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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Corporate greed, political corruption, systematic disregard for human rights, and pervasive social intolerance. Meets and exceeds my criteria for a relaxing beach read.
Once you get into this story you get hooked and drawn into the nasty ways of the east India Company. Great story, very interesting characters and lots of twists and turns.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an enjoyable read; very much in the line of the previous Benjamin Weaver series. A few interesting notes re: the conflict between free enterprise, regulation, guilds and innovation all revolving around the East India Company.
I didnt find it as compelling as Coffee Trader or Conspiracy of Paper but that could be bec the format he uses is not as novel to me anymore.
I didnt find it as compelling as Coffee Trader or Conspiracy of Paper but that could be bec the format he uses is not as novel to me anymore.
I was a bit torn by this one. The pace is fast. There is witty dialogue that sometimes caused me to laugh out loud. There is intrigue and romance. It just took me a while to get into the rhythm of the language because it is written intensely in period.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this historical though there were times when I was quite confused-- but then I think the hero/narrator was, too. I particularly liked the view of what life was like for the Jews of Dutch/Portuguese descent living in London then.
Skipped past the first 2. Didn't realize it was a series. Just tried a random book based in 1722 due to my new found interest in the period. The mystery was nice, the intrigue was better. The number of characters was a little hard to handle, as well as the fact that every character was involved in the intrigue at some level. It was very few who weren't involved. And those had not much of a role.
I mentally matched the Doctor with Samson while Benjamin might as well have been the emotive detective-Alex Cross. Hard to keep the idea that it was really 18th century London in mind because this could have happened in 1822, or 1922. Possibly even in 2022 without much descriptive differences.
I like that the mega-corporation was highlighted because it makes a good case to look at how large Wal-mart is today and compare it's practices with those of the East India Company as well as the Government's interest in large companies. The words, "too large to fail" come to mind.
I mentally matched the Doctor with Samson while Benjamin might as well have been the emotive detective-Alex Cross. Hard to keep the idea that it was really 18th century London in mind because this could have happened in 1822, or 1922. Possibly even in 2022 without much descriptive differences.
I like that the mega-corporation was highlighted because it makes a good case to look at how large Wal-mart is today and compare it's practices with those of the East India Company as well as the Government's interest in large companies. The words, "too large to fail" come to mind.
Putting his doctorate in 18th century English Lit to good use, David Liss continues the adventures of his brawling, Portuguese-Jewish, thief-taking, smart ass hero, this time as he tangles with the twisted bureaucrats of the British East India Company in the nastiness that is 1722 London.