Company of Liars
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-17 03:15:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Karen Maitland
- ISBN：B002SQ72K0
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In this extraordinary novel， Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales—an ingenious alchemy of history， mystery， and powerful human drama。
The year is 1348。 The Black Plague grips the country。 In a world ruled by faith and fear， nine desperate strangers， brought together by chance， attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them。
Each member of this motley company has a story to tell。 From Camelot， the relic-seller who will become the group's leader， to Cygnus， the one-armed storyteller 。 。 。 from the strange， silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife， each has a secret。 None is what they seem。 And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all—propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming。
Magical， heart-quickening， and raw， Company of Liars is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction。
（Length: 17 hours， 40 minutes）
The year is 1348。 The Black Plague grips the country。 In a world ruled by faith and fear， nine desperate strangers， brought together by chance， attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them。
Each member of this motley company has a story to tell。 From Camelot， the relic-seller who will become the group's leader， to Cygnus， the one-armed storyteller 。 。 。 from the strange， silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife， each has a secret。 None is what they seem。 And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all—propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming。
Magical， heart-quickening， and raw， Company of Liars is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction。
（Length: 17 hours， 40 minutes）
Reviews
Wil
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I wanted to like this so much more than I did。 The writing is good， some of the characters are really well developed and engaging， but the problem comes at the end: it's incredibly unsatisfying。 After a brutal， miserable trek through England， the MC just rolls up to their old manor house and goes back to fine living。 It feels like there's something missing， like there was extra information about why Narigorm decided to torment them that got left out。 I wanted to like this so much more than I did。 The writing is good， some of the characters are really well developed and engaging， but the problem comes at the end: it's incredibly unsatisfying。 After a brutal， miserable trek through England， the MC just rolls up to their old manor house and goes back to fine living。 It feels like there's something missing， like there was extra information about why Narigorm decided to torment them that got left out。 。。。more
Jennie
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While I found the characters interesting and was curious about the story， there was still a bit left unexplained at the end。 At first， the book felt like it was going nowhere， but with the addition of new characters I gained more interest。 Still， it left me wanting something more from it than I got。。。。
Karen Rush
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This book has been on my book shelf for eons and I find it poignant to have finally read it during the Covid Pandemic。 I felt for the gaggle of characters fleeing the plague and all the wary townspeople。 It's quite an involved， rambling story full of interesting people and situations。 Thoroughly enjoyable， worthy of a second read at a later date。 This book has been on my book shelf for eons and I find it poignant to have finally read it during the Covid Pandemic。 I felt for the gaggle of characters fleeing the plague and all the wary townspeople。 It's quite an involved， rambling story full of interesting people and situations。 Thoroughly enjoyable， worthy of a second read at a later date。 。。。more
Anthony Kenna
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Mid 14th century could be repeating itself now。。。Brilliant story and I read it during the covid pandemic so a lot of the context is current， considering it is based 700 years ago。I really enjoyed the characters and their own story arcs。 I like how the pestilence is almost used as a character in this book rather than a plot。Nice writing and good research kept it an interesting view into an infamous period in our history。
Marley Ogden
，
Because there are so many characters， it took a while to get everything set up for the main plot。 Once death came to the group and their secret backgrounds were slowly revealed， I became more interested。 I liked that the author explained the addition of magical elements as a representation of how medieval people thought。 Reading about a world where werewolves and saints have equal amounts of power was fun to explore
Laura Tassoni
，
Fabulous audiobook！ Really compelling， very creepy， excellent historical detail。
Book sandwich
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book and genuinely hated the main antagonist which is very rare for me。 Look， you can do anything with your book， if it’s set during mid century England during the Black Death plague， you can bet I’m going to read it。 This stuff is like a drug to me。
