Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The King at the Edge of the World: A Novel

The King at the Edge of the World: A Novel
The King at the Edge of the World A Novel
Author: Arthur Phillips
ISBN-13: 9780812995480
ISBN-10: 0812995481
Publication Date: 2/11/2020
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 3

3.2 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Random House
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

maura853 avatar reviewed The King at the Edge of the World: A Novel on + 542 more book reviews
A deft imagining of intrigue and skulduggery at a delicate moment in English -- British -- history: the final years of the reign of Elizabeth I, and the fraught and secret machinations behind the transition to the reign of her cousin, James VI (of Scotland), who would be James I of England.

Like all the best novels, this works excellently well on two levels. On the surface this is a historical thriller, about two Elizabethan spies, and their efforts to reveal the truth of the religious loyalties of the prime candidate to succeed their queen. One is committed spy Geoffrey Belloc, long-time agent of Elizabeth's spymasters Walsingham and Burghley, who has good reason to loathe Catholics, and fear the possibility of their ascendancy under James. The other is a classic "fish out of water" and reluctant spy Mahmoud Ezzedine, an exile from the court of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who is persuaded to join Belloc in his dangerous quest to understand James' true heart.

As a simple thriller, this works very well, but its real strength is in undercurrents, which are both timeless and very topical: How do you judge loyalty? In an age of "fake news," how do you recognize the truth? Is it every worth hiding your true nature to succeed? To survive?

Very readable, and very moving in its depiction of Ezzedine, and what he's willing to do to get back to his family.