Unfortunately I for the most part struggled through this book. The blurb sounded very interesting but it was a bit slow and dare I say boring in places.

" ... most things in life are learned too late, and wisdom, if it comes at all, comes tardily ...."

This sums up the situation of Christian Stern, a young illegitimate son of the Prince-Bishop of Regensburg, who on his first day in Prague, stumbles upon the corpse of the mistress of Emperor Rudolf II. And so begins a bizarre series of events as Christian is arrested, accused, released, favoured, engaged, and ultimately played.

The story contained within Prague Nights is narrated by Christian, and we know from comments that he is reflecting upon past events and how they have led to his current predicament - which from the overall tone, is not happily everafter.

Christian is an innocent at the court of Rudolf II, and whilst gaining the Emperor's favour, he is immediately at odds with the two most powerful men in the Kingdom - the Royal Chamberlain, Philipp Lang, and the Lord Steward, Felix Werzel. Thrown into this hotbed of vice, conspiracies, intrigues, plots (religious, political, fraternal) and magic, Christian stumbles about attempting (if that is the right word) to solve a murder - a murder no-one is in any great hurry to solve.

"... everyone did everything ... in so much stealth and secrecy that they seemed to live their lives engaged in a vast, compulsory and endless conspiracy ..."

His rise at court is swift - and the phrase the further the rise, the longer the fall is most apt. One wonders how one so new to the city and so apparently naive could have gained so much so quickly ..... is he being played by the parties concerned, and if so by whom; is he being misdirected from his mission by the lusty former imperial mistress, and if so, why .... "is there anyone who is not owned by someone .." Christian laments.

It is a captivating story that keeps the reader hooked .... Christian is definitely not a player in any sense of the word, but one who is being played ..... the "wolf on a string" .... though at times one wonders who is actually pulling the strings as there are so many protagonists to chose from! In fact Christian himself should have the last word .... "there are matters afoot at court too densely tangled for me to penetrate them.."

Prague Nights is set in Prague in 1599. Part mystery and part thriller it tells the story of how Christian Hern travels there to study and after a night of drinking, stumbles upon the dead body of Magda Kroll, mistress of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. By finding the body he is then enlisted by the Emperor to find out why she has been murdered. The story involves vast descriptions of plotting and politics in the court with all the back stabbing and social climbing involved in vying for the Emperors attention. It has good descriptive passages that highlight the period well but didn’t move at a fast enough pace for me.

Resume sounded good and having visited Prague I thought it would, However I felt confused about the layout of Prague although certain parts were recognisable, the story itself I found a bit dull and in parts was baffled as to why it was there, the ending was rushed and a little confusing.

Librarything.

Winter 1599 and young scholar Christian Stern arrives in Prague. After finding the dead body of a young woman Stern is thrown into jail but swiftly rescued by a man important in the court of Rudolph II. The woman was Rudolph's mistress and Stern is task to find her killer. However in the cold city Stern doesn't know who to trust and the politics of court mean that he could also be in danger.

Benjamin Black is the pen-name of top literary fiction writer John Banville and this book is the start of a new populist series of historical mysteries. The genre is packed and, whilst entertaining enough, this book is nowhere near the best. I did like the setting in Bohemia at the turn of the 17th century, the links to the Elizabethan court and interest in alchemy but I found the characters a little one-dimensional and the plot jumps around a little too much. That's not to say that I wouldn't persevere with the series.

I had never heard of Benjamin Black until I spotted his new novel available on NetGalley, but I quickly discovered that it is a pseudonym of the Irish author better known as John Banville. Not having read anything by Banville either, I had no idea what to expect from Prague Nights, but the title was enough to make me interested in reading it (note: the US title is Wolf on a String) – Prague is a beautiful city and one I would recommend visiting, if you haven’t already. To experience Prague as it is in this novel, however, you would need a time machine as the action takes place more than four hundred years ago, at the end of the sixteenth century.

It’s 1599 and Christian Stern, a young doctor from Regensburg, has just arrived in Prague. On his first night in the city he stumbles across the dead body of a young woman half buried in snow. He reports his discovery and expects that to be the end of the matter, so he is shocked when he is accused of killing the girl himself. Her identity is given as Magdalena Kroll, mistress of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and daughter of his ‘chief wizard’ Ulrich Kroll. Stern knows he is in serious trouble, but fortunately for him, the emperor – a superstitious man with a strong belief in the occult – believes him to be a messenger whose arrival in Prague had been predicted in a prophecy.

Freed of suspicion now, Stern is given the task of discovering who really did kill Magdalena Kroll. It is a mission which will bring him into conflict with some of the most powerful men in Prague, embroil him in a love affair with another of the emperor’s mistresses, Caterina Sardo, and send him to the town of Most in search of the English occultist Edward Kelley, who it is believed may hold the key to the mystery.

