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Thomas Hill #1
The King's Spy
Summer, 1643
England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed.
For Thomas Hill, a man of letters quietly running a bookshop in the rural town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn.
When a stranger knocks on his door one night and informs him that the king's cryptographer has died, everything changes. Aware of Thomas's background as a mathematician and his expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to his court in Oxford.
On arrival, Thomas soon discovers that nothing at court is straightforward. There is evidence of a traitor in their midst. Brutal murder follows brutal murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable code is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king's betrayer and prevent the violent death that failure will surely bring.
England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed.
For Thomas Hill, a man of letters quietly running a bookshop in the rural town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn.
When a stranger knocks on his door one night and informs him that the king's cryptographer has died, everything changes. Aware of Thomas's background as a mathematician and his expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to his court in Oxford.
On arrival, Thomas soon discovers that nothing at court is straightforward. There is evidence of a traitor in their midst. Brutal murder follows brutal murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable code is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king's betrayer and prevent the violent death that failure will surely bring.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2012
About the author
Andrew Swanston
10 books55 followersAndrew Swanston read Law at Cambridge University, and held various positions in the book trade, including being a director of Waterstone & Co, and chairman of Methven’s plc, before turning to writing. Inspired by a lifelong interest in early modern history, his ‘Thomas Hill’ novels are set during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the early period of the Restoration. Incendium is the first of two novels set in the 1570's and Waterloo:The Bravest Man describes the vital defence of Hougoumont at the battle. Beautiful Star and Other Stories will be published in early 2018. He lives with his wife in Surrey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
June 24, 2017
I read historical fiction a lot, love the settings of a look back into history. This is a great historical novel. Enjoyed this read! I got to know this writer only recently when I spotted his last book Incendium published this year. Could not find anymore books, until it turned out that his other books, like this one, are registered on Goodreads under A.D. Swanston, instead of Andrew.
And oh yeah, this is part one of a series! So I'm looking forward to continue reading about Thomas Hill.
This is the story: Summer, 1643... England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed. For Thomas Hill, a quiet man running a bookshop in the small town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn. When a stranger knocks on his door informing him that the king's cryptographer has died, everthing changes. Aware of Thomas' studies in Oxford and expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to Oxford. And the story begins....
For those who love historical fiction, I can recommend this writer and his books. This was a quick and interesting, entertaining read. 4 stars for the historical fun of it!
Note: little factual detail: Mr. Swanston used to be director at Waterstones, UK's known bookstore.
And oh yeah, this is part one of a series! So I'm looking forward to continue reading about Thomas Hill.
This is the story: Summer, 1643... England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed. For Thomas Hill, a quiet man running a bookshop in the small town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn. When a stranger knocks on his door informing him that the king's cryptographer has died, everthing changes. Aware of Thomas' studies in Oxford and expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to Oxford. And the story begins....
For those who love historical fiction, I can recommend this writer and his books. This was a quick and interesting, entertaining read. 4 stars for the historical fun of it!
Note: little factual detail: Mr. Swanston used to be director at Waterstones, UK's known bookstore.
September 14, 2018
A must-read for the lovers of a good historical novel.
May 2, 2020
I honestly don't know how something that includes so many exciting things could be so monotonously DULL.
What the story promises: Murder, lies, betrayal, torture, secret codes and mystery, all set during one of the most exciting periods of history.
What we get: Dude is assigned code to break. Detailed explanation of code-breaking. Only this is a tough one so he goes for a walk. Then goes back to trying to break the code. Then goes for a walk. Then tries code-breaking again. Another walk. Gosh this secret is really something isn't it!
I'll be honest - I was mostly skimming from about 50 pages in and I did not miss anything.
So disappointed by this because it should have been so much more exciting than it was. But there's just no emotion to it. Thomas is this 'quiet bookseller' who hates war, but other than that it's really hard to get a clear picture of him. He says he was good-looking in his youth but then agrees that he's ugly, he's a peacekeeper whowon't fkn SHUT UP about dislikes how despicable war is but he easily wallops the soldiers when it's needed. He's a master code breaker, one of the best in the country, so brilliant and amazing, but then he struggles with every single code he's charged with cracking? I mean I feel like maybe someone exaggerated a little on his resume.
Plus you've got the fact that this story suffers from a classic case of 'told' not 'shown'. Zero emotional connection because there's no feeling behind any of it. I don't know any of these characters and therefore don't really care about them. The lack of feeling was a really noticeable absence because the info we're given all seems a bit confusing and contradictory. We know Thomas hates whores because they're ugly (stand up guy, this one) and generally acts like a fussy old man, but then Jane is the most lovely creature he's ever met (and he's actually in with a chance?) but, 'oh, she's talking to that soldier I don't like so I never want to see her again.' Total petulant child. And I STILL have no solid idea of this guy. One minute he seems like a judgy grandpa and the next he's apparently Don Juan.
So Thomas is a terrible main character. And I'm not exaggerating about the code-breaking, walk, code-breaking repetition. There are also way too many lessons on code-breaking that end up being dull and hard to follow instead of intriguing. Also, lots of talk about the war and how wrong it is and how Thomas hates war and violence. Yet I learned nothing about this war, or why it was really happening, or how anyone felt about it other than Thomas couldn't decide which side he was rooting for because, EW, WAR.
It was such a terrible, poorly written story. It really does include murder, and deciphering secrets, and betrayal, and all of these things usually keep me hooked but I honestly just did not care because they just cropped up in a sentence or two at the end of one of Thomas's walks so, again, there was no emotional attachment to what was happening.
Look, the whole thing is a mess. A little like this review, if I'm honest.
Here's the summary of everything that didn't work for me:
-Poor characterisation
-Monotonous plot
-Code-breaking was dull
-Murders seemed pointless and badly explained
-No emotional attachment
-Historical setting wasted
-No mystery
-Bad guys evident/unveiled early on
-So repetitive
-Boring superfluous details
-Rubbish final explanations
Things that were actually okay:
-Simon
Then to top it all off, when the why comes out at the end it's SO. FREAKING. POINTLESS. Why does this story even exist. I want a refund for all the brain cells wasted on this.
It honestly should have been a roaring, addictive, action adventure but instead had me about as interested as I am in watching paint dry. I'm offended by it taking one of my favourite periods of history to read about and making it mind-numbingly boring.
Apparently there are more books in the series but guess who absolutely does not care at all. There are definitely better books covering this period so I'll be reading those instead.
What the story promises: Murder, lies, betrayal, torture, secret codes and mystery, all set during one of the most exciting periods of history.
What we get: Dude is assigned code to break. Detailed explanation of code-breaking. Only this is a tough one so he goes for a walk. Then goes back to trying to break the code. Then goes for a walk. Then tries code-breaking again. Another walk. Gosh this secret is really something isn't it!
I'll be honest - I was mostly skimming from about 50 pages in and I did not miss anything.
