Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant mystery thriller.
Review: Fingerpost is much more than a mystery thriller. After reading the first half of the book, I realized that the murder of Dr Grove was simply a tool used by Pears to hold together four sub-plots which in their entirety form an excellent portrayal of 17th Century England, with murder, betrayals, and political intrigue all thrown in. I was particularly impressed with how Pears was able to twist the central plot around to be viewed from four different angles, yet maintaining a reasonable level of consistency in the plot all the way through. The author's use of prominent 17th Century figures such as Locke, Wood, Lower and Boyle, all interweaved into the complex plot, is simply outstanding. This book surpasses Eco's The Name of the Rose with which it is always compared. My next favorite and most exciting conspiracy thriller is 'Alien Rapture' by Brad Steiger. Also check out anything by Connelly. Read the great reviews of Alien Rapture and The Poet and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing - but it may take patience.
Review: Like some other reviewers, I found on first reading that Fingerpost got truly absorbing only in the fourth section. On second read...I loved it all the way through. As for continual comparisons to The Name of the Rose -- I found Rose to be pretentious, and to *not* wear its erudition lightly. This one I'll read a third time - Rose I read only once. And as for Samuel Pepys, he *does* appear, or, rather, he is referred to. He is the cousin of Lord Sandwich who is under his patronage, kind of boring and talks too much...John Aubrey starts to describe him and the narrator (Wood, I think) interrupts him. A little in-joke!
Rating:
Summary: Four blind men see a murder, a woman, a sage, and an age.
Review: Yes, there are four narrators, and yes, each resolves several mysteries then puts down his pen, sure that he has the truth. You can do this too, starting with "Who did in the dotty don?" "Who was a murderer?" "Who WAS that woman?" and "Who among these writers (if any) was quite thoroughly daft?" Don't expect a neatly wrapped conclusion: you won't find it. Expect instead to argue long and hard with all of the narrators and all of the reviewers, long after you finish the book. Expect also to wish you knew a lot more about early Restoration England and the history of modern science than you do now.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for readers who are patient and open-minded.
Review: "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is Dickensian in both scope and flow. If you trust that a lengthy piece of exposition is necessary to support a key literary element, the author will reward your indulgence. If you expect the language and sensibilities of the narrators and other characters to accomodate your modern frame of reference, you will be frustrated. The negative reviews that I have read fall mainly into one of two categories: those who gave up on the book before reading all four sections (here I include those who erroneously began with the final section instead of the first) and those who felt misled by the marketing of the book as a mystery. The balance of the naysayers are minute in number, and with good reason. This work is worthy of the highest praise. If you have time to read the entire book and if you set aside any preconceived notions of what a mystery novel must be, you will most likely find this to be one of the most compelling and memorable works that you have ever read. One tip: do not hesitate to make use of the "Dramatis Personae" section at the back of the book. I had frequent interruptions and found this useful for reaquainting myself with some of the minor characters. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly brilliant
Review: This book is a masterpiece. But it is not a tour de force for the reasons the reviewers are quick to drool over. The fact that this book has four different narrators is not ingenious--the device has been around for ages. The eternal question of "what constitutes the truth" is as old as the human gene pool. Further, neither the setting nor the history is, in a literary sense, exceptional. The quality of the prose is high, but not sublime. The "mystery" presented is, at best, minimal. Why then, you are correct to ask, is this as fine a novel as one can hope to read? Because the mystery is not about the death of an annoying doctor. The mystery is religious. Mr. Pears is making a remarkable statement (if, in fact, we can believe the final narrator--as Pears gives the indication we should): The Saviour arives every generation. A most remarkable assertion, I'd say (how could we have missed the 60 odd Saviours since Christ?) Further, in this instance, The Saviour does not even know she is The Saviour. In addition, her divinity is only occasional: she is taken over by the spirit of The Saviour, which isn't really the same thing as being The Saviour. Very difficult to save people part time. But highly provocative nonetheless. Mr. Pears does give the reader a welcome degree of consolation in his depiction of The Saviour, especially appealing is that there is no one road to salvation. I'm annoyed at Mr. Pears because he does not really give any answers. Lots of questions, no answers. The second narrator thinks Sarah Blundy is a witch. The fourth narrator thinks she is The Saviour. On the "what is the nature of truth issue", Mr. Pears gets us no further than the self-evident fact that people behave in self-interested ways. What I would really like to see is a fifth narration done by God, so that we can see where the others embellished. Also, it would have been nice to have a quick blurb at the end of the book about Anne Green (the inspiration for Sarah Blundy). One can suppose that she was hung and then resuscitated, but is that the whole story? I submit that even though the fourth narrator's entry is described as the "Instance of the Fingerpost" (which we are told is the one path to truth allowing for no other) is merely Mr. Pear's device to fool us into believing the emotionally satisfying account by Mr. Wood. Sadly, Mr. Wood is unbelievable because he is simply putting the only girl who would ever love him into the Realm Divine. Further, he does this with some rather curious religious assertions (see above). Well done, Mr. Pears. You have given us a provocative novel. It is brilliant and I have recommended it to many of my friends. But when I take the time to read 700+ pages, I would like some answers.
