After a lengthy hiatus, I am reinstating Book Review Tuesday. Now that I no longer gainfully employed (a blessing and a curse) I have plenty of time to devote to on of my favorite hobbies: reading.
I have read all of Matthew Reilly's books, most of them 2-3 times. He is just a fantastic author, his books are well researched and well written. Although he has several serialized books, he also has a good number of stand alone novels.
The Tournament is a stand alone novel (so far anyway), that is set during the reign of Henry VIII of England. This book is a first-person narrative from the view of a young, 13-year-old Elizabeth. Third in line to the thrown, and the daughter of the heretic Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth is kept much away from court and lives a much simpler life at a country manor house.
Henry receives an invitation from the Sultan on the Ottoman empire to partake in a grand tournament of wits. A chess tournament, featuring players from every political powerhouse at the time, is to take place in the grand city of Constantinople. Roger Ascham, a notable scholar and Elizabeth's tutor, is given the charge of selecting England's greatest chess player and accompanying them to the tournament. Seeing an indispensible learning experience, Ascham takes Elizabeth along to the tournament.
Without giving too much away, this book is a fantastic murder mystery with many twists and turns. Reilly does a stellar job bringing the exotic city and the people of Constantinople to life. Now a little caveat, this book has rated R themes, which some people may not want to read. I think that these themes and cirumstances are correct for the time period and are not overtly done.
If you like murder mysteries, history, anything to do with the Tudors, I recommend this book.
In love and light,
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