Rating: 4/5
Review:
A very involving historical mystery
I enjoyed Prague Nights; it's a slow but involving mystery
in a beautifully evoked historical setting.
The story is narrated by Christian Stern, a young scholar,
who arrives in Prague in late 1599
and by chance discovers the body of a young woman and is then drawn into the
inner circle of Emperor Rudolf II.
Rudolf, who shares Stern's passion for alchemy the arcane, and charges
him with solving the murder. As the
young, naïve Stern is drawn into the political and sexual intrigues of the
court, it emerges that much larger affairs of state are involved.
Black builds a fine atmosphere of cold, of mystery, of
threat and of disorientation. Although
the plot is driven by a decent, slowly
progressing murder mystery, the real strength of the book is Banville/Black's
evocation of Rudolf's Prague court
and city. He paints what is to me a very
convincing picture of the plotting, betrayals and danger of the Imperial court
and of the untrustworthiness of absolutely everyone. His portrait of Rudolf is very well done, as
are those of his chief courtiers, all of whom seemed to me like very real, if
often repellent, people. (Two heroes of
mine, Sir Henry Wootton and Johannes Kepler, also make brief appearances and
even Tycho Brahe is seen at a banquet, all of which is a bonus for me.) Black has plainly done a lot of research and
has used it very effectively.
I found Stern's narrative voice and language very
convincing, being accessible to the modern reader but conveying the atmosphere
and feel of the time very well. Banville
is a real master of language and he is at his best here so that I felt
completely immersed in Stern's world and genuinely gripped by the book.
Although I admire John Banville/Benjamin Black, I haven't
much enjoyed his recent output and wasn't sure whether to bother with this, but
I'm glad I did. It's a well written,
gripping and very atmospheric tale which I can recommend as a compelling read.
(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)
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