Prague Nights is one of those books that sounds as though it should be much better than it actually is. That’s not to say that I didn’t like it at all, because there were some aspects that I enjoyed, which I’ll return to shortly, but it definitely wasn’t the atmospheric, exciting historical mystery novel I had hoped it would be. I was disappointed that it wasn’t really much of a mystery; yes, there is a murder at the beginning and we find out who was responsible for it at the end, but in between, our narrator, Christian Stern, makes very little effort to actually investigate. Things happen around him but he takes no active part and by the time I reached the end of the book, I found that I no longer really cared how Magdalena Kroll had died and why.

The writing style is descriptive and detailed with a formal feel which suits the time period and the descriptions of Prague’s buildings, bridges and cobbled streets and squares are nicely done:

"I had often tried to imagine Prague and its glories, but the reality of it was grander and more gracious than anything I could have dreamed of. Past the castle, we stopped on the height there to look out over the city. The sky was white and the air was draped with a freezing mist, pierced by many spires, all of them appearing black in that pervasive icy miasma. Despite the wintry murk, I could see the river and its bridges and, beyond, the clock tower in the Old Town Square."

This wasn’t enough to make me love the book, however. To be able to love a book I need to at least feel something for the characters and unfortunately I felt very little for Christian Stern or any of the other people who play a part in the novel. That’s particularly frustrating because, in real life, Rudolf II and the members of his court sound fascinating, especially his son, Don Julius Caesar. In his author’s note, Benjamin Black talks about the historical figures on which his characters are based, explaining where he sticks to factual information and where he uses his imagination. As I previously knew nothing about 16th century Prague or Rudolf’s court, it was good to have the opportunity to learn something new, even if the story itself didn’t really succeed in holding my attention.

This is one of those books that should be wonderful, but for me, just fell slightly short of the mark. It tells the story of Christian Stern as he navigates the court of Rudolph II in Prague 1599-1600 while trying to solve a murder. The setting is wonderful and Black has done a fabulous job of evoking the sights and smells of the royal court. The characters are well drawn and suitably grotesque/angelic/machiavellian for their individual purpose. I think my issues come with the plot. For me, the book skirts the line between murder mystery and court intrigue and as a result, doesn't complete either task as well as I would have liked. The murder plot is fairly predictable and the pacing in this area is too slow to really compel the action. Similarly, we are not given the time to appreciate the court twists and turns because we are forced to break away to deal with the murder. I think that either of these stories would have made a great focus for a book, but to try and do both just doesn't work for me.

This story takes place in 1599 in Prague. A young scholar, Christian Stern, arrives at the court of Rudolf II and, upon discovering a body on the snowy streets, becomes involved in trying to solve a murder. At the same time, he has to work hard to keep one step ahead of the political intrigue that threatens his life.

The historical detail in the book was fantastic - I thought that Elizabethan-era Prague was drawn in fascinating detail. The city itself felt very atmospheric and convincing, from the castle at the centre of Rudolf's court to the less salubrious lodgings and inns that Christian inhabits before he begins his social climb. Similarly, the use of historical figures was also interesting - the author explains the links with real life people at the end, although I'd resorted to Google way before this because I was curious about the extent to which this was true to history.

However, I did feel that the story itself lacked pace. I think I was expecting more of a traditional murder mystery, so I was a little less interested by the political wrangling. Although I was keen to know 'whodunnit', the ultimate denouement lacked impact for me as I'd got slightly lost in Christian's ramblings through Prague; he does not prove a very focused detective!

Overall, I did enjoy the novel and it opened up a period of history that I knew very little about. I just wish it had been a bit pacier so that I didn't spend time willing Christian to get a move on!

The book was too slow for me and did not grip me, it was ok

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Prague Nights - unfortunately this is one of the rare instances where I will not be able to provide a review, as I really struggled with this book (both the writing style and the story). Since I am obviously not the right audience for this book, it would neither benefit me nor the author to read on and provide a review. I apologise and hope you will not hold this against me and still consider me for future ARCs.

This is Banville writing an entertaining romp of a historical mystery set in 1599 at the Prague court of Rudolf 'II. The research is well done as is the voice of the protagonist, and the narrative conjures up all kinds of playful connections: Game of Thrones for plot and counter-plot, Kafka for a main character who doesn't understand the world in which he finds himself, as just two examples.

What really makes this book is Christian Stern's voice: he's young and arrogant, but fails to judge the people he meets with any skill or prescience. So alongside the pleasures of the moody Prague background, is a sort of coming-of-age morality tale. Black throws in lots of fun references to John Dee, Ned Kelley, alchemy and magic, and the story is awash with devious women, secrets and intrigue. It's rare that this sort of historical mystery should be so beautifully written - a playful, mischievous book expert crafted.

