Anyone enjoying C. J.Sansom's books?

It's a horrid end to a lovely character, isn't it Mermaid? Except that the historical ending and the character are not really the same person. My hope is that SJP ignores history and just carries on with Bruno the investigator.

I think Anton Lesser could have been a great Shardlake a few years back. I have seen him play sympathetic characters with touching humanity. But I think he may be too old now.

And re Shardlake admiring Nicholas, isn't that just about him admiring healthy bodies as he is so obsessed with his own deformity?

I love the shardlake series but also quite enjoyed Winter in Madrid. He also wrote Dominion which is great - imagines a Britain which had appeased Hitler and the consequences.

Dumbledore - just googled Giordano Bruno :( I hadn't realised he was a real person. I knew his friend Sir Philip Sidney was real and had a sad ending. I hope SJP ends her series before that event.

I respect TH but Matthew is dark and gaunt so don't think it fits.

Lamentation pissed me off too. I don't want X to be replaced with Y. Seems like a step back.

It adds to the sense that no matter what book we're on, no progress is made.

I hated the ending to Lamentation too. How to make good though? What's done is done - trying desperately to avoid spoilers for anyone yet to read it so can't even mention names.

I still think Matthew's, if not gay, then certainly amenable to all offers of a shag. He was eyeing up Nicholas and admiring his figure rather a lot, including comments about his sword skills

Point taken about Anton Lesser, squoosh. He would make a good Sir Richard Rich. He was brilliant as Sir Thomas More in Wolf Hall. Such a lovely voice. I do like Tom Hollander very much, but as Shardlake? I'm not so sure. Difficult. I still prefer to keep him to myself and not see someone else's interpretation, although I did listen to the adaptations on Radio 4 Extra.

And yes Squoosh to the ending of Lamentation. Bloody fuming here. He better make good in some way for that in the next book.

Love Shardlake and read the books as they come out but, without meaning to spoil anything for current readers, I do think Heartstone and Lamentation are a step down from the first 4. I think Sansom is running out of steam, personally. Dark Fire was my favourite, mainly because of the introduction of Jack who is a brilliant foil to Shardlake.

I also adore SJ Parris' books. I can see that they may be considered inferior as they are less well written, but they are far pacier and Bruno is such an endearing character. I do find Shardlake a bit stuffy at times. The only trouble with Bruno is, he is a real person and if you google him, you will find that he comes to a very unpleasant end in the not too distant future from the period Parris is writing about. I fear greatly for him.

Oh Squoosh I'm so jealous that you have got that to experience for the first time! It is absolutely wonderful and I really hope you enjoy it! Tom Hollander is, of course, brilliant in it, but so is Rupert Penry-Jones and everyone else. Let me know how you get on with it!!

if anyone hasn't seen the BBC adaptation on Cambridge Spies with him, watch it - it is one of the best things I've seen!

Oddly enough I ordered that DVD a few weeks ago WordGetsAround! Haven't watched it yet though.

Did anyone else scream 'NO' at That Thing (no spoilers) that happened at the end of Lamentation. I was furious.

I don't think Matthew is gay either. He clearly yearns for a wifely companion but his melancholy disposition and his disability mean he doesn't feel confident enough following through on his crushes. Although some of his crushes are entirely unsuitable!

I love the Shardlake series, yes I do worry about Matthew he is a great character, completely human which is why he interfere it is in his nature. I can't wait for the next book.

MermaidofZennor that's fine, I'll give you the heads up as to when they're on TV so you can avoid them

And as much as I love Anton Lesser I don't see him as Shardlake. I do however think he'd be great as Matthew's nemesis Sir Richard Rich though!

I've read Dissolution and really enjoyed it. I haven't read any of the others yet, but my ex-MIL recently offered to lend her entire set to me . I'm looking forward to them, now I just need to find the time to actually read them...

I don't think he's gay, I just think he's so thirsty for lovin' he finds everyone attractive!

Seriously he needs to get laid.

But he's going to die a virgin isn't he?

Oh, and whilst the S J Parris novels maybe aren't as historically detailed as C J Sansom's, they are good fun to read. And Giordano Bruno is a handsome, red blooded male, who has a lot more success with women :o I like them and thought they were well written. Recommended, but don't compare with Shardlake.

I'm just going to throw this thought in here and fully expect to get shot down in flames :o. Is Matthew gay? I started wondering this whilst ploughing through Lamentation (and it did start to feel a bit like ploughing unfortunately) because he, on more than one occasion, comments on how handsome he thinks his new assistant Nicholas is. I just wondered, seeing as he has no luck with women, whether maybe he was um .... secretly gay? Has anyone else thought that? Or am I alone in that thought and very very wrong? I'll shut up now before I ruin the novels for everyone

I've read every one of them but my love affair started to wane with Lamentation.

Why must Matthew be written as such a sad character? He's just so miserable all the time. And he does bring a lot of it on himself. Character X tells Matthew not to interfere, he interferes anyway, Character X gets furious, Matthew gets saaaaad.

But my patience is wearing thin. Sometimes it's genuinely none of his business! So he can make sad faces all he wants but on occasion he needs a good kick up the arse!

He's a meddler! Like when he decided in Heartstone to combine his official enquiries with a side project of digging into that poor asylum woman's past despite her obvious discomfort.

Oh and don't get me started on his romantic stuff. At this stage Sansom is clearly just going to throw unrequited crushes at him for the rest of his life. I fully expect him to fall in love with Elizabeth 1st next!

Dominion is also marvellous.

I too have read Winter in Madrid and really didn't get on with it, so I almost let the Shardlake series pass me by. I'm really glad I gave it a chance. Matthew is a brilliant character, and as a PP said, I really worry for him. Also I love the relationship between Matthew and Jack.

*amongst

I too enjoy CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels, and rank them amongdt my favourite books. I have also read his Winter in Madrid and do not recommend it; it is nowhere near the standard of the Shardlake novels and drags its feet. I stuck with it out of loyalty to CJ Sansom but wish I hadn't!

All my own opinion of course

Sorry - last thing from me. Is anyone else's favourite bit the historical notes at the end? I love to know the fact from the fiction and the educated guesses!

Forgot to say I loved the radio 4 adaptations (anyone listening to the Forsyth Saga this week?).

What similar books do people read? My other favourite authors Alison Weir and Edward Rutherford.