So disappointed by this because it should have been so much more exciting than it was. But there's just no emotion to it. Thomas is this 'quiet bookseller' who hates war, but other than that it's really hard to get a clear picture of him. He says he was good-looking in his youth but then agrees that he's ugly, he's a peacekeeper who
Plus you've got the fact that this story suffers from a classic case of 'told' not 'shown'. Zero emotional connection because there's no feeling behind any of it. I don't know any of these characters and therefore don't really care about them. The lack of feeling was a really noticeable absence because the info we're given all seems a bit confusing and contradictory. We know Thomas hates whores because they're ugly (stand up guy, this one) and generally acts like a fussy old man, but then Jane is the most lovely creature he's ever met (and he's actually in with a chance?) but, 'oh, she's talking to that soldier I don't like so I never want to see her again.' Total petulant child. And I STILL have no solid idea of this guy. One minute he seems like a judgy grandpa and the next he's apparently Don Juan.
So Thomas is a terrible main character. And I'm not exaggerating about the code-breaking, walk, code-breaking repetition. There are also way too many lessons on code-breaking that end up being dull and hard to follow instead of intriguing. Also, lots of talk about the war and how wrong it is and how Thomas hates war and violence. Yet I learned nothing about this war, or why it was really happening, or how anyone felt about it other than Thomas couldn't decide which side he was rooting for because, EW, WAR.
It was such a terrible, poorly written story. It really does include murder, and deciphering secrets, and betrayal, and all of these things usually keep me hooked but I honestly just did not care because they just cropped up in a sentence or two at the end of one of Thomas's walks so, again, there was no emotional attachment to what was happening.
Look, the whole thing is a mess. A little like this review, if I'm honest.
Here's the summary of everything that didn't work for me:
-Poor characterisation
-Monotonous plot
-Code-breaking was dull
-Murders seemed pointless and badly explained
-No emotional attachment
-Historical setting wasted
-No mystery
-Bad guys evident/unveiled early on
-So repetitive
-Boring superfluous details
-Rubbish final explanations
Things that were actually okay:
-Simon
Then to top it all off, when the why comes out at the end it's SO. FREAKING. POINTLESS. Why does this story even exist. I want a refund for all the brain cells wasted on this.
It honestly should have been a roaring, addictive, action adventure but instead had me about as interested as I am in watching paint dry. I'm offended by it taking one of my favourite periods of history to read about and making it mind-numbingly boring.
Apparently there are more books in the series but guess who absolutely does not care at all. There are definitely better books covering this period so I'll be reading those instead.
January 3, 2013
A very decent debut novel from author Andrew Swanston.
Set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, around the time of the Battle of Newbury. The main character Thomas Hill, a bookseller from a small rural town, is commandeered to assist Charles I with codes and ciphers, encrypting and decrypting. He must leave the secure home that he shares with his beloved sister and nieces in Romsey, and relocate temporarily to Oxford.
The book twists and turns and has you guessing. The 'who is bad/who is good' that a reader of historical mystery has come to expect is there in spades.
The historical description, as far as the environment and the times go, is good. Not too much, just enough to help you see through the looking glass into the character's world.
I did have some issues with the detail in which the author has gone to to demonstrate how codes are written and broken in the 17th century and I felt it fractured the flow and ambiance of the book early on. From the very first page the story was delightful, the characters charming, and then it changes tack and turns into a lesson on early coding and nothing else is really going on in the story. A lot of going for walks and more code breaking sessions. Letter by letter, cipher by cipher, number by number. A similar issue happens at the gambling table, when the characters are playing Hazard. Much too much detail, that breaks the spell and jolts you out of the story.
This is mostly in the first 120 pages and if you can make it through that and still maintain interest then you will discover the info dumps come down to a dull roar. If the reader is not interested or they had enough in the early stages of the book, then it is easier to scan over these sections as they come to make up paragraphs instead of the whole pages from earlier scenes.
It was this detail and a couple other minor problems (that would be spoilers to mention) that nearly made me give the book 3 stars, but then I realised that a book which can make me read virtually non stop until finished surely deserves 4 stars, despite the rather dull coding and 'Hazard' info dumps, so let's call it a 3 1/2 star book for now.
All up, as mentioned in the beginning of this review, a very decent first outing for Mr Swanston. I will definitely be reading the next one.
Set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, around the time of the Battle of Newbury. The main character Thomas Hill, a bookseller from a small rural town, is commandeered to assist Charles I with codes and ciphers, encrypting and decrypting. He must leave the secure home that he shares with his beloved sister and nieces in Romsey, and relocate temporarily to Oxford.
The book twists and turns and has you guessing. The 'who is bad/who is good' that a reader of historical mystery has come to expect is there in spades.
The historical description, as far as the environment and the times go, is good. Not too much, just enough to help you see through the looking glass into the character's world.
I did have some issues with the detail in which the author has gone to to demonstrate how codes are written and broken in the 17th century and I felt it fractured the flow and ambiance of the book early on. From the very first page the story was delightful, the characters charming, and then it changes tack and turns into a lesson on early coding and nothing else is really going on in the story. A lot of going for walks and more code breaking sessions. Letter by letter, cipher by cipher, number by number. A similar issue happens at the gambling table, when the characters are playing Hazard. Much too much detail, that breaks the spell and jolts you out of the story.
This is mostly in the first 120 pages and if you can make it through that and still maintain interest then you will discover the info dumps come down to a dull roar. If the reader is not interested or they had enough in the early stages of the book, then it is easier to scan over these sections as they come to make up paragraphs instead of the whole pages from earlier scenes.
It was this detail and a couple other minor problems (that would be spoilers to mention) that nearly made me give the book 3 stars, but then I realised that a book which can make me read virtually non stop until finished surely deserves 4 stars, despite the rather dull coding and 'Hazard' info dumps, so let's call it a 3 1/2 star book for now.
All up, as mentioned in the beginning of this review, a very decent first outing for Mr Swanston. I will definitely be reading the next one.
December 14, 2019
Really enjoyed it. I bought it to read tomorrow on a long flight, just had a quick look to see what it was like and finished it last night. Now to find another book for a long plane journey. 😊
December 2019.
Perhaps because I read this on kindle on a long haul flight I had no memory of having read it before until I was about two thirds of the way through when I began to wonder. Checked, and here it was on GR, not just in the Kindle library.
December 2019.
Perhaps because I read this on kindle on a long haul flight I had no memory of having read it before until I was about two thirds of the way through when I began to wonder. Checked, and here it was on GR, not just in the Kindle library.
April 23, 2015
I recommend this book. I read a promotional e-copy from Amazon.
The read was easy, and the author's writing mechanics were excellent. The errors were too few to mention. The book was neither too long nor too short. The author kept his character count manageable. The book was set in the mid 1600's during the English civil wars . The Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses were over. Midway through the book I got somewhat confused because I was reading about monks, friars and abbeys which were too Catholic sounding for the established Church of England. Had I read the author's notes at the back of the book before starting the book, I could have avoided that confused state of mind.
The book is a historical mystery. With mysteries come spies and coded messages. The main character is one of the best cryptologists in England. He must solve an encrypted message to preserve the health and life of the Queen. Who wrote the message? What does the message mean? Who are the secret traitors to the crown? Who can be trusted? The coded message is particularly difficult to decode, but the efforts to do so keep this book moving right along. The main character has not the appearance of a hero to the crown and country, but he knows his business and has characteristics that are noble and admirable. If you like solving cryptograms, you may find yourself actually reading the letters and figures in the coded message.
Overall, the book just had the right touch of this and that to make me take notice of this author.
Thank you, Mr. Swanston, for a Good Read!