Posted on Amazon and Goodreads

I enjoyed Prague Nights; it's a slow but involving mystery in a beautifully evoked historical setting.

The story is narrated by Christian Stern, a young scholar, who arrives in Prague in late 1599 and by chance discovers the body of a young woman and is then drawn into the inner circle of Emperor Rudolf II. Rudolf, who shares Stern's passion for alchemy the arcane, and charges him with solving the murder. As the young, naïve Stern is drawn into the political and sexual intrigues of the court, it emerges that much larger affairs of state are involved.

Black builds a fine atmosphere of cold, of mystery, of threat and of disorientation. Although the plot is driven by a decent, slowly progressing murder mystery, the real strength of the book is Banville/Black's evocation of Rudolf's Prague court and city. He paints what is to me a very convincing picture of the plotting, betrayals and danger of the Imperial court and of the untrustworthiness of absolutely everyone. His portrait of Rudolf is very well done, as are those of his chief courtiers, all of whom seemed to me like very real, if often repellent, people. (Two heroes of mine, Sir Henry Wootton and Johannes Kepler, also make brief appearances and even Tycho Brahe is seen at a banquet, all of which is a bonus for me.) Black has plainly done a lot of research and has used it very effectively.

I found Stern's narrative voice and language very convincing, being accessible to the modern reader but conveying the atmosphere and feel of the time very well. Banville is a real master of language and he is at his best here so that I felt completely immersed in Stern's world and genuinely gripped by the book.

Although I admire John Banville/Benjamin Black, I haven't much enjoyed his recent output and wasn't sure whether to bother with this, but I'm glad I did. It's a well written, gripping and very atmospheric tale which I can recommend as a compelling read.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

Excellent fictional account of the Court of Emperor Rudolph. It took me a while to get into the book with its many characters and subplots; however it was worth persevering even though most of the characters were quite unpleasant and unlikeable. The evocation of Prague at the time is wonderful; you can almost smell the woodsmoke and the cold of a Prague winter chills the bones.

Thanks Penguin Books (UK) and netgalley for this ARC.

Benjamin Black out shines himself with this one. If you love a good mystery, intrigue, mystical philosophy or arcane dabbles then you won't be able to put this down.

Prague Nights was slow going at first but the second half of the book was much better. I am a fan of historical fiction so this book was interesting if you can stick with the slow moving plot in the beginning. The author's descriptions and writing style are superb.

Prague Nights is a historical novel set in Prague in 1599. The main character and narrator is Christian Stern, an arrogant and naïve young doctor who arrived in this town determined to make his rise at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor.
When on arriving in this city, at the first evening there, he discovers a young woman's corpse half-buried in the snow. At first, Christian is accused to be the murderer of the girl who later on turns to be Magda Kroll, Rudolf II's mistress.
The emperor, profoundly superstitious, had predicted the arrival of the young doctor as the "Christ-sent new star over Prague", so he believes that he could be the one to investigate and find out who has murdered the girl.

I really wanted to like this book when I requested it because the synopsis made it sound like it could have been a great story. Honestly, at some point I was tempted to give it two stars, but I think the historical details were well researched so they made up for some of the negative points.
Beside this, I think this story lacks of depth and is overly descriptive, resulting in being too boring and "heavy".
Christian Stern is an unlikable protagonist, who is totally lacking any particular talent and is not remarkable in any possible way. All of the events simply happen, for he just goes with the flow and follows what the other characters tell him to do, which is simply disappointing.
The thing that frustrated me the most, is that I felt pretty much nothing for all the characters. Maybe, if the author tried to balance more the sometimes useless descriptions with the depth of the characters, this novel would have resulted in being more complete and remarkable.

I tried to read this book but could only get halfway through. So boring.

This was an interesting work of historical fiction. Christian, the main character finds himself in a predicament when on arriving in Prague, he discovers the body of a young woman in the street. He quickly becomes embroiled in the politics and skullduggery of the Emperor Rudolph's court. 'I felt as if I had been caught up in the workings of some terrible machine from which I would never be released'
He is charged with the task of finding her murderer and meets a variety of untrustworthy and scheming individuals while undertaking this task. Christian is a vain and naive character who is not a particularly likeable protagonist.
The historical details of Prague in 1600 were well described. The pacing was a little off in the middle. The story was written in the first person and reminded me of The Hangman's daughter by Oliver Potzsch and The Unquiet Bones by Melvin R. Starr in tone and style.

I was provided with an ARC for review by Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I am afraid I was a little disappointed in this book. It should have been the kind of book I love, a historical thriller, but I found it rather stilted, as if it was a poor translation from another language, and I didn't find any of the characters credible or likeable. I might have enjoyed it more if the book had begun with the historical notes, rather than ending with them, so I would have known as I was reading which characters were real and which fictional.