The Secret Lion

Rating:
Summary: The secret is how to put it down!
Review: This book has it all; intrigue, interesting and fully developed characters and enough action to make sure you don't even think about turning on the TV. Once you start reading Mr. Gortner's new classic you will find it very hard to stop.
The Secret Lion is the kind of book that allows the reader to enter the story and live for a few hours in a world where intrigue lingers around every corner. The Tudor court was filled with mischievous lords and ladies and like Brendan you will not know who to trust until perhaps it is too late.
The most overpowering feeling to hit you as you reach the conclusion is: bring me more!
C.W. Gortner is a talented and gifted writer and his story enchants and pleases. You will have a wonderful ride and you will definitely want another edition as soon as you finish this one.


Rating:
Summary: A Tudor Gem!
Review: A secret, an intriguing mystery - a labyrinth of a story that twists and turns us well surely, deep in an intricate maze set in Tudor Times. Pulled along by this well-plotted tale with a wonderful list of characters, the reader journeys with the main character, Brendan Prescott, to discover the truth whilst keeping hold of the author's "What if?" thread. Historical possibilities are rendered possible through a carefully choreographed story.

Gifted writers conjure words into magic: with a few words, a well-crafted sentence, a door opens and we're taken to another time and place. In his first published novel, C.W. Gortner shows himself a gifted writer and a magician at his craft. His prose brings alive Tudor England; prose also making us smell the evil of ambition and the lust for power emitting from the final days of the dying boy King, Edward VI.

His story, taking us swiftly into the midst of Tudor intrigue, hooks the reader from first page to last - and becomes almost impossible to put down, especially when the story gets us thinking like a detective, who, what and why? Similar to the very likeable Brendan Prescott, whose life and identity are struck to its very core by the events of this story, we too seek for answers.

Gortner depicts the Tudor personages from this time with skill and confidence. His Elizabeth is an absolute jewel of creation, portrayed so powerfully and vividly.

In her own times, and hundreds of years later to our present time, Elizabeth caught many in her web of enchantment. With great passion for his subject, Gortner does her justice - we see her charisma, her strength, her intelligence, her vulnerability and her loyalty to those she loves - all reasons why she too was loved.

Brendan says to the reader on first really meeting Elizabeth:

"There are moments that define our existence, moments that, if recognised, are pivotal turning points in our life. Like pearls on a chain, the accumulations of these moments will in the end become the essence of our youth, and provide solace when our end draws near. For me, meeting Elizabeth Tudor was one of those moments."

This passage struck a true chord for me, for I too have a pivotal turning point in my own life when a history of a dead queen set my feet on the road I walk today. I fell in love with Elizabeth as a child and I have never stopped loving her. It was a joy to see C.W. Gortner's vision of her so akin to mine.

Tears came to my eyes when Elizabeth appeared early in the story leading a hound she called Urian. Those of us knowing the history of her mother, Anne Boleyn, know she too had a dog by this name. In Secret Lion, this scene conveys so vividly the depth and kind of emotion Elizabeth still feels toward the mother, a mother taken from her before the age of three.

Elizabeth isn't the only Tudor character I enjoyed meeting in "The Secret Lion." Gortner's Mary Tudor is spot on - the good woman whose life's tragedy was to be born Tudor. Barnaby, childhood friend of both Elizabeth and her brother Edward, also comes vividly to life in this story, as too did Lady Jane Grey and her terrible, selfish mother.

The first in a series, Secret Lion is a superb introduction to a new and gifted Tudor writer so clearly passionate about this period and its people. I simply can't wait for the next one, when I can catch up again with Elizabeth and friends!



Rating:
Summary: A Tudor tour-de-force
Review: A vividly imagined tour-de-force of a pivotal year in the life of Elizabeth the first. Told from the perspective of Brendan Prescott, squire to Robert Dudley, insights are filtered through the eyes of a young man entering adulthood. No anachronisms here - I was transported to Tudor England and lamented the story's end when I read the last words and had to leave. A quicksilver first outing by novelist C. W. Gortner.

Rating:
Summary: I Was Transported to 1553 England
Review: Exquisite use of language plus grasp of history plus intrigue equal Christopher Gortner's THE SECRET LION. I had no idea when I opened the book that I would step into the shoes of protagonist Brendan Prescott. All my senses became acute as I turned the pages to play out the incidents. I was spellbound. Peregrine, the brave stable boy, captured my heart, and I hope he'll reappear in sequels.


Rating:
Summary: Tudor Intrigue and romance
Review: For lover of historial novels, suspence,romance and passion combine to pull the reader into the pageantry of the days of the 16Th. centry Tudor court. Never lets up the pace as one is compelled to read straight through in one breathtaking gulp ! All the scenes come alive with the author's brillance. You will long to read more in this continuing saga.



Rating:
Summary: A fully engaging read.
Review: I was surprised and amused to often find myself checking for a hat on my head, as though I myself were Brendan Prescott, falling into the deeply entagled intrigues and dangers of the Tudor court at the time of King Edward VI's death. I also kept my dictionary handy to check some of the uncommon vocabulary or use of adjectives. There is no way to read this book without being pulled into it!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read!
Review: I've just finished The Secret Lion. Splendid. Very satisfying. I was enjoying it so much that I had to ration myself to make it last longer. The author has incorporating so many minute details (well researched every one of them!)that the whole ambience and period comes to three-dimensional life, including the smells!The descriptions of medieval London and the interiors of the palaces are excellent.But all this information is woven into the exciting story so seamlessly that you aren't aware of how much factual stuff is there. Very much looking forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: The Secret Lion -- the secret is out!
Review: The Secret Lion is the best book I have read in quite some time. It's a book you can really sink your teeth into! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that as soon as I finished it, I went back to the beginning and started all over again! It's that kind of ending...it leaves you wanting more. This book was a lot of fun to read and very hard to put down. The descriptions of castles and palaces were so intriguing, as were the descriptions of the clothing and fashions of the day. This book would definitely make a great movie. Full of intrigue and suspense. A very enjoyable read. I loved it!
D. Straus, New York, NY

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Adventure!
Review: The Secret Lion was a wonderful page-turner. After getting to know the characters it was hard to leave them for anything else.

The story and characters draw you into a world with secrets around every corner. For those who love to escape and enter a world filled with energy when they read, then I highly recommend C.W. Gortner's Book The Secret Lion. And for those who are afraid to read a book set in a historical time other than their own will be surprised to how easy it is to slip back in time and lose themselves amongst the constant action.

The only problem I had with this book is that it ended. Mr. Gortner we want more!

Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: What begins as a simple historical novel quickly becomes a fully engaging drama, one in which the reader quickly is intensely involved. Impressive historical details seem transparent as the author sets the stage with a visual immediacy that makes the reader feel present in the fascinating turns of the unfolding story. The plot was so well drawn that I found myself driven to discover what would come next. Forgetting I was reading, I felt as if I were engaged in powerful theater. I am eager to read the sequel.