Rating: 
Summary: Not a novel for the ignorant or shallow reader.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. But then, I've spent a fair amount of time reading about the "insignificant" (sic) events and persons whose lives and struggles form the context for its story. I agree that it's not for everyone. If you don't appreciate the value of Harvey's and Lower's dissections to modern medicine, you may not enjoy Lower's role in the novel as much as I did. If you don't understand Boyle's central role in laying the foundations of modern experimental science, you may find the novel's mention of him tiresome. For me, he is an essential character in the plot. If you haven't heard of the Levellers, whose heretical notions of equality regardless of birth underlie Ned's devotion to his cause AND led ultimately to the U.S. Constitution in the next century, you may find those notions and references to local fights over draining the fens to be superfluous. I definitely didn't. If you are unaware of the religious turmoil and ferment that accompanied the English Civil War and the years that followed it, then you may find the last narrator's belief in his chosen messiah implausible. But if you have read any of George Fox's work, you may see the entire novel in another light. In short, if you couldn't fathom this story, you haven't done your homework.
Rating: 
Summary: When will it end????????
Review: I am drawn to historical fiction. I revel in the little details and bits on interesting fact thrown into an engaging tale. This book, while chock full of historical information, was dry, boring and deadly dull. It seemed almost as if the author was having a contest with himself over how many more tiny, insignificant details and completely forgettable names of centuries dead philosophers/scientists/poets/theologians he could add to every page. The plot was almost non-existent and while I did take a bit of a shine to the last main character I was so tired of the whole thing I had to force myself to finish it. I think the final section could have stood alone as a complete novella with only slight embellishment drawn from the other sections. I am flabbergasted - I can see no reason why this has made the best-seller lists. I will say, though, that it was technically well written - I didn't feel obligated to read through with a red pen and mark all the typos and clunky structure. Good read if you can't fall asleep.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read...great drama, Michener would be proud
Review: I really did not know what to expect. I found "Instance..." to be enjoyable and disturbing, funny and sad. A great mixture of emotions and personal insight. Man's "justice" wasn't any different then, than ages before and after. ( I think it would make an excellent movie: Winona Ryder as Sarah and Patrick Stewart as Thurloe). I really looked forward to reading it each evening and had to force myself to stop. The ending had a innovative twist and left me hungry for a follow-up story.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Historical Novel
Review: Long at times, outsatnding historical novel
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating story, but too looongg.
Review: It was a struggle to get through the book. Not that it wasn't interesting, but it was difficult to tie all of the stories together. It was meticulously researched obviously, but all of those details just added unnecessary verbiage and made it difficult to connect the stories. Not a light read certainly, but an intelligent and worthwhile read nonetheless. Extremely disappointed about how the main unifying character was handled. What a cheap shot.
Rating:
Summary: An ingenious historical thriller but much more
Review: I agree with the reviewers who emphasise the importance of reading the sections in order and the utility of the dramatis personae. But this is much more than an ingenious historical thriller (although it is a brilliant example of the genre) it is a book with philosophical depth (perhaps some would say pretensions)- those reviewers who did not like it (and who obviously did not understand it) should stick to Agatha Christie - all great novelists ultimately end up attempting (consciously or otherwise) to rewrite the New Testament - Pears has given us (as a deliberate literary artifice) four (heretical)gospels and a new (female)messiah.A splendid conceit, less overtly blashpemous than Gore Vidal (News From Golgotha) or Anthony Burgess (Earthly Powers). The comparision with Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose) is obvious but Eco's book is a long professorial joke about Aristotle and medieval theology, whereas (I suspect) Pears had a more serious purpose.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: I loved the Name of the Rose, going sofar as to read it both in italian and english to make sure I was catching all the language-play. This book is NOT the Name of the Rose. It is boring and difficult to get into. It picks up a little at the end, and I did skip around to see if it got any better, but it didn't. There is nothing particularly 'perverted' or offensive about the book, it's just boring, and the author confuses a 'complex' with 'interesting'.
Rating:
Summary: Good Try!
Review: I desperately wanted this book to work for me. I was drawn by the character of Sarah. But the plot never gelled, and the ending was a copout -- I mean, you can't get rid of your only interesting character in a single paragraph, as if she did not matter. Otherwise, I stumbled over the narratives in the three POVs, and I could not keep them straight -- who knew what, when, and why -- or even who was who after a while. The third section still baffles, but I do not have the energy to go back and try again. Instead, the book goes out in the next yard sale. I do not understand the critical hype that this book received.
Rating:
Summary: An Instance of Tedium
Review: From all the hype and gushing reviews this book has received, I was expecting to be blown away. Instead, what I got was a marginally clever plot, but mostly full of smoke and mirrors. This book had more red herrings and convoluted plotlines than an "X Files" episode (and far less clever). I agree with what several of the dissenters here have said: clumsy, self-conscious prose and the same voice is very present despite the pre-text of having 4 different narrators. I love historical novels (especially mysteries/thrillers) but that was what I felt was this novel's main failing: Never for a moment did I feel like I was in Restoration England. Indeed, the author felt compelled to litter the novel with dates, references, etc., to the period, but they all seemed perfunctory (like he had endlessly researched the period and had scores of annotated index cards he wanted to use). It all seemed tacked on. Plus, several of the characters speak in such contemporary attitudes/mindsets that, it's, at times, unintentionally funny. I don't mean to belittle the exhaustive work Pears has done, but it ultimately culminates in an average novel. The one saving grace of the book (and in reading previous posts, perhaps I'm alone in this) but I found the novel to be really fast, easy reading and flew through it, as tedious as it was. I don't think I'd recommend this book to many people.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, turgid, prolix.
Review: I've tried to read this book. Lord knows I've tried. No one can accuse me of not giving it the old college try. I wanted to like it. I really did. But I don't! I have read up to page 424, and I just cannot go on! The characters are unappealing. The language is convoluted. The story is uninteresting--and I loved The Name of the Rose, by the way. But this book has been like an albatross hanging round my neck! I've been reading it for months and haven't begun anything else because I just wanted to finish the thing. But I can't. I dread picking it up. And as I read it, I can't help but wonder why I'm wasting my time. I fail to understand why this book has garnered such great reviews. So I am giving the albatross his freedom, and at the same time freeing myself from the chains of this book. To those who finished it, I salute you. To those who tried and failed, I just want to say you're not alone! I understand! Do not feel ashamed. In my own considered opinion, this book is highly overrated.
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