The read was easy, and the author's writing mechanics were excellent. The errors were too few to mention. The book was neither too long nor too short. The author kept his character count manageable. The book was set in the mid 1600's during the English civil wars . The Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses were over. Midway through the book I got somewhat confused because I was reading about monks, friars and abbeys which were too Catholic sounding for the established Church of England. Had I read the author's notes at the back of the book before starting the book, I could have avoided that confused state of mind.
The book is a historical mystery. With mysteries come spies and coded messages. The main character is one of the best cryptologists in England. He must solve an encrypted message to preserve the health and life of the Queen. Who wrote the message? What does the message mean? Who are the secret traitors to the crown? Who can be trusted? The coded message is particularly difficult to decode, but the efforts to do so keep this book moving right along. The main character has not the appearance of a hero to the crown and country, but he knows his business and has characteristics that are noble and admirable. If you like solving cryptograms, you may find yourself actually reading the letters and figures in the coded message.
Overall, the book just had the right touch of this and that to make me take notice of this author.
Thank you, Mr. Swanston, for a Good Read!
December 4, 2020
A new author for me & a period I’ve not oft read about, that of the English Civil war era.
Our date is the summer of 1643 with the king already in flight & the Parliamentarians in control of London. Fighting continues across the land between the two factions, Cavaliers and Roundheads with neither seemingly gaining the upper hand after a series of battles. The general populous is in truth wary/fear of both sides as soldiers from both camps loot, rape & murder at will. Most citizens are willing for it to stop it would seem…..
Our Hero is Thomas Hill, a simple & honest book store owner? Who resides in Romsey with his sister & two nieces. Well, at least he did in the early chapters before being “summonsed” by the King through an old acquaintance to the lawful “capital” of Oxford which is where the real story begins. The title kinda gives away his new job but he isn’t a spy in the modern sense of the word, a la James Bond et al, in fact more a codebreaker to be precise with skills akin to those used at Bletchley Park in WWII.
It’s a slow burn of a read but not one that plods, there is always enough intrigue to pull you forward outside the main plot of codebreaking, be it a murder to solve, a potential traitor to find, court intrigue, espionage, love interest, soldiery & battle of the times? With the central mystery every widening as new characters are pulled into the world of Thomas Hill. If you like ciphers & codes you will love this story as they are embedded into the main plot, their history & nuance laid out with jus enough detail for a layman to grasp & understand their importance without feeling overwhelmed by the maths.
The character, atmosphere & pacing reminded me a lot of CJ Sansom’s Shardlake & I think if you enjoyed that series then this is perhaps a character for you too.
Well………… that was my review sorted at jus over the ¾’s of the way mark. I won’t say too much about the final 1/4trs so as not to give away reveals in a review but it was all a little too simplistic & lacked any real twists which it needed, maybe I was expecting more from it after the opening chapters….? The endings were all very twee & in truth bland compared to what had gone before, almost like the author had run out of energy/ideas once the code element of the story had been cracked & dealt with…….. I sat there at the end thinking…. Is that it??!!
A decent 3 stars but not sure about continuing as at one point I had this running at 4.5 stars & come journeys end I could quite easily have given it only a 2.
Our date is the summer of 1643 with the king already in flight & the Parliamentarians in control of London. Fighting continues across the land between the two factions, Cavaliers and Roundheads with neither seemingly gaining the upper hand after a series of battles. The general populous is in truth wary/fear of both sides as soldiers from both camps loot, rape & murder at will. Most citizens are willing for it to stop it would seem…..
Our Hero is Thomas Hill, a simple & honest book store owner? Who resides in Romsey with his sister & two nieces. Well, at least he did in the early chapters before being “summonsed” by the King through an old acquaintance to the lawful “capital” of Oxford which is where the real story begins. The title kinda gives away his new job but he isn’t a spy in the modern sense of the word, a la James Bond et al, in fact more a codebreaker to be precise with skills akin to those used at Bletchley Park in WWII.
It’s a slow burn of a read but not one that plods, there is always enough intrigue to pull you forward outside the main plot of codebreaking, be it a murder to solve, a potential traitor to find, court intrigue, espionage, love interest, soldiery & battle of the times? With the central mystery every widening as new characters are pulled into the world of Thomas Hill. If you like ciphers & codes you will love this story as they are embedded into the main plot, their history & nuance laid out with jus enough detail for a layman to grasp & understand their importance without feeling overwhelmed by the maths.
The character, atmosphere & pacing reminded me a lot of CJ Sansom’s Shardlake & I think if you enjoyed that series then this is perhaps a character for you too.
Well………… that was my review sorted at jus over the ¾’s of the way mark. I won’t say too much about the final 1/4trs so as not to give away reveals in a review but it was all a little too simplistic & lacked any real twists which it needed, maybe I was expecting more from it after the opening chapters….? The endings were all very twee & in truth bland compared to what had gone before, almost like the author had run out of energy/ideas once the code element of the story had been cracked & dealt with…….. I sat there at the end thinking…. Is that it??!!
A decent 3 stars but not sure about continuing as at one point I had this running at 4.5 stars & come journeys end I could quite easily have given it only a 2.
October 14, 2014
Thomas Hill is a book seller who has invited his widowed sister and her children to live with with him in Romsey. His life is quiet and predictable until a stranger knocks on his door and tells him that the king needs his help. When he arrives in Oxford, it is nothing like he remembers but with the help of a friend he starts work. Treachery, romance and adventure ensue.
This was a decent mystery but with far, far too much math. I'm not sure how much of this book I skipped because of the descriptions of code breaking. I get the gist of code breaking, I'm pretty sure I didn't need to know this much.
I figured out who the traitor was very early in the book and was disappointed that it was so easy. I was waiting for the big twist that made the obvious guy not the actual bad guy but I waited in vain.
In the end I think this just ended up not being quite my style of book.
This was a decent mystery but with far, far too much math. I'm not sure how much of this book I skipped because of the descriptions of code breaking. I get the gist of code breaking, I'm pretty sure I didn't need to know this much.
I figured out who the traitor was very early in the book and was disappointed that it was so easy. I was waiting for the big twist that made the obvious guy not the actual bad guy but I waited in vain.
In the end I think this just ended up not being quite my style of book.
February 16, 2023
Nicely done
A lot of fun to read an a lot of laughs. Well written an a great mystery an a lesson in decoding messages.
A lot of fun to read an a lot of laughs. Well written an a great mystery an a lesson in decoding messages.
September 15, 2012
The King's Spy is the second Civil War novel I've read as part of the Transworld Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. And while both novels contain Royalist viewpoints – though neither are wholly so – they each give a totally different view of the proceedings.
The Bleeding Land
, the other novel mentioned, is far more focused on the visceral reality of the battles and motivations of the Civil War, on what it meant for people not in power and how the Civil War affected families and communities. While we also see Thomas torn from his family by a summons from the King to Oxford and he does see battle, the Civil War is far less central to the story. Instead, it is the backdrop against which Swanston is able to set his mystery. And it's not just this that differs; there are also differences in characterisation. For example, Prince Rupert, who in The Bleeding Land is a courageous, though rather cavalier, figure who is admired by the protagonist, in The King's Spy is a dissolute and does the King's cause more harm than good with his subjects. Similarly, the soldiers are mostly portrayed as knaves and profiteers, who destroy the once beautiful and peaceful town of Oxford, while in The Bleeding Land the view is far more balanced and probably even leaning towards the positive. It's interesting to see such different treatments of the same era, though ultimately it doesn't really affect how the stories are judged.
