Heresy

By: S. J. Parris

Narrated by: John Lee

Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a compelling murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.

Giordano Bruno was a monk, poet, scientist, and magician on the run from the Roman Inquisition on charges of heresy for his belief that the Earth orbits the sun and that the universe is infinite. This alone could have got him burned at the stake, but he was also a student of occult philosophies and magic. In S. J. Parris's gripping novel, Bruno's pursuit of this rare knowledge brings him to London, where he is unexpectedly recruited by Queen Elizabeth I and is sent undercover to Oxford University on the pretext of a royal visitation. Officially Bruno is to take part in a debate on the Copernican theory of the universe; unofficially, he is to find out whatever he can about a Catholic plot to overthrow the queen. His mission is dramatically thrown off course by a series of grisly murders and a spirited and beautiful young woman. As Bruno begins to discover a pattern in these killings, he realizes that no one at Oxford is who he seems to be. Bruno must attempt to outwit a killer who appears obsessed with the boundary between truth and heresy.

Like The Dante Club and The Alienist, this clever, sophisticated, exceptionally enjoyable novel is written with the unstoppable narrative propulsion and stylistic flair of the very best historical thrillers.

©2010 S.J. Parris (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“HERESY is a must-read for every fan of historical thrillers. S. J. Parris transports the reader back to an extraordinary time in history by mobilizing fascinating details, suspense, and fully drawn characters. Giordano Bruno turns out to be that rare hero, charismatic and nuanced enough to impel an encore, and to leave us asking for more from the gifted Parris.” —Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club

"HERESY has everything - intrigue, mystery, excellent history and haunting sense of place. The beginning of a wonderful new detective series."-- Kate Mosse, New York Times bestselling author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre

“The famous scientist Giordano Bruno,erupts with volcanic force from the pages of S. J. Parris's spellbinding debut novel, Heresy. Blending the philosophical sleuthing skills of Brother Cadfael with the magic sorcery of Voldemort, Bruno cracks the secret code, unraveling a church conspiracy as deep and dark as that in a Dan Brown novel.”—Katherine Neville, bestselling author of The Eight and The Fire

Was it a boring story, a bad narrator or a both

I won't be listening to more of this series, even if the story is passable, because the narrator was so irritating that I almost stopped several times. I was very surprised to find out that John Lee is an award winning voice actor because I found his reading off putting. His staccato delivery made him sound like Mr. Sulu doing a bad impression of himself. I kept seeing the Enterprise instead of Oxford in my head. And his Italianate voice for Bruno was just plain annoying, when his wasn't drifting in and out of it. I was surprised to read that Lee is English. I would have sworn he was an American doing both a bad British and Italian accent. The story was okay. I might have rated if higher if I had read it rather than listened to it. But I never really warmed to Bruno and I didn't accept the killers motivation for such grisly crimes.

Mystery without Intrigue

I was a little disappointed in this story. The idea of the character, time and place was perfect for a suspenseful mystery full of religious and political intrigue. But the mystery wasn't so much a mystery as a sensational expose. I was never really convinced of the protagonist's right to be the one solving the mystery. His emotional response to the sole female character was hard to believe (although, maybe more believable if it was just the idea of the girl, rather than the actual character). Very few of the characters warranted any sympathy. Perhaps it was the use of first person narrative that caused the problem; I find it rather difficult to care about a character that has to describe his own attributes. The mystery might have worked better if the reader could have liked anyone. As for the narrator...John Lee is very skilled, but is not very emotive. Great for a non-fiction book; not so great for a mystery. His inflection and tone were too straight-forward and practical to evoke an atmosphere of mystery.

Wonderful listen!

Right up front, let me say that I would listen to John Lee read just about anything. He is a wonderful narrator, never hitting a wrong note with accents, phrasing or emotion. His voice is a world treasure. Heresy is a perfect vehicle for John's voice. He does all the accents well and the characters are completely distinguishable as he reads. The book is a medieval mystery--well written and slightly gory. I will look forward to the next part of the series, especially if Mr. Lee is the reader.

well researched

I enjoyed this book. as a student of the history of science and the life and writings of Giordano Bruno, I found very little to quibble about.

Great atmosphere

Elizabethan Oxford, sixteenth century, political/religious conflict, and in sweeps the very real and humane Giordano Bruno. I loved his flaws and his ability to navigate in a world that he knows is full of hidden dangers. I thought John Lee was superb with the accents and the tone. Enjoyed this very much. It was not as dense as it sounded and I found it easy to step into and hard to walk away from.

Mixed

The dangerous atmosphere of the time is very well presented. I thought the mystery and the character development were not the best, though.

Overacted

The story might have been ok but it was hard to focus on it through the overacted reading. The reader sounded, to me, as though he couldn't lose his Transylvanian Dracula accent.

Great fun -

a refreshing cast of characters scheming and killing across elizabethan england. A thoroughly enjoyable historical fiction just complex enough to be intellectually intriguing, whimsical enough to be fun. Well performed by John Lee, I am going to download the next in the series right away

Gripping

Bruno is a different kind of sleuth. He is less interested in the mystery than he is in science. Lucky for him the two are intertwined in this complicated plot. The historical details are many but put forth to involve the reader rather than to weigh the story down. It has a few slow spots but overall I enjoyed the book and the narration very much. I would read more by this author

Elizabethan politics and Spies!

This is one of the books that is hard to put dowWhat are you doing voiceover onn once you start reading it. Narrated by the incomparable John Lee, who brought the characters to life. John Lee is the best narrator Audible has in my opinion. He also narrates the John Maddox Roberts series set in ancient Rome, and he is so good that you almost feel that you are there