Death and the Devil: A Novel [Hardcover]

Frank Schatzing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2007

It's the year 1260 and the great cathedral - the most ambitious building in all of Christendom - is rising above the streets of Cologne. Far below its soaring spires and flying buttresses, an assassin of unnatural talent surveys his new hunting ground. More shadow than man, the assassin is quick to take his first life. But there is a witness to his crime: a flame-haired thief known as Jacob the Fox. Justly terrified by the black-clad spectre, Jacob runs for his life, convinced that he's pursued by the Angel of Death itself. For all his street-smart cunning, the wily Fox cannot shake off the assassin - a cruel, efficient murderer who favours a pistol-grip crossbow as his weapon of choice. Fate, injury and desperation lead Jacob to seek help from a beautiful clothes dyer, her drunken rascal of a father, and her learned uncle, a man of God who loves a battle of wits almost as much as he loves a bottle of wine. With the threat of an untimely death at the end of a crossbow bolt never far way, Jacob's unlikely cabal find themselves faced with a conspiracy born of an unquenchable thirst for revenge, a conspiracy that threatens to tear Cologne apart and stain the city with blood.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. German author Schatzing, best-known for his environmental SF thriller The Swarm (2006), uses the death of real-life architect Gerhard Morart, the designer of the cathedral of Cologne, as his starting point for this compelling historical suspense novel. Work on what would become the most famous church in Germany has been underway for a dozen years in 1260 when Morart falls from the unfinished building's roof—murdered, in the author's fictional scenario, as the result of a shadowy conspiracy. Unfortunately for the plotters, Jacob the Fox, a thief known for his fiery red hair, witnesses the act and actually hears the victim's dying words, leading the murderers to target Jacob and anyone he might have spoken to. The main mystery revolves around the motives of the plotters, whose identities aren't kept secret. Strong action sequences and a dramatic look at a time and place unfamiliar to most readers should help solidify Schatzing's reputation as a versatile storyteller. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Like his first novel published in English (The Swarm, 2006), German author Schatzing's medieval suspense tale buries a great story beneath unnecessary detail. The cathedral at Cologne, a Gothic first, was designed by Gerhard Morart, who died falling from its roof in 1260. Perhaps he was murdered, Schatzing suggests, setting up an intriguing premise: Did the sociopolitical and religious climate of the late Dark Ages persuade the church's enemies to kill the cathedral's creator? However, awkward translation, anachronism ("he swore for the nth time"), repeated clichés ("to hell in a handcart"), and a heavy dose of melodrama obscure the story and get in the way of building suspense. The characters, including the witty, carrot-topped sneak thief, Jacob, have some appeal, but they, too, tend to get lost in a morass of internal monologue and didacticism. Readers with a strong interest in the setting and subject may be willing to ignore the novel's clumsiness, but those expecting suspense won't sit still for a history lesson in lieu of a gothic mystery. Ackroyd's Clerkenwell Tales (2004) is the gold standard for this kind of thing. Baker, Jennifer

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1ST edition (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061349488
• ISBN-13: 978-0061349485
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,878,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be glad you read this one, October 2, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death and the Devil: A Novel (Hardcover)

Murders and mayhem in Medieval Germany. Seeking power, political advantage or revenge, a group of wealthy patricians form an alliance to reinstate them or their families to a previous status. Their plan requires an assassin - an assassin that seems more shadow than form, more devil than man.

A man falls from a cathedral under construction. It's dark, it's late but there is a witness where no witness should be. The witness warily goes to the dying man and hears his last words-then runs for his life. He is now a new target for the assassin.

Jacob the Fox, named for his blazing red hair, is fast and quick-witted but is too easily identified by his hair. He lives by stealing and scrounging what he can to eat, and lives under the arch of the great wall that surrounds Cologne, Germany in 1260. He knows when and where to hide from irate merchants but this new threat appears to function outside mortal capabilities.

Finally, injured and hurt, and against his better judgment, he seeks help from Richmodis, a cloth dyer's daughter who had been kind to him earlier. When Jacob tells his story to Richmodis, her father and her uncle, a physician and a professor of cannon law, become unlikely allies in the dangerous task of discovering why Urquhart, the assassin, has come to Cologne, who has brought him here and who is the ultimate target. The people behind Urquhart are powerful, ruthless and willing to sacrifice lives to achieve their goal and Cologne becomes their hunting ground.

This is an engrossing mystery and suspense story that weaves in the political and philosophical thinking of the period along with a portrait of the time. Author Schatzing gives historical background that adds atmosphere and weight to the plot and gives it credibility.

This novel was published in Germany in 2003 and was first for this author who has since won several book awards in his country. Death and the Devil has just been translated into English and readers of this book will be very grateful.

Armchair Interviews says: Amazing first book for this author.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Thrilling, April 14, 2008

By 

Jeannie Mancini "vernefan" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death and the Devil: A Novel (Hardcover)

With high hopes of this so-called "Historical Thriller", I had envisioned something as fantastic as Frederic Lenoir's Angel's Promise. This book was far from thrilling, in fact so boring I quit half way. One specific gripe I have is that the translator was not that adept, many grammatical errors, quite a few typos, and of the worst offense, the contemporary slang dialog using words and phrases that simply did not exist in this time period. I don't believe they used the term "Every Tom Dick and Harry" in the year 1200. Besides the translation and the out of period dialogue, the story starts out exciting but very, very quickly peters out into a real dull, uninspiring yarn. What is initially interesting and what seemed was going to be a fast pace cat and mouse chase, quickly slows down to a dull roar not even half way through, and the reader is bored with digressing topics of past history and the dreaded views of religion of the time. A little of this to enhance the picture of the times could have gone a long way, a lot of it made me close the book. In addition, character development was non-existent, I felt the leading players flat. They did not in any way invoke my curiosity, compassion or interest. The idea of the story was a good one, but unfortunately the author could not carry it of with polish or great achievement.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad translation, October 5, 2007

By 

Kirstin M. Pamboris "KMP" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death and the Devil: A Novel (Hardcover)

Having read this book in german and in english I might say the translation into the english version is a poor and very clumsy one. I can only hope this won't keep people away from reading further translations.

But however, reading over this sad choice of wording in the translation (it's not the whole book that suffers from that) helps a lot and makes a fabulous, inspiring and suspenseful mystery. :-)