2016 •
448 pages • Gallic Books
Who can I
trust in this nest of vipers?
The year
is 1661 and Cardinal Mazarin, the Chief Minister to King Louis XIV of France,
lies dying. As the health of the man who once governed France deteriorates, the
ambitions of those beneath him strive for power in order to succeed him. Secret
papers have been stolen from the Cardinal, papers that could change the course
of France forever, and have fallen in to the hands of Gabriel de Pontibrand, a
young actor who has become unwillingly involved in this strange conspiracy.
Surrounded by scheming politicians and a secret brotherhood, the contents of
these coded papers will change Gabriel’s life and have the power to change the
future of France.
The
premise of The Sun King Conspiracy sounds incredibly exciting;
full of mystery and intrigue and all set during a politically important period
which led to Louis XIV’s ultimate rise to power. The story itself began well
and at first I enjoyed it, but instead of being on the edge of my seat
thirsting for more, it left me feeling confused and a bit disappointed.
As I
said, the set-up sounded amazing and I have no doubt that both Yves Jégo and
Denis Lépée did an impeccable job with their research – the decadence of the
French court and descriptions of seventeenth century Paris are wonderful.
In terms of plot however, it just felt like too much was going on which left me
feeling bewildered and unable to completely immerse myself in the story.
Gabriel is at the centre of the novel and you follow him as his accidental
possession of these mysterious papers set him on a dangerous path, but the
narrative deals with the involvement of so many other characters and their
ambitions and it just made the story feel complicated. It’s got plenty of
action but this is a novel where you have to concentrate to know what’s happening,
so don’t anticipate an easy read because I found it quick to get muddled if I
lost focus.
I’m a
lover of seventeenth century history, and particularly love to read novels
concerning the reign of The Sun King himself. Pretty much any book I find that’s
written during this period I will add it to my To-Read list. In that respect,
the book was interesting to read in order to see the authors’ fictional take on
such historical figures as Louise de la Vallière and Nicolas Fouquet. Sadly, it
all felt very flat and it was so frustrating because it began
so well. I had such hopes that this would knock my socks off but it didn’t.
Also the chapters are incredibly short, and that was reassuring at times but it
meant that as one part of the story was taking off, it would come to an abrupt
pause and then immediately plunge in to a different section of the plot! It’s
fast moving, but also quite rushed.
If you
enjoy historical fiction mixed with elements of mystery then you may enjoy
this, and despite my issues with the book I would say to any readers interested
in historical fiction set during the reign of Louis XIV to give this a go
because while I didn’t love it, I’m glad I read it. But again, this is a mild
recommendation to a limited audience – I’ll read anything set in this period to
see how different authors handle the historical details, and if you’re like me
then by all means see what you think. It might surprise you.
Overall
rating: 2 stars
My proof
copy of The Sun King Conspiracy was sent to me by The
Bookbag and my review was originally published on their website.
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