The narrative centres around an interesting mystery – who is the traitor in the King's court and behind the murders that plague it – that has to be solved by decrypting coded messages that have been intercepted, which is where Thomas comes in, but the book had some flaws. These come mostly in the form of major info dumps, somewhat disguised as Thomas giving lectures on en- and decryption to interested characters. While the necessity to convey the information to the reader is clear, after the first or second time, it started to feel inelegant. My complete density when it comes to mathematics probably didn't help in this respect as decryption relies heavily on mathematical acumen to function and I rather felt a little boggled by the explanations at times. What is cool is that the encrypted texts are included in the text along with some of the tables Thomas uses, so if a reader was so minded, they could have a go at decrypting the texts themselves, at least the easier ones. Obviously, I'm not such a reader, but that the option is there is great.
Thomas as a protagonist was a good character though; he's likeable, intelligent and well-motivated. The one thing in his arc I did have my doubts at was his relationship with Lady Jane Romilly. This seems to run pretty deep after only a few meetings and also seemed a little socially unbalanced. I can't imagine an attendant lady of the Queen having time for a man who is essentially a rather obscure tradesman, even if currently employed by the king. Another thing that bugged me was the way Thomas finally cracks the crucial message'; in a rather 'A Beautiful Mind'-esque scene, the answer just comes to him. It struck me as odd, but this might be mostly due to the fact that I immediately linked the visual description to A Beautiful Mind, which is one of my favourite films (yes, Paul Bettanny and Russell Crowe, I just can't help myself. I even love Master and Commander as a result!) His main sparring partner, Father Simon de Pointz, a Franciscan friar part of the Queen's Household, is an entertaining character and a good foil for the more serious and scholarly Thomas. I liked their interactions and the surprising depths to this rather worldly ecclesiastic.
Overall, The King's Spy is an enjoyable book, with definite merits and I'd be interested to read more about Thomas and Father Simon de Pointz. I'd love to see how Swanston develops his writing style and see whether he can move away from the infodumpy lectures, while keeping the cryptographer angle that makes Thomas so intriguing. This first outing for Thomas Hill was a good read, but there is definite room for growth.
This book was provided for review by the publisher as part of the Transworld Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
The narrative centres around an interesting mystery – who is the traitor in the King's court and behind the murders that plague it – that has to be solved by decrypting coded messages that have been intercepted, which is where Thomas comes in, but the book had some flaws. These come mostly in the form of major info dumps, somewhat disguised as Thomas giving lectures on en- and decryption to interested characters. While the necessity to convey the information to the reader is clear, after the first or second time, it started to feel inelegant. My complete density when it comes to mathematics probably didn't help in this respect as decryption relies heavily on mathematical acumen to function and I rather felt a little boggled by the explanations at times. What is cool is that the encrypted texts are included in the text along with some of the tables Thomas uses, so if a reader was so minded, they could have a go at decrypting the texts themselves, at least the easier ones. Obviously, I'm not such a reader, but that the option is there is great.
Thomas as a protagonist was a good character though; he's likeable, intelligent and well-motivated. The one thing in his arc I did have my doubts at was his relationship with Lady Jane Romilly. This seems to run pretty deep after only a few meetings and also seemed a little socially unbalanced. I can't imagine an attendant lady of the Queen having time for a man who is essentially a rather obscure tradesman, even if currently employed by the king. Another thing that bugged me was the way Thomas finally cracks the crucial message'; in a rather 'A Beautiful Mind'-esque scene, the answer just comes to him. It struck me as odd, but this might be mostly due to the fact that I immediately linked the visual description to A Beautiful Mind, which is one of my favourite films (yes, Paul Bettanny and Russell Crowe, I just can't help myself. I even love Master and Commander as a result!) His main sparring partner, Father Simon de Pointz, a Franciscan friar part of the Queen's Household, is an entertaining character and a good foil for the more serious and scholarly Thomas. I liked their interactions and the surprising depths to this rather worldly ecclesiastic.
Overall, The King's Spy is an enjoyable book, with definite merits and I'd be interested to read more about Thomas and Father Simon de Pointz. I'd love to see how Swanston develops his writing style and see whether he can move away from the infodumpy lectures, while keeping the cryptographer angle that makes Thomas so intriguing. This first outing for Thomas Hill was a good read, but there is definite room for growth.
This book was provided for review by the publisher as part of the Transworld Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
April 5, 2022
Thomas Hill is a Romsey bookseller educated at Oxford and is skilled at both Math and cryptography. The death of the kings existing cryptographer results in an old Oxford tutor of his calling upon his services to encrypt and decrypt messages as required by the King. The circumstances are strenuous as civil war is ongoing with the King relocated to Oxford. A key message is intercepted by the royalists and this requires all of Hill’s talents to decrypt being imperative to the war effort and the unveiling of a spy within the royalist camp.
The storyline is good and attracted me to the book as well as me residing near to the initial setting of the book being Romsey. A spy in amongst the Kings camp was particularly intriguing and a lack of trust certainly would have existed in that era. Unfortunately, I found at times the book meandered and didn’t go anywhere which led to feelings of boredom. The reveal was foreshadowed quite early on which left little in the way of suspense with the climax leaving me somewhat empty, a ‘is that it?’ kind of feeling.
The characters weren’t overly unique or intriguing. I found the king and queen failed to truly capture my imagination of how they were and their personality. There was the usual crowd of characters in this type of book: random unknown plucked from obscurity to save the day, lady in waiting to the queen, Kings trusted advisor etc etc which offered little in the way of differentiation.
A storyline that had a lot of potential but failed to meet my expectations.
The storyline is good and attracted me to the book as well as me residing near to the initial setting of the book being Romsey. A spy in amongst the Kings camp was particularly intriguing and a lack of trust certainly would have existed in that era. Unfortunately, I found at times the book meandered and didn’t go anywhere which led to feelings of boredom. The reveal was foreshadowed quite early on which left little in the way of suspense with the climax leaving me somewhat empty, a ‘is that it?’ kind of feeling.
The characters weren’t overly unique or intriguing. I found the king and queen failed to truly capture my imagination of how they were and their personality. There was the usual crowd of characters in this type of book: random unknown plucked from obscurity to save the day, lady in waiting to the queen, Kings trusted advisor etc etc which offered little in the way of differentiation.
A storyline that had a lot of potential but failed to meet my expectations.
February 16, 2021
Well written and a good story (a little like the Shardlake series). Set during Civil War during reign of Charles I.
October 15, 2023
Well written book that captures the squalor of life in big cities for the less-well-off in the mid seventeenth century. Lots of intrigue and suspicion amongst key characters throughout. A fast-moving story line and clean resolution of plot lines makes this a really enjoyable and satisfying read.
August 19, 2023
This was an enjoyable read and well written. Yes, others have commented on the frequency of Thomas Hill's attempts to decipher encrypted codes but, since he is a cryptographer, that is hardly surprising. It certainly shows the author's grasp of this complicated subject which is more than I can say for myself. I don't think it detracted from the book and, for anyone not wishing to delve into it, these sections can easily be bypassed if need be. The author brings the circumstances and times of the Civil War to life very well and the diverse characters were also created with ease. I'm sure it won't be long before I read the next in the series.
