Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Dark Fire
- A Matthew Shardlake Novel
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Buy Now for £9.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
The secret of Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies, has been lost for centuries. Now an official of the Court of Augmentations has discovered the formula in the library of a dissolved London monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother brutally murdered. The formula has disappeared.
Now Shardlake must follow the trail of Greek Fire across Tudor London, while trying at the same time to prove his young client's innocence. But very soon he discovers nothing is as it seems.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Dark Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Andy Hurley
- 30-11-12
Heavily abridged
I love the Shardlake series, have read them all in print and I would say that Dark Fire is my favourite but unfortunately the heavy abridging of this version makes the story uneven and a bit hard to follow. I was pretty deeply disappointed but Anton Lesser makes an excellent reading of what text he was left.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Dave
- 03-01-09
Excellently complex historical thriller
This is the second of (currently) four Matthew Shardlake novels by CJ Sansom - and even better than the first (Dissolution) which I listened to via Audible previously.
Whilst Sansom's novels give something of a nod in the direction of Ellis Peters "Cadfael" books, this is altogether more sophisticated work, both in terms of its historical detail and the complexity of its plot, and has a somewhat darker, more adult feel.
I enjoyed Dissolution a lot, but this novel had me completely absorbed and its twists and turns kept me engrossed until the very end. Others have already complimented Anton Lesser (who also narrates the "Falco" series by Lindsey Davis) for his work, but he surpasses himself here, with such vivid characterisation of Shardlake and others that for most of the time you entirely forget that there isn't in fact a supporting cast! An excellent listen, and well worth every one of its five stars.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Mary
- 06-11-08
stunningly good
This is the second of the Matthew Shardlake stories and, if possible, even more fascinating and exciting than the first. The world of everyday London at the time of the rivalry between Thomas Cromwell and the Earl of Norfolk - its sensations and its intrigues - I found utterly convincing. The characters of the lawyer and his assistant have human flaws as well as courage and integrity and one cares about them - in fact, all the people in the story are three dimensional. It is an irresistible mixture of flavours - complex plot, touching characters and incredible pace. Lots of blood and gore - but the horrors fulfill an important function in the overall effect of the novel. There is much in this world that echoes our own.
Anton Lessor's splendid reading is remarkable for its range and its underlying humanity. I can't think of many better ways to spend 7 hours than entering this world created by C J Sansom.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SRF
- 31-05-18
Keep them coming
I am unashamedly an Anton Lesser fan. I could happily listen to him reading a telephone directory. Fortunately we have him reading a good story; well written with well developed characters. Great . Easy. Satisfying
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen
- 27-05-13
Really enjoyable
Well worth the listen - I feel at a bit of a loose end now that I have listened to all Anton Lesser's readings of the Shardlake novels - it has been a lot of fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tina
- 13-07-21
I adore Anton Lessers acting.
Stunning voice acting... Wonderful storytelling. I listened in one go!!! You will love it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason Kinmond
- 20-03-21
Brilliant narration as ever by Antonio lesser
A well written tale - seems authentic in its time and place, but made really enthralling by Anton Lesser.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matt Lyward
- 12-06-19
Another cracker!
I'm really loving this series of novels. Found the first one by accident and now will listen to the whole series before going on to anything else. Well written and evokes the time they are set perfectly. Great tangling webs of plot.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-03-18
Shardlake books are really worth listening to!
Good story & characters & reader. Hooked me to the very last word. Seems historically accurate. Intriguing whodunnit & bit of a thriller, combined with compassionate insight into the decent people trying to live through precarious Tudor times.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Irene
- 06-05-15
Dark Fire
This is the second Shardlake mystery I've listened to. I enjoy them mainly for the background information, and trivia, which Sansom, a historian, gives about the era. The plots are a bit transparent and some of the escapes improbable, but they do reflect many of the tensions and conflicts which marked the period from the break with Rome well into the 17th century. I will listen to just about anything Anton Lesser reads.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful