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    The Invention of Fire: A Novel
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    The Invention of Fire: A Novel
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    The Invention of Fire: A Novel
    Ebook527 pages7 hours

    The Invention of Fire: A Novel

    By Bruce Holsinger

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    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. . . 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 21, 2015
    ISBN9780062356475
    Author

    Bruce Holsinger

    Bruce Holsinger is a professor of English Language and literature whose books on medieval culture have won major prizes from the Modern Language Association and the Medieval Academy of America. Bruce is also a Guggenheim fellow and the recipient of many prestigious research fellowships. He lives in Virginia with his wife and sons. His debut novel, A Burnable Book,was published to critical acclaim in 2014 and is the first to feature John Gower. The Invention of Fire is his second novel.

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    Reviews for The Invention of Fire

    3.5/5

    8 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      When sixteen dead men are found in one of London's sewers, with fifteen bearing wounds no one has ever seen before, John Gower is asked by one of his Guildhall contacts to look into the matter. Meanwhile, two prisoners are fleeing north to escape not only the long arm of the law, but also the reach of a very powerful man, having witnessed an atrocity that they should not have survived.This is the second volume in Bruce Holsinger's series centred on the poet and dealer in information John Gower. With this book the reader is plunged into tensions both domestic and international, with King Richard II at odds with the lords appellant and a portion of England's citizens, and the realm under threat from invasion from the combined forces of France and Burgundy. Into this political mix is thrown the evolution of the portable gun, which marks a seismic shift in the way humans deal out death.To me these were the most interesting aspects of the book, while the whodunit element wasn't quite as successful, with all fingers pointing so obviously in one direction that the author was clearly leading the reader along a false trail. Furthermore, the narrative is subdivided into two further strands: one tracking the two escapees and the second following a talented smith and founder who becomes instrumental in the development and eventual deployment of the new weapon; while the second plot strand definitely adds to the story, the first could easily have been dispensed with as it doesn't add anything to the narrative per se. Still, this is an intelligent historical political thriller and I'm looking forward to further stories with John Gower and Geoffrey Chaucer.
    • 4/5
      Really this book should have been three stars, but I gave it an extra one simply because I love that Geoffrey Chaucer is a character. Overall, this is a decent follow-up to A Burnable Book (although, I admit I enjoyed that book more than this one), and it picks up on a few unresolved threads from the previous book. This is definitely a good book for those interested in medieval England, but I don't know that it would have much crossover appeal.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book featuring John Gower, a poet and information broker who was also a friend of Chaucer. I didn't love this book quite as much as I loved A Burnable Book, but that one was sort of a tough act to follow. The two books follow a similar pattern. There are several intertwined subplots and a lot of deception with the action culminating at an official gathering. For those who read the first book, Eleanor/Edgar makes a brief, uneventful appearance in the new book. Chaucer is also still around but not as central to the story. The three main subplots in this book involve the early development of the handgun, a multiple murder with the bodies discovered dumped in a ditch and, finally, the flight of two escaped prisoners. This last subplot felt totally unnecessary and was not fleshed out well. The linkage to the other two subplots seemed forced. In general, while the book was well researched and written, I did not find the characters as interesting, or the story as intricate, as in A Burnable Book. However, I did enjoy this book and I hope the author continues to write books set in this period. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 4/5
      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 his friend, Chaucer, warns him against continuing. But as the number of dead mounts and he is sent to Calais after villagers are murdered indiscriminately in the open marketplace by what appear to be English soldiers using handgonnes, Gower is determined to discover the truth but even he, a man who has spent his life dealing with the worst kinds of intrigue, is unprepared for what and who is behind it and how far they will go to achieve their intended ends.The handgun changed the course of war, a fact that author Bruce Holsinger uses brilliantly to construct one intriguing and well-written historical mystery in his novel The Invention of Fire. Full of interesting characters and even more interesting history, he brings to life the world of Medieval England in all its often unkempt glory and best of all, he makes it exciting. This is the second in the series featuring John Gower but the first I’ve read - I can say with certainty, however, that it won’t be my last.
    • 4/5
      A very strong followup to last year's A Burnable Book, again featuring John Gower and Geoffrey Chaucer. This time we're caught up in a conspiracy involving the early development of handgun technology in England and the political rivalries around Richard II.
    • 2/5
      It's been a long time since I read a medieval mystery so I suppose I was about due. The Invention of Fire, was a complex, literary novel filled with a large cast and several simultaneous stories. It's not for the faint of heart. Sixteen corpses were discovered in a London sewage ditch, and John Gower (think Little Finger from Game of Thrones but waay less handsome) has been told in secret that he should investigate. What he uncovers is a nest of half truths, flat out lies and dangerous, dangerous motives that will affect all of London. Intriguing, but... slow and a bit hard to get into. For fans of medival mysteries and Chaucer only.
    • 4/5
      Gripping story, with colorful characters, although a little slow at times. Set in London in 1386, we get a tale of political intrigue mixed with a solid murder mystery. Once I was invested in the plot the pace seemed to move at a better clip as well. By all means worth the read!