August 19, 2012
Review:
A nice well written story, that is fun and engaging to read. Nice characters, and the writing is very atmospheric taking the reader back in time. the. My problem really is to me there felt like there were mistakes to do with religious orders, soldiers uniforms etc. Some were minor and it is fictional but as its historical fiction i would expect basics like uniform to be right if you want to appeal fully to this genre.
happy for the author to prove me wrong. Im far from an expert.
Will i buy another? yes, like i said its well written and i know my own historical knowledge is flawed enough to let me enjoy a good tale based on the skilled fun writing.
(Parm)
Book description: from back of book
Summer, 1643
England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed.
For Thomas Hill, a man of letters quietly running a bookshop in the rural town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn.
When a stranger knocks on his door one night and informs him that the king's cryptographer has died, everything changes. Aware of Thomas's background as a mathematician and his expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to his court in Oxford.
On arrival, Thomas soon discovers that nothing at court is straightforward. There is evidence of a traitor in their midst. Brutal murder follows brutal murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable code is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king's betrayer and prevent the violent death that failure will surely bring.
A nice well written story, that is fun and engaging to read. Nice characters, and the writing is very atmospheric taking the reader back in time. the. My problem really is to me there felt like there were mistakes to do with religious orders, soldiers uniforms etc. Some were minor and it is fictional but as its historical fiction i would expect basics like uniform to be right if you want to appeal fully to this genre.
happy for the author to prove me wrong. Im far from an expert.
Will i buy another? yes, like i said its well written and i know my own historical knowledge is flawed enough to let me enjoy a good tale based on the skilled fun writing.
(Parm)
Book description: from back of book
Summer, 1643
England is at war with itself. King Charles I has fled London, his negotiations with Parliament in tatters. The country is consumed by bloodshed.
For Thomas Hill, a man of letters quietly running a bookshop in the rural town of Romsey, knowledge of the war is limited to the rumours that reach the local inn.
When a stranger knocks on his door one night and informs him that the king's cryptographer has died, everything changes. Aware of Thomas's background as a mathematician and his expertise in codes and ciphers, the king has summoned him to his court in Oxford.
On arrival, Thomas soon discovers that nothing at court is straightforward. There is evidence of a traitor in their midst. Brutal murder follows brutal murder. And when a vital message encrypted with a notoriously unbreakable code is intercepted, he must decipher it to reveal the king's betrayer and prevent the violent death that failure will surely bring.
October 23, 2014
I loved this book- the first of a trilogy. Extremely well researched, set in a very interesting period (The English Civil War)- which is a period less common in historical mystery writing-and with engaging and involving characters. The information on codebreaking and cypher solving was really interesting too. You really get a feel for the dirt and muck of the period, especially in the prison scenes. On a personal note, it was largely set in Oxford, where I attended summer school last year, so the streets and colleges were mostly familiar and brought to life.
October 13, 2018
I really joyed his book. I will certainly be following this series as the characters develop. I always enjoy historical fiction and am a great Shardlake Fan, but this hero, a kind of mild mannered 'Clark Kent' type, suddenly turns into James Bond; lover, athlete, fighter. If is a jolly good romp, well researched and thoroughly entertaining. I would definitely recommend it and the author.
May 6, 2019
Spies and murder
A tale of Civil War savagery and mayhem. Thomas Hill, a bookseller becomes embroiled in the war because of his ability to decipher codes. An interesting and exciting read. The author successfully conjures up the confusion and degradation in Oxford when King Charles' fled there.
A tale of Civil War savagery and mayhem. Thomas Hill, a bookseller becomes embroiled in the war because of his ability to decipher codes. An interesting and exciting read. The author successfully conjures up the confusion and degradation in Oxford when King Charles' fled there.
July 28, 2012
Five stars for this.
A historical period which is easy to find plots and drama but the characters make this book. A clever hero with just the right touch of steel. Twists and turns that drive a tale of spies and codes which never bores. Great great!
April 18, 2024
The King's Spy felt like the author was just going through the motions and it all unfortunately seemed pretty much "by the numbers".
It was all very much predictable, with little or no jeopardy involved, where the characters that were initially painted as the books prospective "baddies", Tobias Rush and Captain Francis Fayne, did indeed turn out to be the villains of the piece. To add to that, there were no real plot twists to speak of, absolutely zero in the way of sub plots, back stories were thin on the ground and parallel events in the book were at a premium. All said, it really did lack any sort of imagination at all!
I also felt the chapters were overly long and didn’t even contain many sub chapters either. With many of the chapters containing the actual codes used in Thomas Hill’s workings and explanations of encryption and decryption methods and in one particular case an entire code square, of The Vigenère cipher, taking up almost three quarters of a page, all seemed a little pointless and besides bumping up the word count, I saw absolutely no practical use for them being there. If they were beyond Thomas Hill’s capabilities then they certainly surpassed our capacity to compute them, most definitely mine at any rate!
Don't get me wrong, from a technical view point, the novel was well written and the author obviously has knowledge of the period, The English Civil Wars of 1642 - 1651 , with the books overall (and only) plot being wholly plausible and realistic, but it just didn't have much creative artistry or character development whatsoever. What you saw is what you got, which makes for a pretty bland experience, with very little intrigue.
Literally the only thing that was even a semblance of a plot twist was the confession of the main protagonist, Thomas Hill's belle and lady in waiting to the Queen, Jane Romilly, that she was being blackmailed by the King's closest adviser and the books oh so predictable and resident bad guy, Tobias Rush into spying on the Queen for Parliament and it had been she who had searched and ransacked Thomas Hill's room looking for an encrypted message that Thomas had been decrypting, which was so evidently obvious it was almost transparent!
I can say however, on the extremely sad and violent death of Jane Romilly, I did become quite emotional, as unlike the rest of the book, it was unexpected and came as a bit of a shock because it really wasn’t in keeping with the rest of the novel’s predictability and even although I’d have loved to have read about Jane not being raped and murdered, it was precisely the type of plot advancement the rest of the tale lacked! It was something you really, though rarely, felt emotionally involved in.
To sum up then, most of the novel's authenticity unfortunately disappears and gets somewhat lost in the monotonously over simplified story and unimaginative vapid writing. The author either has a lack of imagination and/or a limited skill set, which I would very much doubt, or just didn't feel brave enough to really explore their range, which is a real pity because, with a little more effort and plot expansion this could have been a great read. However, now I'm about 30/70 on continuing on with Thomas Hill, a shame really, for what could have been such a great character, so maybe and hopefully it's all been ironed out in the second instalment and on a slow day for reading, perhaps I'll pick it up, but you'll certainly be the first to know!
It was all very much predictable, with little or no jeopardy involved, where the characters that were initially painted as the books prospective "baddies", Tobias Rush and Captain Francis Fayne, did indeed turn out to be the villains of the piece. To add to that, there were no real plot twists to speak of, absolutely zero in the way of sub plots, back stories were thin on the ground and parallel events in the book were at a premium. All said, it really did lack any sort of imagination at all!
