have put five stars, I have not yet read the book, but am going on the fact that I really enjoyed Bruce Holsinger's first book 'The Burnable Book' which I had a job putting down. As this second book is also based in the same part of London, around the same time of 1380's, I am confident that I am going to enjoy this book 'The Invention of Fire' as much. As a south Londoner who lived in Southwark, but worked north of the Thames, I can follow the story around the streets and areas mentioned, (though some of the streets are now known by other names), which always adds enjoyment to a story. I found John Gower, the main character to be a man of many parts, which I found intriguing, and his association with many known people of the period was a clever idea.
Becky Masterman
No movie, book, or Teaching Company lecture series will take you as deeply into a life lived in 14th century England. Holsinger, both scholar and novelist, creates the sights, sounds, and yes, smells, of London as only a person can do who has studied it his whole life. All this learning goes down easy with a complex story comprising multiple gruesome murders, court intrigue, Geoffrey Chaucer, how to get around curfew, pilgrimages, what religious hermits were REALLY like, and the rules of Sanctuary. Most intriguing of all, the plot turns on the earliest use of pistols, or as they called them, 'handgonnes.' I tell you, every time I saw that word I felt a chill. Some mysteries you charge through to get to the resolution. This time do yourself a favor. Savor.
gammyjill
A good historical novel can teach the reader, as well as entertain. Bruce Holsinger, in "The Invention of Fire" (a sequel to his first novel, "A Burnable Book")takes his readers back to 14th century London during the rule of Richard II. London was a rough and tumble place and the city plays almost as much a part in the book, as do the characters. And what characters Holsinger gives us. Real people - like Geoffrey Chaucer and London Mayor Nicholas Brembre - mix with fictional ones, to fill five or so different plot points. These plots all come together by the end of the book, with some help from poet Chaucer. John Gower - introduced in "Burnable Book" - is a sort of fix-it man at the edge of the court. He "knows" things and trades information for information. The politics of the court is in a bit of an upheaval; factions going against each other during Richard's weak reign. England's hold of several areas of France causes on-going skirmishes between England and France. And a new weapon - the "handgonne" - is known about, but how exactly to use it? What's it for, in the age of the bow? Eighteen or so bodies are found in the London sewage system and Gower is asked to look into the identity of the victims and how they got there. The bodies have strange wounds on them. What instrument of death has caused these wounds? Who is making these weapons and what do a couple on-the-lam from the authorities have to do with anything? The book switches from the third person voice to the first person voice of John Gower fairly often. There are many characters but, somehow, the story and the characters make sense in this complicated book. "The Invention of Fire" is not an easy book to read. I do think it's best read by someone with a fairly good knowledge of the period, but for the right reader, it is a true gem of a book.
