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The Invention of Fire

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The Invention of Fire

By: Bruce Holsinger
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

The richly atmospheric new historical thriller featuring John Gower, poet and trader of secrets. Set in the turbulent 14th Century, this is perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom.

London, 1386: young King Richard II faces the double threat of a French invasion and growing unrest amongst his barons – and now there's evil afoot in the City. Sixteen corpses have been discovered in a sewer, their wounds like none ever seen before. One thing is clear: whoever threw the bodies into the sewer knew they would be found – and was powerful enough not to care.

Enter John Gower, poet and intellectual whose 'peculiar vocation' is dealing in men's secrets. Against the backdrop of medieval London with its grand palaces and churches, dark alleys and mean backstreets, Gower pursues his dangerous quarry. Seeking insights from his friend Geoffrey Chaucer and using his network of contacts, Gower comes to the shocking belief that the men have been killed by a new and deadly weapon of war.

Known as 'the handgonne', it would put untold power into the hands of whoever perfected its design. But who has commissioned this weapon? A man who would stop at nothing to achieve his secret goal.

©2015 Bruce Holsinger (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Fiction Historical Fiction England

Critic Reviews

‘Holsinger evokes the distant world of medieval London under King Richard II in all its gamey, gory, glory' Daily Mail

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2nd in a series

Interesting plot and good performance, but this seems to be the second novel in this series, which is why there are references to things that are not part of this narrative. The first is apparently not available on audible.

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