I also felt the chapters were overly long and didn’t even contain many sub chapters either. With many of the chapters containing the actual codes used in Thomas Hill’s workings and explanations of encryption and decryption methods and in one particular case an entire code square, of The Vigenère cipher, taking up almost three quarters of a page, all seemed a little pointless and besides bumping up the word count, I saw absolutely no practical use for them being there. If they were beyond Thomas Hill’s capabilities then they certainly surpassed our capacity to compute them, most definitely mine at any rate!
Don't get me wrong, from a technical view point, the novel was well written and the author obviously has knowledge of the period, The English Civil Wars of 1642 - 1651 , with the books overall (and only) plot being wholly plausible and realistic, but it just didn't have much creative artistry or character development whatsoever. What you saw is what you got, which makes for a pretty bland experience, with very little intrigue.
Literally the only thing that was even a semblance of a plot twist was the confession of the main protagonist, Thomas Hill's belle and lady in waiting to the Queen, Jane Romilly, that she was being blackmailed by the King's closest adviser and the books oh so predictable and resident bad guy, Tobias Rush into spying on the Queen for Parliament and it had been she who had searched and ransacked Thomas Hill's room looking for an encrypted message that Thomas had been decrypting, which was so evidently obvious it was almost transparent!
I can say however, on the extremely sad and violent death of Jane Romilly, I did become quite emotional, as unlike the rest of the book, it was unexpected and came as a bit of a shock because it really wasn’t in keeping with the rest of the novel’s predictability and even although I’d have loved to have read about Jane not being raped and murdered, it was precisely the type of plot advancement the rest of the tale lacked! It was something you really, though rarely, felt emotionally involved in.
To sum up then, most of the novel's authenticity unfortunately disappears and gets somewhat lost in the monotonously over simplified story and unimaginative vapid writing. The author either has a lack of imagination and/or a limited skill set, which I would very much doubt, or just didn't feel brave enough to really explore their range, which is a real pity because, with a little more effort and plot expansion this could have been a great read. However, now I'm about 30/70 on continuing on with Thomas Hill, a shame really, for what could have been such a great character, so maybe and hopefully it's all been ironed out in the second instalment and on a slow day for reading, perhaps I'll pick it up, but you'll certainly be the first to know!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2020
Als het vijf dagen duurt voordat ik een boek recenseer, dan was er iets mis mee. En dat was het geval. Laat ik proberen te achterhalen wat dat probleem is.
Ik begin met historische whodunnit-romans te krijgen wat ik ook met fantasy heb: de realisatie dat er slechts een handvol goede uitgaven zijn, en dat de rest vulmateriaal is, vergelijkbaar met de 90% versneden speed tussen de 10% pure cocaïne op Netflix. Ik ga súperhard op de Giordano Bruno-serie van S.J. Parris, ik vind His Bloody Project nog altijd een ge-wel-dig boek, en ook de eerste uit de serie over Tom Hawkins is zeer oké, maar verder lees ik soms een preview van iets soortgelijks en realiseer ik me na een pagina of 20 dat dit niks gaat worden. Ik lees niet om inwisselbare zevens tot me te nemen. Als ik dan toch een voorspelbaar genre tot me neem (net als bij fantasy), dan wil ik de absolute krenten uit de pap.
En dat is The King's Spy niet. Om vele redenen. Ik heb bijvoorbeeld niets met de hoofdpersoon, die zo eendimensionaal overkomt als een magazijn printerpapier. Hij ontwikkelt zich niet noemenswaardig, het overlijden van zijn beste vriend en grote liefde verwerkt hij binnen een zin of drie, en zijn liefde voor zijn zus en haar kinderen neigt serieus naar het moreel verwerpelijke (zo zal het niet bedoeld zijn, maar zo voelt het wel).
Daarnaast word ik helemaal gek van die halfhartige manier om encryptiemethodes in het boek te stoppen. Er wordt soms absurd veel uitgelegd, inclusief paginalange opsommingen van hoe de code in elkaar zit, maar dat is allemaal volslagen zinloos, omdat het te weinig is om echt mee te kunnen gaan in het codebreken (het wordt niet opeens een escape room ofzo), en te veel om niet bloederig irritant te zijn.
Verder (goed, nu zit ik ook in mijn haatmodus, afijn, Andrew Swanston leest toch geen Nederlands toch?) word ik er tamelijk gek van dat het hele verhaal draait om één te ontcijferen boodschap. Dat die vriend overlijdt, én die geliefde (na ook nog eens verkracht te zijn, hup, waarom ook niet), wordt allemaal verwerkt door Thomas Hill omdat hij de code wil breken, (Gargamel-stem) al is het het laatste wat hij doet (/Gargamel-stem). Maar wat daarin staat, is zo fucking prozaïsch en voorspelbaar, dat het me echt niets doet (weet je nog, die grote epifanie-vreugde toen je snapte waardoor iedereen dood ging in The Name Of The Rose? Neem van dat sentiment het dianegatief, en je snapt de diepte en breedte van de deceptie).
Ook met zijn schrijfstijl gaat Swanston het boek of het genre niet redden. Het is niet lelijk, het is niet slecht, het is niet tenenkrommend, je overleeft het heus wel, maar het is zeker ook niet levend, laat staan verbazingwekkend. The King's Spy is daarmee niets meer dan een boek voor mensen die een genre willen bingen. Dus, om met David Foster Wallace te spreken, a supposedly fun thing I'll never do again.
Ik begin met historische whodunnit-romans te krijgen wat ik ook met fantasy heb: de realisatie dat er slechts een handvol goede uitgaven zijn, en dat de rest vulmateriaal is, vergelijkbaar met de 90% versneden speed tussen de 10% pure cocaïne op Netflix. Ik ga súperhard op de Giordano Bruno-serie van S.J. Parris, ik vind His Bloody Project nog altijd een ge-wel-dig boek, en ook de eerste uit de serie over Tom Hawkins is zeer oké, maar verder lees ik soms een preview van iets soortgelijks en realiseer ik me na een pagina of 20 dat dit niks gaat worden. Ik lees niet om inwisselbare zevens tot me te nemen. Als ik dan toch een voorspelbaar genre tot me neem (net als bij fantasy), dan wil ik de absolute krenten uit de pap.
En dat is The King's Spy niet. Om vele redenen. Ik heb bijvoorbeeld niets met de hoofdpersoon, die zo eendimensionaal overkomt als een magazijn printerpapier. Hij ontwikkelt zich niet noemenswaardig, het overlijden van zijn beste vriend en grote liefde verwerkt hij binnen een zin of drie, en zijn liefde voor zijn zus en haar kinderen neigt serieus naar het moreel verwerpelijke (zo zal het niet bedoeld zijn, maar zo voelt het wel).
Daarnaast word ik helemaal gek van die halfhartige manier om encryptiemethodes in het boek te stoppen. Er wordt soms absurd veel uitgelegd, inclusief paginalange opsommingen van hoe de code in elkaar zit, maar dat is allemaal volslagen zinloos, omdat het te weinig is om echt mee te kunnen gaan in het codebreken (het wordt niet opeens een escape room ofzo), en te veel om niet bloederig irritant te zijn.