Paul Taylor
，
An interesting confection though I am not sure I would recommend it。 Interestingly the author admits， in a tone of incredulity （in the end notes） that the mediaeval church believed in werewolves as much as they believed in God; will incredulous writers 800 years hence say that in 2021 people believed in God as much as the internet？For me the queen of historical fiction remains Ellis Peters but perhaps that is because I have always felt a loyalty towards brother Cadfael （and despite many excellen An interesting confection though I am not sure I would recommend it。 Interestingly the author admits， in a tone of incredulity （in the end notes） that the mediaeval church believed in werewolves as much as they believed in God; will incredulous writers 800 years hence say that in 2021 people believed in God as much as the internet？For me the queen of historical fiction remains Ellis Peters but perhaps that is because I have always felt a loyalty towards brother Cadfael （and despite many excellent authors writing about the Tudor period I really have had more that my fill of Henry VIII）。 。。。more
Jane Louis-Wood
，
Reading about a plague you have to run from instead of stay in for made a nice change。Lots of historical writers do the research for their setting then plonk a bunch of 21st century characters down in it。 Karen Maitland vividly depicts characters with credible medieval mindsets and preoccupations。 The plot - and there is a lot of it - is clearly secondary to the characterisation and less subtle。 The baddie （whose annagrammatic name is a bit of a giveaway） lacks the ambiguity that would maintain Reading about a plague you have to run from instead of stay in for made a nice change。Lots of historical writers do the research for their setting then plonk a bunch of 21st century characters down in it。 Karen Maitland vividly depicts characters with credible medieval mindsets and preoccupations。 The plot - and there is a lot of it - is clearly secondary to the characterisation and less subtle。 The baddie （whose annagrammatic name is a bit of a giveaway） lacks the ambiguity that would maintain the suspense that begins to flag towards the end。I am recommending this novel to my history students because it is a thoroughly engaging and immersive read and gives a really good account of the period。 。。。more
Mar Alvarez
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Loved it， it was exiting and I absolutely fell in love with the chaeacters
Rachel Karas
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This was far better than I expected it to be。 The combination of fairy tale elements with stark historical fiction was fascinating， and the ending gave me unexpected chills。
Lindsey Grewe
，
A gem of a book！ I randomly discovered this title and it was a great read。 It’s part historical fiction， part psychological slow-burner， part road trip adventure。 A tiny bit of mysticism thrown in there but mostly rooted in reality。 Not exactly a happy read （it IS set during the start of the Black Death and even without the plague， 14th century Europe was a difficult time and place to be）， but not a total downer either。。。there are some great characters and some genuinely wonderful moments on the A gem of a book！ I randomly discovered this title and it was a great read。 It’s part historical fiction， part psychological slow-burner， part road trip adventure。 A tiny bit of mysticism thrown in there but mostly rooted in reality。 Not exactly a happy read （it IS set during the start of the Black Death and even without the plague， 14th century Europe was a difficult time and place to be）， but not a total downer either。。。there are some great characters and some genuinely wonderful moments on the journey。 Sort of like what living through that time was probably like， great hardships， but joy could still be found sometimes。 The descriptions were beautiful， and some of the places they traveled have stuck with me。 。。。more
Aimée
，
Is it a happy book？ Not really。 Does it have a happy ending？ Meh。 Could be worse， could be better on that front。 That does not mean it's bad， at all， it's just these are things that people might be interested in before reading it。I had noticed this on my brothers bookshelf before but has been put off by the 'a novel of the plague'。 But the novel isn't really about the plague， the plague serves much as a bad thing the `company of liars'， once they have come together， to try to keep ahead of not u Is it a happy book？ Not really。 Does it have a happy ending？ Meh。 Could be worse， could be better on that front。 That does not mean it's bad， at all， it's just these are things that people might be interested in before reading it。I had noticed this on my brothers bookshelf before but has been put off by the 'a novel of the plague'。 But the novel isn't really about the plague， the plague serves much as a bad thing the `company of liars'， once they have come together， to try to keep ahead of not unlike `bad guys' snapping at the heels of the 'good guys' （or at least the guys that the novel is setting you up to invest in） in an epic fantasy novel。 Speaking of。。。 It's a bit like a fantasy-historical fiction genre vibe to it， with myth and magic having a certain element in the story within the historical setting。