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Královi Psi (2013)

by Martin Jensen(Favorite Author)

3.46 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Plus

series

Kong Knud

review 1: An interesting murder mystery set in medieval Oxford as Cnut aims to unify Saxons, Vikings, and other assorted groups, and impose peace on a war torn England. The Saxon illustrator Winston and impoverished half-Danish nobleman Halfdan join forces to investigate a violent death, and soon find their own lives in danger. The tone of this novel is pleasantly light-hearted, and Winston and Halfdan make an amusing couple of sleuths. Their friendship doesn't develop as fully as I would have liked in this book, but it offers scope for that to happen in later books. The plot is intriguing, it unfolds quite slowly but there are plenty of twists and turns, and some exciting moments of danger. The setting of medieval Oxford is conveyed well, descriptions of buildings and camps, smells... more and sounds evoke the dirt and chaos of the time and place, and the political considerations of this turbulent time are fascinating to read about.There are a few modern Americanisms which do jar at times - I found 'worst case scenario' and 'for sure you're fresh' sounded particularly odd in the context of medieval England - but on the whole the translation works quite well.I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a quirky medieval mystery with a light hearted feel.
review 2: A good read -- which is complicated by the fact that it had to be well written, and then well translated. The characters are well drawn and the time period is interesting without being completely alien ... or overworked.Winston is an illuminator of manuscripts. He provides the artwork for the hand-lettered manuscripts produced by monasteries in England in 1018 under King Cnute, the Dane who rules the country. Winston's talent is such that he can command his own price and choose what work interests him.While traveling he meets up with Halfdan, a man of noble birth whose properties have been confiscated, but who is still good with a sword and becomes an able assistant.A promised assignment falls through, but they attract the attention of the king when a potentially embarrassing murder comes to light.The unfolding story of the murder and its solution are well handled. I'm not an expert on the time period, but it rang true. And the ending, while probably not satisfying to a modern reader, was perfectly appropriate for the time.I'm already reading the second book in the series. less

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