Rating:
Summary: A carefully crafted, illuminating and fascinating tale!
Review: I discovered this book last week, and I haven't been able to put it down! It brings to life an era of intellectual and moral ferment that has fascinated me for nearly a decade! Having read the following books in the past couple of years has added greatly to my enjoyment of this thought provoking, multiply layered tale of religion, gender politics, science, superstition and intrigue in early Restoration England: Marilyn McCord Adams, William Ockham Rutherford Aris, H. Ted Davis and Roger H. Suewer (editors), Springs of Scientific Creativity: Essays on Founders of Modern Science Carl Boyer, A History of Mathematics Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chemist John Dominic Crossan, The Birth of Christianity Antonio D'Amasio, Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain William Dollarhide, British Origins of American Colonists, 1629-1775 (Heritage Quest, 1997) John Fauvel, Let Newton Be! Michael Hunter, Establishing the New Science: The Experience of the Early Royal Society Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision Frank Kitson, Prince Rupert: Portrait of a Soldier Frank Kitson, Prince Rupert: Admiral and General-At-Sea Sara Heller Mendelson, The Mental World of Stuart Women: Three Studies Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England, 1550-1720 Rowland Parker, The Common Stream: Two Thousand Years of the English Village Laurence Principe, The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and His Alchemical Quest: Including Boyle's 'Lost' Dialogue on the Transmutation of Metals Robert Raymond, Out of the Fiery Furnace: The Impact of Metals on the History of Mankind John Rogers, The Matter of Revolution: Science, Poetry and Politics in the Age of Milton Steven Shapin, Leviathan and the Air Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life Richard Southern, Saint Anselm: A Portrait in a Landscape Larry Stewart, The Rise of Public Science: Rhetoric, Technology and Natural Philosophy in Newtonian Britain, 1660-1750 Charles Tanford and Jacqueline Reynolds, A Travel Guide to Scientific Sites of the British Isles: A Guide to the People, Places and Landmarks of Science Gary Taylor, Reinventing Shakespeare: A Cultural History from the Restoration to the Present David Underdown, Fire from Heaven: Life in an English Town in the Seventeenth Century Stephen Saunders Webb, 1676: The End of American Independence David Weiss, Physician Extraordinary: A Novel of the Life and Times of William Harvey George Willison, Saints and Strangers: Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers & their Families -daj
Rating:
Summary: Mystery meets myth: a crackling read
Review: I didn't think I was going to like it, even after the first 20 pages; I didn't identify much with the first narrator. But the second hoodwinked me completely and by the time I read the same story from the archivist's point of view (and Pears' own sensibilities) I was entranced, and even ready for the fable ending. The central mystery is often shoved to the side by the exceptional historic research and a smooth presentation of early science, but it's a good one: even more satisfying because I guessed it right the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, involving, and different.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is not every day that you run across a historical detective novel that is complex, fun, and engaging. Not your typical mystery novel. A good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Did not enjoy this one at all
Review: I do not know what it is people see in this book. I found it to be uninteresting and confusing. Perhaps it's because I started with the last section first and read through to the start, but I thought the book was too long and wordy.
Rating:
Summary: A complex and engrossing interweave of genres and stories!
Review: What a rich and riveting read! With a deceptively low-key opening, the reader is drawn gently into the mystery of a murder and a framing. The reader also must sift through the various accounts of the happenings to re-interpret and separate the reality from the perceptions and rationalizations of the various narrators. Pears has done an amazing job of portraying utterly different historical characters so believably well! Each narrator is a thoroughly grounded person of their time and place, with each their own attendant beliefs of what is right and proper, each the appropriate educational background, superstitious and religious beliefs. All of them are convincingly real. And of course, through each of them we get the "feel" of the time and place, and an understanding of their reality. I am loving this book! I am perhaps a third of the way into Wallis' narrative, and of course, panting to know the ultimate truth of Grove's death and the real story of the Blundys' life. I am also beginning to wonder about the full story of Marco da Cola. And I cannot help but hope that Jack Prestcott ultimately suffers an agonizing and humiliating death even after the conclusion of his narrative...
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