Verder (goed, nu zit ik ook in mijn haatmodus, afijn, Andrew Swanston leest toch geen Nederlands toch?) word ik er tamelijk gek van dat het hele verhaal draait om één te ontcijferen boodschap. Dat die vriend overlijdt, én die geliefde (na ook nog eens verkracht te zijn, hup, waarom ook niet), wordt allemaal verwerkt door Thomas Hill omdat hij de code wil breken, (Gargamel-stem) al is het het laatste wat hij doet (/Gargamel-stem). Maar wat daarin staat, is zo fucking prozaïsch en voorspelbaar, dat het me echt niets doet (weet je nog, die grote epifanie-vreugde toen je snapte waardoor iedereen dood ging in The Name Of The Rose? Neem van dat sentiment het dianegatief, en je snapt de diepte en breedte van de deceptie).
Ook met zijn schrijfstijl gaat Swanston het boek of het genre niet redden. Het is niet lelijk, het is niet slecht, het is niet tenenkrommend, je overleeft het heus wel, maar het is zeker ook niet levend, laat staan verbazingwekkend. The King's Spy is daarmee niets meer dan een boek voor mensen die een genre willen bingen. Dus, om met David Foster Wallace te spreken, a supposedly fun thing I'll never do again.
May 19, 2023
I'm going to struggle to hide my disappointment in this review.
I suppose I've been spoiled in my selection of authors in the historical fiction genre so far. C J Sansom, S J Parris, S G Maclean, Antonia Hodgson, Andrew Taylor, Imogen Robertson, Laura Shepherd-Robinson all of these authors are fantastic at bringing alive the era that they are writing about and filling their stories with rich details demonstrating their depth of research. Unfortunately, this book has very little of that. The descriptive text is very basic and simple, as though the author is paying lip service to this area as he has other priorities he wants to focus on. It put me in mind of the descriptions you get in fairy tale stories, it just scratched the surface and provided no detail. And let's not get started on the fact it is strewn with historical inaccuracies,
If the author was prioritising his writing in other areas, it certainly wasn't the dialogue. This was terribly wooden and dreadful, it didn't pull you into the story and had no realism to it whatsoever.
The characters were limited in number, removing much of the suspense in a mystery, to to it off they were very one dimensional, uninteresting and not very believable at all.
Another irritation was the boring, technical detail around solving the codes. I found myself skim reading a lot (which I never usually do) because the author was going into painful lengths about the trial and error techniques being used to try and crack the coding.
The premise of the book was a good one, an unsuspecting hero brought in to help solve codes and ciphers to try to put an end to civil war. However, the whole thing left me disappointed and this isn't an author I'll be adding to my favourites list any time soon.
I suppose I've been spoiled in my selection of authors in the historical fiction genre so far. C J Sansom, S J Parris, S G Maclean, Antonia Hodgson, Andrew Taylor, Imogen Robertson, Laura Shepherd-Robinson all of these authors are fantastic at bringing alive the era that they are writing about and filling their stories with rich details demonstrating their depth of research. Unfortunately, this book has very little of that. The descriptive text is very basic and simple, as though the author is paying lip service to this area as he has other priorities he wants to focus on. It put me in mind of the descriptions you get in fairy tale stories, it just scratched the surface and provided no detail. And let's not get started on the fact it is strewn with historical inaccuracies,
If the author was prioritising his writing in other areas, it certainly wasn't the dialogue. This was terribly wooden and dreadful, it didn't pull you into the story and had no realism to it whatsoever.
The characters were limited in number, removing much of the suspense in a mystery, to to it off they were very one dimensional, uninteresting and not very believable at all.
Another irritation was the boring, technical detail around solving the codes. I found myself skim reading a lot (which I never usually do) because the author was going into painful lengths about the trial and error techniques being used to try and crack the coding.
The premise of the book was a good one, an unsuspecting hero brought in to help solve codes and ciphers to try to put an end to civil war. However, the whole thing left me disappointed and this isn't an author I'll be adding to my favourites list any time soon.
March 19, 2019
A very enjoyable historical yarn set at the time of the English Civil War. This is a period I only know in broad brush strokes so I really enjoyed the detail added here; especially about Oxford when the King set up court there, also about what it was like during a battle of the period (the Battle of Newbury).
Thomas Hill, ex Oxford student of Mathematics, with a talent for cyphers and a taste for Philosophy, is living a quiet life as a bookseller in Romsey, a small town near England’s south coast as yet untouched by war. He shares his house with his sister, Margaret, already widowed by the war and his two small nieces. The war is happening far away until the day a stranger knocks at the door. The stranger, a friar called Simon de Pointz, says that Thomas’s old friend and tutor from Oxford, Abraham Fletcher, has recommended Thomas’s talents with cyphers to the King and the King requires Thomas to come to Oxford to work for him. So begins Thomas’s adventures; his encounters with royalty, his struggles with an intelligent and devious traitor, the challenge of trying to crack a previously impregnable Vigenere square cypher, his brush with love, his brush with death, his own and others.
The plot moves along at a good pace and the book is packed with period detail and incident. The book does not get four stars from me because I liked Thomas but I didn’t believe in him completely. However, I will be trying to get hold of the next book in the series because there is so much else to enjoy and I want to see if Thomas becomes more three dimensional to me.
Thomas Hill, ex Oxford student of Mathematics, with a talent for cyphers and a taste for Philosophy, is living a quiet life as a bookseller in Romsey, a small town near England’s south coast as yet untouched by war. He shares his house with his sister, Margaret, already widowed by the war and his two small nieces. The war is happening far away until the day a stranger knocks at the door. The stranger, a friar called Simon de Pointz, says that Thomas’s old friend and tutor from Oxford, Abraham Fletcher, has recommended Thomas’s talents with cyphers to the King and the King requires Thomas to come to Oxford to work for him. So begins Thomas’s adventures; his encounters with royalty, his struggles with an intelligent and devious traitor, the challenge of trying to crack a previously impregnable Vigenere square cypher, his brush with love, his brush with death, his own and others.
The plot moves along at a good pace and the book is packed with period detail and incident. The book does not get four stars from me because I liked Thomas but I didn’t believe in him completely. However, I will be trying to get hold of the next book in the series because there is so much else to enjoy and I want to see if Thomas becomes more three dimensional to me.
May 18, 2023
A fairly readable book that is easy to get through, but I didn't find the story particularly compelling, partly I think because an emotional connection with the characters was lacking, and the conclusion of the story was easy to guess from early on. There were long sequences explaining codes and ciphers and how to decipher them, which wasn't particularly my cup of tea, but can be scanned through quite easily without losing sense of the meaning. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, and it was difficult to really relate to them or care about them as a result. The characters of the king and queen also felt very bland - there was no sense of grandeur or personality about them, or anyone else in the book for that matter. The protagonist was also not someone who had a clearly defined personality, other than being into maths and Philosophy and seemingly having a moral compass. I appreciate stories that delve deeply into the moment and give you a real sense of what everyday existence is like, but this story felt rushed in many places and quite repetitive at times, and the overall impression I had was of being distant and detached from what was occurring. There was some semblance of a mystery, but it presented itself a little too easily for my liking. Even the supposed revelations were expected on my part.
Overall, not a bad read, but a tad dull in places and I don't feel inclined to read the sequels. There are better-written novels that cover this time period, in my opinion.
Overall, not a bad read, but a tad dull in places and I don't feel inclined to read the sequels. There are better-written novels that cover this time period, in my opinion.
