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The King at the Edge of the World
The King at the Edge of the World: A Novel | Arthur Phillips
16 posts | 12 read | 11 to read
Queen Elizabeths spymasters recruit an unlikely agentthe only Muslim in Englandfor an impossible mission in a mesmerizing novel from one of the best writers in America (The Washington Post) The year is 1601. Queen Elizabeth I is dying, childless. Her nervous kingdom has no heir. It is a capital crime even to think that Elizabeth will ever die. Potential successors secretly maneuver to be in position when the inevitable occurs. The leading candidate is King James VI of Scotland, but there is a problem. The queens spymastershardened veterans of a long war on terror and religious extremismfear that James is not what he appears. He has every reason to claim to be a Protestant, but if he secretly shares his familys Catholicism, then forty years of religious war will have been for nothing, and a bloodbath will ensue. With time running out, London confronts a seemingly impossible question: What does James truly believe? It falls to Geoffrey Belloc, a secret warrior from the hottest days of Englands religious battles, to devise a test to discover the true nature of King Jamess soul. Belloc enlists Mahmoud Ezzedine, a Muslim physician left behind by the last diplomatic visit from the Ottoman Empire, as his undercover agent. The perfect man for the job, Ezzedine is the ultimate outsider, stranded on this cold, wet, and primitive island. He will do almost anything to return home to his wife and son. Arthur Phillips returns with a unique and thrilling novel that will leave readers questioning the nature of truth at every turn.
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Coueriamb
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Pickpick

I didn‘t expect to like this half as much as I did. It was heart wrenching at points and surprisingly funny. The ending hurt more than I thought it would too- and this was just supposed to be a quick fill in for a Storygraph challenge!

If you‘re into historical fiction give it a shot- it just might surprise you!

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CaitlinR
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Mehso-so

Phillips‘s novel questions the difference between truth and belief. Set in the last days of Elizabeth I reign, all the master spies are jockeying for position. The biggest prize is proof of Scotland‘s James VI religious allegiance. A Muslim doctor, betrayed by his embassy and left in England, becomes a pawn in the game. Alternative truths and betrayals abound. Plodding pace, but an interesting story and the historical details are rich.

CaitlinR Photo of the author by Barbara Muschietti 2y
19 likes1 comment
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rachelsbrittain
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Pickpick

A Muslim Turk forced to stay in the court of Elizabeth I is brought into a plot to uncover whether James I of Scotland is truly a Protestant and therefore a suitable heir or a secret Catholic. An entertaining historical fiction novel about religion and the strange ways in which we parse belief.

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KimM
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Pickpick

A Tudor era historical thriller involving spymasters and spies sent to infiltrate James VI of Scotland's court to find out if he was truly protestant in order to protect England since he was the heir to the throne. Very interesting.

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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

Historical fiction about a Muslim doctor sent to find out if James 1 was a catholic before he took the throne.

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Minimalgrl
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First book finished.... my reading buddy Harper is working on a serious nap 😴! Now a break and on to the next ! #readathon #deweyapril #24b4monday

LeafingThroughLife Yay, one book down! Hope it was a good one. Keep up the great reading! 😁 5y
41 likes1 comment
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Minimalgrl
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TBR for this weekend... tackling #deweyapril #readathon #24b4monday #deweys24hrreadathon

Andrew65 Good luck 😊👍 5y
40 likes1 comment
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Minimalgrl
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Day ... whatever of stay home and I‘m going to sneak off and start this one during breaks from working...🤓📚🥳

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Twocougs
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Bailedbailed

Tries to like it but can‘t get into the story.

29 likes1 comment
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Floresj
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Panpan

If you like the Protestant-Catholic conflict in 1600, this novel about how to figure out if the future King James is Protestant or Catholic through the use of a Turk spy. I, however, realized midway not only did I not care what religion James was but the book didn‘t hold my interest. Pass.

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bookandbedandtea
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Pickpick

I really liked this and resented all the time I wasn't able to spend reading it. It's a fascinating premise: a Muslim doctor living in England as Elizabeth I is slowly dying is recruited to determine whether her successor, James VI of Scotland, is Protestant at heart or Catholic. This book delves into questions of identity; not only of individuals but of God's as well.

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bookandbedandtea
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I'm enjoying both of these so much that I hate to stop reading/ listening when it's time to work, be with family, etc. 😊🙁🙃

26 likes1 stack add
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bookandbedandtea
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Aimeesue I really, really liked this one. 5y
bookandbedandtea @Aimeesue I'm truly enjoying it! 5y
25 likes2 comments
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kspenmoll
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#ReallyRandomFebruary #excitement #JusttheRightBook #RJJuliaBooksellers #JusttheRightBookPodcast #RoxanneJCoady #bookmail

Felt such #excitement when I opened this book mail! Laughed at the cover; excited at the content. A dying Queen Elizabeth, questions of succession,-is James VI of Scotland truly Protestant? Enter a spymaster, a test devised to establish the truth, entrusted to a Muslim physician from the Ottoman empire. Sounds exciting!!!

OriginalCyn620 Book mail is the best! 😊 5y
59 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Aimeesue
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I. Loved. This. Book. ❤️❤️❤️
Publication date: 11 February 2020

Review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/23780450/reviews/177544794_405031043

#TheKingAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld #NetGalley #ARC

24 likes1 stack add
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Aimeesue
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"IN THE PALACE of Felicity, in Constantinople, in the land of the Turks, early in the Christian year 1591, viziers to Murad the Great, third of that name, Sultan of the Ottomans, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Caliph of Caliphs, dispatched an embassy to a far-off, sunless, primitive, sodden, heathen kingdom at the far cliffside edge of the civilized earth."

That would be the description of ENGLAND. ???
#netgalley #ARC

Aimeesue Just started this one, but I'm enjoying it. I'd read The Egyptologist and Angelica years ago and still remember them vividly, so that says something about Phillips' writing. 5y
29 likes1 stack add1 comment