Firedrake's Eye

A cast of characters which include a noble scion gone mad, a mercenary fallen on hard times and a soft-hearted Inquisitor must foil a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Wonderfully styled and characterized, with an active, emotionally moving plot and a genuinely period feel, Firedrake's Eye is an intelligent, sophisticated novel which will probably appeal to readers of Dunnett, Gentle and Kushner. Its inventive narration and its clear yet Elizabethan-feeling prose help it to stand out.

Ms. Finney never ceases to amaze me with her books. She does a tremendous amount of research for each one and it really shows. In this particular case, the book transports the reader back to the reign of Elizabeth I. She paints the picture of life in England at this time so realistically. We see the squalor and the corruption. We fully realize that, as Ms. Finney states in her introduction, that the Elizabethan people were not very nice people. Ms. Finney's love of history shows in her writing, and this book is no exception. She sees things and tells things like they were, with no frosting or frills. This book is about a terrorist plot to kill the queen, and all the intrigue and ferreting of information that was required to uncover the plot. We see two very different protagonists in this book - Simon Ames - the bookish, Tower inquisitor, who shows really endearing qualities in his friendship with Becket (the other protagonist), and Agnes Fant whom he imprisons in his tower. Mrs. Fant is the pregnant wife of a rich merchant and is the sister of one of the plotters. Becket is entirely the opposite - a hard drinking, whore visiting, trained soldier who befriends Simon, and takes him under his wing after he saves his life at the beginning of the book. What really makes this book special is the narrator, who is mad street beggar, who has very telling episodes of lucidity. Because Ms. Finney tries to make the language more realistic to the era, the reader may find the book difficult to read at first, but if you persevere, you will not be disappointed.

This book has very well conceived gritty characters. The three main ones are David Becket, a toughened gentleman and swordmaster who fell on hard times fighting in the Netherlands; Simon Ames, a Jewish Portuguese agent of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, and 'Tom O'Bedlam' an old law school buddy of Becket's who has given way to madness, who sees angels and devils everywhere, and has an alternate personality called "The Clever One." The story has action and intrigue which is made all the more compelling since it is narrated, at least mostly, by "The Clever One," who because of Tom's discourse with angels can see events as they happen to others. The Elizabethan color permeates the text in an attractively idiosyncratic way. Walsingham makes for the most lively Historical character. In the beginning of the book he is suffering from kidney stones, and Ames' uncle, Dr. Hector Nunez, attends him. Finney takes the time to delve into Walsingham's psyche pondering the effect that being present at St. Bartholomew's massacre when he was Ambassador to Paris may have had on him. This only adds to our understanding of both his role and the intrigue which is the main portion of the story. Other historical characters presented, include Walsingham's son-in-law Sir Phillip Sidney who is working on a procession float for the Queen in the shape of "The Dragon of Discord." And another not so well known historical character, Laurence Pickering, 'the King of Thieves', makes an important contribution to the plot. There are still more interesting characterizations and relationships developed, many quite sad, but I don't want to give too much away. The writing style, above all, impresses. It is really effective and poetic. I felt as though every word was being read to me and didn't want to miss a single one.

Intelligent thriller first, historical novel second, this underrated novel concerns a Day of the Jackal-style assassination plot on the life of Queen Elizabeth I. Our heroes, clever Simon Ames and bear-like ex-mercenary Becket, try to read the clues that will lead to a dangerous assassin consistently one step ahead of them. Patricia Finney's grasp of historical detail is sufficiently good for London to never quite seem the same again after reading about its dank alleyways and filthy taverns four centuries ago. But Finney's real strength is her set-pieces - a swordfight on Bankside interrupted by a performing bear; Simon Ames hanging onto London Bridge for dear life as a pikeman swipes at him, the river rushing below; and best of all the climactic final scene and denouement. Comparisons have been made with Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose but Firedrake's Eye is more of a straight-up, classy detective novel - Ian Rankin with doublets,perhaps?

As an performer who protrays Elizabeth, I found this book a very entertaining and informative glimpse into daily life in Elizabethan times. The writing style the author uses gives a flavor of the period while still being understandable. The characters are colorful, sympathetic and skilfully drawn. The plot weaves through historical fact and political intrigue so cleverly that the reader ingests a great deal of the historical period without even being conscious of being taught (a hallmark of a skillful writer). I highly recommend this historical novel which is more authentic than many so-called scholarly historical books. This is a great read for anyone with an interest in Elizabethan times. However, do not expect to learn much about Elizabeth the person, for although the book deals with an assassination plot against her, she is only in the background of the book.