April 3, 2022
The Kings Spy (Thomas Hill #1)
by Andrew Swanston
A very dry story. Thomas Hill is a book seller who whilst at collage dealt in mathematical and alphabetical codes and cyphers along with one of his tutors a gentleman called Ambrose Fletcher.
King Charles 1 has moved to Oxford and is holding court along with the Queen Henrietta Maria each taking over one of the college buildings. Even though they are away from London nothing has really changed and the people are not happy with the war and with the money they are spending on there entertainment etc.
Thomas lives with his sister and her two girls running a book shop and hoping that the war will pass them by, unfortunately this is not going to happen and the kings men are drinking at one of the pubs one night and Parliamentarian solders are wreaking the village and assaulting and raping the women, they call on the shop and wreak the books and furniture looking for anything worth taking.
The following days spent in putting everything back together and a friar from the Benedictines calls asking Thomas to go with him and see Ambrose. Once there he is asked to decrypt messages.
This is where I go off the book as I have no interest in cyphers. A simple description would have been enough for me I agree that anyone who finds them interesting will possibly find the book more interesting than I did.
The basic story was ok
by Andrew Swanston
A very dry story. Thomas Hill is a book seller who whilst at collage dealt in mathematical and alphabetical codes and cyphers along with one of his tutors a gentleman called Ambrose Fletcher.
King Charles 1 has moved to Oxford and is holding court along with the Queen Henrietta Maria each taking over one of the college buildings. Even though they are away from London nothing has really changed and the people are not happy with the war and with the money they are spending on there entertainment etc.
Thomas lives with his sister and her two girls running a book shop and hoping that the war will pass them by, unfortunately this is not going to happen and the kings men are drinking at one of the pubs one night and Parliamentarian solders are wreaking the village and assaulting and raping the women, they call on the shop and wreak the books and furniture looking for anything worth taking.
The following days spent in putting everything back together and a friar from the Benedictines calls asking Thomas to go with him and see Ambrose. Once there he is asked to decrypt messages.
This is where I go off the book as I have no interest in cyphers. A simple description would have been enough for me I agree that anyone who finds them interesting will possibly find the book more interesting than I did.
The basic story was ok
June 30, 2019
The is the first title in a series set in the English civil war. Thomas Hill is a bookseller, but he’s also a very competent cryptographer. After king Charles’s cryptographer is brutally murdered, Thomas is summoned to Oxford by the king to take the position. Reluctantly, he leaves his family behind and travels to Oxford. When he arrives in Oxford, he reunites with some old friends from his time as a student there. However, the happy reunion is short lived. There appears to be a traitor within the staff/household of the king. Thomas is tasked with deciphering any intercepted enemy messages that are encrypted. But as he does this, he becomes suspicious of certain people surrounding the king. As he gets closer to deciphering a notoriously unbreakable cipher, a brutal murder takes place, one of his close friends is the victim. This makes Thomas even more determined to get to the bottom of the code. Another friend is brutally murdered. Thomas knows he must break the cipher before more innocent lives are lost.
I was really hoping this would be similar to SJ Parris’s series, or CJ Sansom’s series. I suppose this book is a similar theme, but the writing isn’t comparable to the others. I will continue to read the rest of the books though, because I did enjoy reading about Thomas Hill.
I was really hoping this would be similar to SJ Parris’s series, or CJ Sansom’s series. I suppose this book is a similar theme, but the writing isn’t comparable to the others. I will continue to read the rest of the books though, because I did enjoy reading about Thomas Hill.
February 19, 2019
Never read any novels set at the time of the English Civil War before, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Thomas Hill, bookseller, writer, cryptographer and former Oxford student, is summoned by King Charles I to take over from the late Erasmus Pole in encrypting and decrypting codes for the Royalists. Hill stays in Oxford under the pretext of wanting to visit a former tutor, Abraham Fletcher, before it's too late.
Thomas Hill becomes involved in intrigue and fighting as part of his secret new life in the beautiful city of Oxford. He loses a friend, a lover and his freedom, but remains unbroken by life's misfortunes.
Andrew Swanston's writing brought the seventeenth century to life in a fantastic way. His descriptions of parts of Oxford and the Colleges brought evoked memories of familiar sights of the twenty-first century city that I love and would return to as often as I could.
This was, for me, a well written and enjoyable novel. I was transported to the Civil War and could almost feel the fear of the ordinary people as they tried to continue living their lives during all the unrest.
Thomas Hill, bookseller, writer, cryptographer and former Oxford student, is summoned by King Charles I to take over from the late Erasmus Pole in encrypting and decrypting codes for the Royalists. Hill stays in Oxford under the pretext of wanting to visit a former tutor, Abraham Fletcher, before it's too late.
Thomas Hill becomes involved in intrigue and fighting as part of his secret new life in the beautiful city of Oxford. He loses a friend, a lover and his freedom, but remains unbroken by life's misfortunes.
Andrew Swanston's writing brought the seventeenth century to life in a fantastic way. His descriptions of parts of Oxford and the Colleges brought evoked memories of familiar sights of the twenty-first century city that I love and would return to as often as I could.
This was, for me, a well written and enjoyable novel. I was transported to the Civil War and could almost feel the fear of the ordinary people as they tried to continue living their lives during all the unrest.
January 8, 2021
For a period during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (English Civil Wars) of the mid 1600s, King Charles I found himself headquartered with his army and his Queen in Oxford. The author weaves a tale of intrigue and adventure as a humble mathematician-cum-bookseller, Thomas Hill, is summoned to Oxford to apply his knowledge of codes and ciphers for the benefit of the King. He experiences a range of emotions as he undertakes his task in the midst of danger and distrust. The author's descriptions of life in wartime and the uncertainty this brings to soldier and citizen alike add tension to the unfolding drama. Thomas' resolve is tested in a range of scenarios and there are unexpected twists along the way. I really enjoyed reading this novel and appreciated the style of writing which made it difficult for me to put it down. A worthwhile read.
January 24, 2024
I was immediately reminded of Cornwell and Forrester in reading this-- Hornblower's interest in Whist and Cornwell's amazing ability to set the scene are clearly influences on this novel. However, I found it largely a disappointment; so much of the narrative is tied up in the main character, Thomas Hill, and the problem with Thomas Hill is that he has no flaws. He faces consequences, yes, but all his victories come to him easily, through luck, chance, or skill. Well written, but ultimately forgettable, with a disappointing lack of any meaningful character development.
August 28, 2020
I liked this. I enjoy historical fiction and to be honest fiction set in Civil War times is pretty much learning and leisure for me - and this book I think does both
It is set mostly in Oxford and really does show the panic and disorganisation of civil war and the terrible effect it has on people. Our protagonist is an unlikely hero, a failed academic that just happens to be a cryptographer and as such is drawn into the goings on.
He seems quite realistic, the codes seem real and the knowledge correct and I enjoyed seeing how Oxford felt at the time. The story is good, the pace never flags and the mystery has some peril to it - very enjoyable
It is set mostly in Oxford and really does show the panic and disorganisation of civil war and the terrible effect it has on people. Our protagonist is an unlikely hero, a failed academic that just happens to be a cryptographer and as such is drawn into the goings on.
He seems quite realistic, the codes seem real and the knowledge correct and I enjoyed seeing how Oxford felt at the time. The story is good, the pace never flags and the mystery has some peril to it - very enjoyable
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