There are a lot of very extractable nice bits of writing， which I'm personally a huge fan of in novels in general， such as， "。。。I sell hope and that's the most precious treasure of them all。 Hope may be an illusion， but it's what keeps you from jumping in the river or swallowing hemlock。 Hope is a beautiful lie and it requires talent to create it for others。 And back then on that day when they say it first began， I truly believed that the creation of hope was the greatest of all the arts， the noblest of all the lies。 。。。" I'd quote more， but I only noted that one down to share with people whilst I was reading it， and I was reading the book rather than the kindle version。You learn stuff about the characters as you go along -- that's the main 'pull' throughout the story， though there are shorter spurts of other more `action' kinds throughout， that never seem to be for purely its sake come at cost or compromise to the character or the theme of the book; it is all very well interwoven。East to read and well written。 And， yes， I， personally， liked the story。 And would read more by this author。 。。。more
Cynthia
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Listening to audiobook with my husband for book club。 All 17。5 hours！ 😱😂
Paul Dickson
，
A very good medieval page turner
Dave
，
When an author transfers 21st century liberalism onto 14th century Britain， you just know what to expect。。。 a wokefest of monotonous boring drivel。 It really was that bad！
Wylie Small
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Evocative of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales，" Maitland's "Company of Liars" follows a group of nine individuals in 1348 England as they attempt to outrun to plague， which is quickly decimating the country。 Protagonist/swindler Camelot is joined by couple Adela and Osmond， healer Pleasance and her weird and creepy ward Narigorm， storyteller Cyngus， Venetian musicians Roderigo and Jofre， and general jerk Zophiel。 As the story unfolds it is clear that each individual has a dark secret he or she is Evocative of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales，" Maitland's "Company of Liars" follows a group of nine individuals in 1348 England as they attempt to outrun to plague， which is quickly decimating the country。 Protagonist/swindler Camelot is joined by couple Adela and Osmond， healer Pleasance and her weird and creepy ward Narigorm， storyteller Cyngus， Venetian musicians Roderigo and Jofre， and general jerk Zophiel。 As the story unfolds it is clear that each individual has a dark secret he or she is not anxious to expose。Overall the plot of this book was good， although it does not truly give one a sense of what plague-like England was， as the group generally skirts plague-infested towns。 （As an aside， I found Connie Willis' "Doomesday Book" a very compelling portrayal of the horribleness of a town's dealing with the Black Death）。 I found certain rituals interesting， such as the Cripples' Wedding， but overall the group just moved from one area to another。 The book mixes fantasy and reality， the natural and supernatural。 Although sometimes effective， this did not lend to the overall appeal of the novel。 Additionally， if you are reading this on a kindle， the stories the characters occasionally tell are placed in a box in miniscule， virtually unreadable font。Overall I found this book to be a dark， long， read。 Although it had sections which were engaging （ironically， the last chapter was probably the best）， there were times I repeatedly checked how much further I had to go。 Although interesting， there are other books based on this time period I enjoyed significantly more。 。。。more
Jenee
，
Bear in mind that fiction is not my jam。 Historical fiction， though， I like。 This book was just not interesting to me。 I think the Prologue was the most intriguing part。
Lucia
，
Un libro que a priori asusta ya que son más de setecientas hojas， pero que sorprendentemente se lee muy rápido。 Basada en la época en que se sufrió una epidemia por la peste， y la cual tiene bastantes similitudes con la actualidad que estamos viviendo。 Me ha gustado la trama。 El final inesperado。 ¿Habrá segunda parte？
Laura Vinti
，
I really disliked the ending， and I saw it coming miles away。 I found it so predictable， but I seem to be in the minority。
Nichola
，
Historical fiction with supernatural elements， this eloquent tale is a must ready for fans of the genre and fantasy readers alike。
Jennifer
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Dark for my taste。 I had to put it down and take a sizable break in the middle。 Maybe in the future don't read two novels set in plague times in a row。 Set up to be like the Canterbury Tales without any of the satire or mirth of the Canterbury Tales。 Dark for my taste。 I had to put it down and take a sizable break in the middle。 Maybe in the future don't read two novels set in plague times in a row。 Set up to be like the Canterbury Tales without any of the satire or mirth of the Canterbury Tales。 。。。more
Kimberly
，
