Scan barcode
zurpel's review against another edition
4.0
So far the best Fidelma book I've read (which I have to admit is only the third after [b:Valley of the Shadow|1525161|Valley of the Shadow (Sister Fidelma, #6)|Peter Tremayne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184721116s/1525161.jpg|1517089] and [b:Smoke in the Wind|379141|Smoke in the Wind (Sister Fidelma, #11)|Peter Tremayne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309211278s/379141.jpg|1856031]). The story begins with two apparently unrelated incidents: Firstly a monk vanishes along with a set of holy relics. Secondly two lords from adversarial groups are injured when an archer shoots at them when they arrive for peace talks. One of those lords is Fidelma's brother, the king, and his enemies at once suspect him of plotting against them while his allies suspect the other party. It is decided that a court of law should be held to settle the matter. For this Fidelma as the advocate for her brother has nine days time to prepare her defence. Every new clue she finds seems to lead to a new mystery instead of a solution.
As always I find the insight into old Irish law very interesting, being a law student myself. But the law doesn't take over too much of the story, which makes it interesting and suspenseful for everyone who likes a good mystery. I enjoyed myself very much indeed and only began to suspect the solution near the end.
As always I find the insight into old Irish law very interesting, being a law student myself. But the law doesn't take over too much of the story, which makes it interesting and suspenseful for everyone who likes a good mystery. I enjoyed myself very much indeed and only began to suspect the solution near the end.
rebcamuse's review against another edition
4.0
In this seventh installment, Fidelma seems to have come into her own. Tremayne doesn't need to remind us as often that she is a dalaigh, sister to the King, etc., etc. The mystery here has all the right ingredients: a robbery, an assassination plot, political intrigue, multiple locations, shady-but-not-really characters and wholesome-but-not-really characters. It was a good time, and I'll admit being a bit surprised at the end, which is a bonus! The violence seems to be greater than in previous books, but not particularly gory. The relationship between Fidelma and Eadulf grows (slowly) more complex, and there are good passages wherein Eadulf clearly has to grapple with the pagan ideas that inform and are present in medieval Irish Christianity (for some, it turns out), but Tremayne never gets too heavy-handed with the theological musings, so they are important bits of context, not the story itself. I still get mildly frustrated (as do some of the characters) with the final court/tribunal scene (in many of the books) wherein Fidelma relishes the slooooooooooow reveal, but there's enough elsewhere to make this a worthwhile and engaging read.
roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
I prefer the Eadulf in the later Fidelma books, as he seems more like a Watson to Fidelma's Sherlock here, as opposed to them being on more equal footing in the later books. But this was an entertaining read with an attempted assassination and stolen relics leading to the unwinding of a complex conspiracy.
veriditas's review against another edition
3.0
I'll leave this as a review for all Sister Fidelma books.
A Sister Fidelma Drinking Game.
Take a shot every time:
- The murder turns out to be a matter of national security
- Sister Fidelma gets into a pissing contest (actually, take a *sip* every time this happens unless you're using these books to commit suicide by alcohol poisoning)
- The narrator remarks that Sister Fidelma NEVER gets into pissing contests
- Sister Fidelma is informed that an obviously incorrect solution is obviously correct
- Aedulf zigzags between comic relief and deus ex machina (another shot if the narrator remarks on the inconsistency)
- Someone yells during the obligatory court room tell-all scene at the end
- There is a long period of clunky exposition delivered by characters who are telling each other what they already know (one extra shot if one of the people expresses impatience at being told what they know, two extra shots if the words "as you know" appear)
- A classic source is quoted in both the original and in English translation in the same paragraph (another shot if someone says something like "I know how much you like quoting Latin, SISTER")
I also suspect Tremayne is significantly exaggerating the basic goodness/decency/equality/tolerance etc of Irish society at the time, or at least viewing what information we do have through rose-tinted lenses, but I still like Sister Fidelma in all her 90s grrlpower informed-flawlessness. I'm reading the entire series the way I'd binge NCIS or another procedural show.
For those who dislike the Gaelic names and terminology and wonder about the pronunciation, a significant part of the series is included with Audible Plus.
A Sister Fidelma Drinking Game.
Take a shot every time:
- The murder turns out to be a matter of national security
- Sister Fidelma gets into a pissing contest (actually, take a *sip* every time this happens unless you're using these books to commit suicide by alcohol poisoning)
- The narrator remarks that Sister Fidelma NEVER gets into pissing contests
- Sister Fidelma is informed that an obviously incorrect solution is obviously correct
- Aedulf zigzags between comic relief and deus ex machina (another shot if the narrator remarks on the inconsistency)
- Someone yells during the obligatory court room tell-all scene at the end
- There is a long period of clunky exposition delivered by characters who are telling each other what they already know (one extra shot if one of the people expresses impatience at being told what they know, two extra shots if the words "as you know" appear)
- A classic source is quoted in both the original and in English translation in the same paragraph (another shot if someone says something like "I know how much you like quoting Latin, SISTER")
I also suspect Tremayne is significantly exaggerating the basic goodness/decency/equality/tolerance etc of Irish society at the time, or at least viewing what information we do have through rose-tinted lenses, but I still like Sister Fidelma in all her 90s grrlpower informed-flawlessness. I'm reading the entire series the way I'd binge NCIS or another procedural show.
For those who dislike the Gaelic names and terminology and wonder about the pronunciation, a significant part of the series is included with Audible Plus.
jenaly's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy learning about Ireland's history through these books, but I was starting to feel that the main characters, Fidelma and Eadulf, were getting a little predictable. But the ending left me thinking I will read another...maybe a change in character is on the way...
smcleish's review
2.0
Originally published on my blog here in February 2000.
The latest Sister Fidelma mystery shows no real signs of improvement, having the same plot once again. This time the threat to her brother Colgu's throne is an all out assassination attempt in his capital at Cashel rather than a dark plot in the corners of the kingdom of Muman (better known by its Viking name of Munster). There are distinct signs of cheating, as when Fidelma looks at a sword and says that its use of animal teeth is a speciality of the art of one of the Irish kingdoms but she can't remember which one. Surely that's not the way that people remember things; she might more plausibly realise that there's something special about the sword but not be sure what it is.
All the real interest, all the character development, comes in the epilogue; at last something changes in her relationship with the Saxon Eadwulf; at last she might leave Muman and go somewhere new. But none of this is prepared; it all comes as a surprise. Thus, the next Sister Fidelma novel might be worth reading, but if it isn't I'll finally give up on the series.
The latest Sister Fidelma mystery shows no real signs of improvement, having the same plot once again. This time the threat to her brother Colgu's throne is an all out assassination attempt in his capital at Cashel rather than a dark plot in the corners of the kingdom of Muman (better known by its Viking name of Munster). There are distinct signs of cheating, as when Fidelma looks at a sword and says that its use of animal teeth is a speciality of the art of one of the Irish kingdoms but she can't remember which one. Surely that's not the way that people remember things; she might more plausibly realise that there's something special about the sword but not be sure what it is.
All the real interest, all the character development, comes in the epilogue; at last something changes in her relationship with the Saxon Eadwulf; at last she might leave Muman and go somewhere new. But none of this is prepared; it all comes as a surprise. Thus, the next Sister Fidelma novel might be worth reading, but if it isn't I'll finally give up on the series.
More...