Treason by James Jackson, Book Review

Going back in time now, to the time of the gunpowder plot, remember, remember? And Guy Faulks does feature too, however, the main protagonist is government spy Christian Hardy who battles it out with a renegade Spanish agent codenamed Realm. Political machinations, the religious divide, and violence, such gruesome violence. Gutting, hanging, quartering, heads on spikes, and more, I’m glad I wasn’t alive then. 

Guy Faulks actually grew up not far from where I live and many of the plotters came from the North. I’ve often wondered how much and in what way people must have cared for their religion to plot against the monarch knowing the punishment if they should fail. Reminds me of the fundamentalism rife in so many parts of the world today. People say religion causes war, I sometimes wonder if people use religion as an excuse to be violent and power-hungry. Consider the danger the plotters and government agents were putting their families in as well. Hardy, wily and a brilliant fighter himself, might slip through the deadly traps set for him, but he soon realizes that his loved ones are not immune to the deadly machinations of his adversary.  

When reading a contemporary crime novel, I can put the brutality aside (although I do skip over the really gruesome bits), telling myself it’s only a story, it’s fiction. But with well researched historical fiction, like Treason, I can’t do that. As a historian myself, I know that what is described in the book went on, perhaps not in minute detail, it is after all fiction, but the viciousness of punishment, the intrigue, the plotting, it all happened and then some. So here we have an entertaining and well-researched historical spy cum adventure type thriller, a well-written one. It’s not easy to write in a style that lends itself to the early 17^th century and yet is readable and flows nicely. For anyone who enjoys reading historical thrillers or is interested in English History I can highly recommend Treason. 

In Crime Warp book reviews I might include a couple of lines about the author, especially if they are not that well known yet. I was going to do the same for James Jackson, as in: He has a postgraduate degree in Military Studies and is a consultant in military risk. He is the author of The Counter-Terrorist Handbook as well as six thrillers. He lives in London. However, I then read his biography Online which is fascinating, especially the excerpts from his school reports. If you want a chuckle do look at them. http://www.jamesjacksonbooks.com/src/school_report.php

Treason was first published in 2016 by Zaffre. It is available in all formats.