This is such a unique and fascinating read。 A medieval group of travelers are attempting to outrun a plague， while also keeping secrets and telling lies to their fellow travelers。 One by one they tell their stories and share some of their secrets， in a very entertaining Canterbury Tales-esque way。 It took me a little while to get into this book， but once I did， I truly enjoyed it and couldn't wait to see where their journey was heading。 This is such a unique and fascinating read。 A medieval group of travelers are attempting to outrun a plague， while also keeping secrets and telling lies to their fellow travelers。 One by one they tell their stories and share some of their secrets， in a very entertaining Canterbury Tales-esque way。 It took me a little while to get into this book， but once I did， I truly enjoyed it and couldn't wait to see where their journey was heading。 。。。more
Dinah Mason
，
A tale of deceit and lies and magic。 Perfect winter reading。
Maisha Zahir
，
I started reading this at the end of last year， and only picked it up again after quarantine， since I started university in January and it was a crazy time。 This book is set in the 14th Century， when England was engulfed in plague。 Hence naturally， reading this in the middle of the pandemic felt pretty spooky， especially around March when it just spread in Bangladesh。It was a predictable story， and a little hard to follow。 However， I did feel engrossed as I reached the end， and overall it was a I started reading this at the end of last year， and only picked it up again after quarantine， since I started university in January and it was a crazy time。 This book is set in the 14th Century， when England was engulfed in plague。 Hence naturally， reading this in the middle of the pandemic felt pretty spooky， especially around March when it just spread in Bangladesh。It was a predictable story， and a little hard to follow。 However， I did feel engrossed as I reached the end， and overall it was a fun read。 。。。more
Liz Estrada
，
Found this little gem of a book in my used bookstore and it caught my attention because its about the plague and the Middle Ages， two topics I love reading about and historical fiction， a style I always enjoy！。 This was so reminiscent of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"， it makes me want to reread that classic。 Like Chaucer's book， 9 strangers all come together， this time， running from the Plague of 1348， not realizing each is hiding a lie and slowly， each one tells their tale。 Well researched and c Found this little gem of a book in my used bookstore and it caught my attention because its about the plague and the Middle Ages， two topics I love reading about and historical fiction， a style I always enjoy！。 This was so reminiscent of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"， it makes me want to reread that classic。 Like Chaucer's book， 9 strangers all come together， this time， running from the Plague of 1348， not realizing each is hiding a lie and slowly， each one tells their tale。 Well researched and creatively thought out。 Recommended。 3。5 stars。 。。。more
Debra
，
Medieval England is a dirty， gritty place to try to survive and then you throw in a pandemic， in this case the Black Plague。 This is not the sort of book that one reads in the dead of night， unless you desire troubled sleep。 And consider that we are currently wading through a pandemic of our own。I am not sure I would have stuck with the book except that it is a book club read。 I didn't especially like any of the characters and I kept getting more reasons to dislike them even more。 Everyone is ca Medieval England is a dirty， gritty place to try to survive and then you throw in a pandemic， in this case the Black Plague。 This is not the sort of book that one reads in the dead of night， unless you desire troubled sleep。 And consider that we are currently wading through a pandemic of our own。I am not sure I would have stuck with the book except that it is a book club read。 I didn't especially like any of the characters and I kept getting more reasons to dislike them even more。 Everyone is carrying a secret， some dealing with it better than others。 But all will be revealed as our small troop of travelers bonds and work together to survive。 Bit by bit the layers are pulled away as stress and hardship reveal the true soul。 And an evil is lurking in an unusual guise that shadows the group and twists them。There are no princesses in this story of Medieval survival， but more rain， mud and misery than any one group of people should have to cope with。 The author tells us that the unusual continued rain is factual and it makes the whole tale even bleaker。 But I will share that the ending is amazing。 Even though I did not care for that book and was rejoicing as I got closer to the end， I was stunned at the ending。 I walked around for over half an hour， thinking about the book and muttering WOW。 。。。more
jcl
，
I loved this book--until the very end， which felt lame。
Sophia Syddall
