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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rule Turtledove!, December 1, 2002
Harry Turtledove's newest book is a straight alternative history; no fantasy, no science fiction. The turning point is a victorious Spanish Armada, whose superior forces overwhelmed the British and have returned England to Catholic rule. Elizabeth I is now a prisoner in the Tower of London, while King Phillip II's daughter Isabella and her husband are the Queen and King. Nine years later, the book begins with a vivid description of the English Inquisition (no one expects...) and heretics paraded and then burned at the stake. The population has been whipsawed between Catholic and Protestant rule, and now the Catholics are back with a vengeance. William Shakespeare is one of Turtledove's viewpoint characters, and like most, he is willing to go along with whatever religion the rulers want, as long as he can continue his day-to-day living. If that means observing Lent a month earlier than the Protestants would have, then he'll eat fish where others can see him. Alas, events do not allow a peaceful existance for him. Shakespeare is asked to help overthrow the Spanish-Catholic overlords by writing a play about Queen Boudicca and her revolt against the invading Romans. Meanwhile, the Spanish ask him to write a master work commerating the about-to-drop-dead-any-day-now King of Spain, Phillip II. And the other viewpoint character, the Spanish lieutenant Lope de Vega, is there to watch Shakespeare and ensure nothing treasonous is going on. And de Vega enjoys his job, in fact he writes plays in Spanish and loves talking shop. So how is Shakespeare ever going to rehearse Boudicca, assuming he can figure out which of his troupe is willing to do so without running to the Inquisition? Unlike most of Turtledove's other books, there are ONLY two viewpoint characters, and that helped move the plot along as well as let the background seep in. Turtledove's typical work has anywhere between eight and twenty viewpoints, giving a channel-surfing feel to some of them. Here we get to know the two protagonists, their fears, triumphs, and demons. Many here have said this is Turtledove's best book yet. While I'd reserve that for _How Few Remain_ (his fantastic alternate history of a victorious Confederate States of America 20 years later), this is certainly one of his best. If you love Shakespeare, you will love the use of his quotes throughout the book, as well as discovering how his plays take different form in this universe. If you don't, you will want to read more Shakespeare when you're through. Don't miss this one.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Turtledove's Best, November 21, 2002
Ten years after the successful invasion of the Spanish Armada overthrew Elizabeth, England has quietly simmered under the repression of the dons. All it needs is the right motivation to rise up. As King Phillip II lies on his death-bed, England's remaining loyalists decide now is the time to strike. But how to stir the people to rebellion? A play's the thing, and who better to write it but William Shakespeare of course. It's not that easy, of course. Spain wants to make sure England stays loyal, and what better way to commemorate their king than with a play, written by William Shakespeare. Poor Master William. Not made for intrigue, nor gifted with great physical courage, he finds himself in the burden of his nation's sovereignty on his shoulders. Worse, he is forced to contend with the attentions of Senior Lieutenant Lope de Vega, who is made for intrigue and is a formidible playwright of his own. "Ruled Britannia" is the book that Harry Turtledove should be remembered for. Even more than "Guns of the South", even more than "Worldwar" or "Great War". Turtledove writes with a richness of setting and depth of character only hinted at in previous works. He imbues Shakespeare and de Vega with complexity and depth as both play unwitting games of cat and mouse, leading from back alley murder and conspiracy, through the threat of the Inquisition, plays, romance, swashbuckling action, onward to the inevitable question: which play will be performed?
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.", November 19, 2002
Groaning under Spanish rule for ten years, ever since England failed to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588, London citizens have endured the Inquisition, the continued imprisonment of Elizabeth in the Tower of London, the use of Irish barbarians as thugs and enforcers by the Spanish occupiers, and a constant sense of uncertainty born of religious and political turmoil. The pageantry and spectacle of an auto-da-fe, both awe-inspiring and terrifying, open this novel of alternate history, its horrors made real by the cry of a condemned man, begging for help from an acquaintance in the mob, William Shakespeare, who can do nothing to help, and whose own life is endangered by the man's pitiful appeals. Shakespeare here is a hero at the height of his powers as an actor and playwright. Sharing one-third of a room in a boarding house, eating and writing by firelight in a pub, dealing with the egos of his acting company, and associating with people from all walks of society--from mysterious characters like Nick Skeres and the "witch" Cicely Sellis, to Francis Bacon and Lord Burghley (Sir William Cecil)--Shakespeare is the pivot around whom all the action revolves. In counterpoint to him is Lt. Lope de Vega, an unpublished Spanish playwright, sent to infiltrate Shakespeare's theater and its productions and unmask any traitors to Spanish rule. When Lord Burghley secretly hires Shakespeare to write a play called Boudicca, planned as a call to the populace to throw off their Spanish yoke and avenge themselves, Shakespeare finds himself in mortal danger--he has also been hired by the Spanish to write a play in honor of Philip II, the dying Spanish king, a play to be produced as soon as Philip dies. Writing and rehearsing both plays simultaneously with a less than reliable troupe, Shakespeare must walk a fine line to avoid discovery as the mood in London becomes increasingly threatening. Writing in the language and style of the period, author Turtledove casually (and very skillfully) incorporates innumerable Shakespearean quotations into his text, often with humorous intent. Puns, the off-color wordplay which so often provides comic relief in Shakespeare's plays, dialogue in which characters talk at cross-purposes, and a character who constantly misuses "big words," are a delight for any language-lover and admirer of the Bard. Quotations from Shakespeares Boudicca, which feel like quotations from a new and undiscovered authentic work, are brilliantly crafted from works of the period by Shakespeare and several contemporaries, and the opening night of that play is a stunning literary coup by Turtledove. All the talk and intrigue do lead to a plot which is a bit thin and short on action--until the bang-up conclusion, filled with arquebuses, rapiers, poleaxes, pikes, and even chamberpots. Lovers of language will thrill at Turtledove's achievement here, even while wishing, perhaps, that the book were a hundred pages shorter. Mary Whipple
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