At no point do you either feel that there’s nothing happening or that so much is happening you can’t track what’s happening The way the weather was used to make simple challenges harder and allowed more space for characters to struggle in without having to rope in hordes of soldiers or some magic technology.The references to key things in the universe which weren’t expanded upon in this book made me feel the author had enough ideas to turn this into a series.These are not good reasons to not read it though, as this was actually a very good read. Yes, it has rather shamelessly been influenced by Firefly to the point where you expect to see references or characters moved outright from one universe to another. Yes, this is a formulaic scifi adventure book. But, as I said I was browsing on the Kindle and wanted something to read there and then. So when I first saw this book I was a bit wary as there’s a lot of positive statements from people I don’t know and authors of books I haven’t read or heard of, then there was the fact that it was clearly making a plus point that this was a very Firefly inspired book. She is more interesting than some of the real Tudors.I picked up this while looking for something to read on Kindle Unlimited and browsing on the Kindle is a pretty annoying experience so I tend to look for something which has a decent number of reviews and looks like it might be reasonably written. New readers might enjoy starting at the beginning of this engaging, well-written series and following the illegitimate, fictitious Ursula all the way through. There are glimpses into the long back story, but the book does stand alone. It’s difficult to discuss plot points without giving too much away, but Ursula’s fans will enjoy her latest escapades and will sympathize as she starts to realize she is aging. These errands appear uncomplicated enough, but Ursula and her friends are soon embroiled in an intricate story of intrigue and superstition during a cold northern winter. Queen Elizabeth’s advisor John Dee, a learned man and noted scientist, wishes to examine the book.

There is another job to do, too, as Ursula is requested to obtain a valuable medieval book from a quasi-religious community of women living in a large, isolated, stone manor. An uncomplicated task-except that two men have already disappeared while trying to deliver this information.

The assignment is straightforward: hand-carry a secret letter from the Queen to a Scottish contact, assuring him that Elizabeth does not intend to release Mary Queen of Scots from imprisonment. This time, she and her faithful companions, Brockley, Dale, and Sybil, take a seemingly innocent journey to Edinburgh. As always, she has both personal and political reasons for doing Elizabeth’s bidding. Ursula is again given a secret assignment from her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth. In this 14 th book of the Ursula Blanchard Elizabethan mysteries, the year is 1577.

The Heretic by Lucas Bale