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There were some interesting elements to this story， but ultimately the motivations of the villain and the nature of her powers were left ambiguous。 I’ve never been a fan of stories where all of the characters are ultimately doomed and can do nothing but succumb to their fate。 Basically， this is a medieval version of Final Destination， but with a weird moralistic twist。 All of the characters are killed because they are liars， or sinners， if you prefer， but none of their lies or sins are really th There were some interesting elements to this story， but ultimately the motivations of the villain and the nature of her powers were left ambiguous。 I’ve never been a fan of stories where all of the characters are ultimately doomed and can do nothing but succumb to their fate。 Basically， this is a medieval version of Final Destination， but with a weird moralistic twist。 All of the characters are killed because they are liars， or sinners， if you prefer， but none of their lies or sins are really that bad。 This story takes place in a cruel universe where people are killed for being gay or lying about a disability， and that’s pretty off-putting。 。。。more
Dylan
，
And that was pretty much what they all believed those first few weeks after the great pestilence crept in。 Away from the south coast， life went on much as it had always done。 You might have thought that people would panic， but the truth is they didn't believe it would touch them。 They were suspicious of strangers， violent even， but still they comforted themselves that pestilence was a foreign thing。 Why， it even had a foreign name—morte bleue。 How could any Englishman die of a sickness so plainl And that was pretty much what they all believed those first few weeks after the great pestilence crept in。 Away from the south coast， life went on much as it had always done。 You might have thought that people would panic， but the truth is they didn't believe it would touch them。 They were suspicious of strangers， violent even， but still they comforted themselves that pestilence was a foreign thing。 Why， it even had a foreign name—morte bleue。 How could any Englishman die of a sickness so plainly marked for foreigners？Synopsis: The great pestilence has arrived in England and an unlikely group forms up and tries to escape the pestilence by moving north and avoiding villages。 With a camelot as our narrator and something of a figurehead for the group， they deal with the everyday struggle for survival as well as many setbacks。 What I expected: Historical fiction with a story of desperate survival in a deadly plague。What I got: Repetitive character drama Thoughts: This ended up being a pretty disappointing read for me unfortunately。 The premise and the start were promising， but it didn't take long for me to tire of the novel and I was let down by how minor a role the plague actually played in much of the novel， and I was also disappointed by the stories that each character had to tell。 I expected something like Dan Simmons' Hyperion where there was an overarching plot but the bulk of the novel is each character telling their story， instead the stories in this novel are very small affairs and are themselves fiction within the fiction。 Add to that the fact that the kindle formatting had these stories as scanned images and they actually ended up being the worst part about reading this book。Before I go more into the negatives， I will say that I did really enjoyed Maitland's prose and I've ended up with a fairly substantial number of kindle highlights。 It was also an interesting read in 2020 as some of the passages （such as the one at the start of this review） are very relevant in today's world。 One thing I was really looking forward to about this novel was the time-period。 I haven't read much historical fiction before and it's not a genre I have looked out for prior to hearing about this novel， but I find the black death/great plague to be an interesting period and so that drew me in。 This time-period has the most impact on the events at the beginning of the novel， as the book's characters flee their towns to try and escape the plague。 After this point there are visits to towns and other populated locations， but the focus is really on the relationships between the characters and the lies that they've told （hence the title）。 Unfortunately I found the character drama to be very repetitive。 The character drama is mainly driven by tension between three of the characters， and even as the book moves to new locales， the same fights occur between these characters and I felt that this made it feel stale。 The fact that I didn't particularly care for the characters other than Camelot also didn't help， because I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters their strife didn't have much of an impact on me。Another issue I had was that it didn't really feel like historical fiction， it actually felt more like weak fantasy。 I won't go into details to avoid spoilers， but there are a fair few supernatural elements in the novel that go beyond things that people didn't understand then but we do understand now。 These elements really took me out of the story because it made the setting much harder for me to believe in。The only thing that kept me going through this novel was the desire to find out what Camelot's lie was as that's dangled over the reader a little bit。 When the reveal finally happened right at the ending， it didn't have much of an impact on me as it was something I had guessed at much earlier on， and the ending in general felt quite abrupt and unsatisfying。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Company of Liars
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Company of Liars&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Company of Liars&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0