Dark Matter : The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Page turner
Review: This is the first novel by Philip Kerr that I have read. I was attracted to this book by the subtitle: "The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton." As a teacher of math and physics, how could I resist a book that uses one of my heroes as a main character? Of course, I should have remembered the old adage about the disappointment in meeting your heroes.

In this novel we find Isaac Newton as the Warden of the Royal Mint. The story is told through the eyes of Christopher Ellis, Newton's assistant. The two men are investigating illegeal coining which leads them to a plot to overthrow the government. Needless to say, they save the day.

The storyline of this novel is filled with murders and intrigue--interesting enough for an easy-to-read thriller. And Kerr does a good enough job giving us a sense of London at the close of the seventeenth century. What was missing, for me, was Newton.

In many ways, despite the subtitle, Newton is a secondary character in this novel after Ellis. This is fine, on one level, but when Newton does appear he comes off as more of a poor man's Sherlock Holmes than a unique character. Perhaps I have studied histories of Newton too much to be an objective reader, but the Newton Kerr brings forth in his novel is difficult for me to reconcile with what I have always imagined Newton was like. Not that Kerr gets facts wrong, he doesn't. It just feels wrong to me. And so it was difficult for me to enjoy this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Seem Like Newton to Me
Review: This is the first novel by Philip Kerr that I have read. I was attracted to this book by the subtitle: "The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton." As a teacher of math and physics, how could I resist a book that uses one of my heroes as a main character? Of course, I should have remembered the old adage about the disappointment in meeting your heroes.

In this novel we find Isaac Newton as the Warden of the Royal Mint. The story is told through the eyes of Christopher Ellis, Newton's assistant. The two men are investigating illegeal coining which leads them to a plot to overthrow the government. Needless to say, they save the day.

The storyline of this novel is filled with murders and intrigue--interesting enough for an easy-to-read thriller. And Kerr does a good enough job giving us a sense of London at the close of the seventeenth century. What was missing, for me, was Newton.

In many ways, despite the subtitle, Newton is a secondary character in this novel after Ellis. This is fine, on one level, but when Newton does appear he comes off as more of a poor man's Sherlock Holmes than a unique character. Perhaps I have studied histories of Newton too much to be an objective reader, but the Newton Kerr brings forth in his novel is difficult for me to reconcile with what I have always imagined Newton was like. Not that Kerr gets facts wrong, he doesn't. It just feels wrong to me. And so it was difficult for me to enjoy this novel.