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The Sky's Dark Labyrinth #2
Luonnon voima
1600-luvun lopun Englannissa kuohuu. Valtaistuimella on vuoroin protestanttinen, vuoroin katolinen majesteetti, ja uskontojen puristuksessa ovat myös tiedemiehet, jotka yrittävät ratkaista maailmankaikkeuden mysteerejä. Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke ja Edmond Halley ovat varmoja, että taivaankappaleita hallitsee heidän painovoimaksi kutsumansa laki, mutta kuka pystyy todistamaan sen - ja miten tehdä aivan uudenlaista luonnotiedettä joutumatta valtion vakoilukoneiston hampaisiin tai jopa mestauslavalle?
Kuohuvia ovat myös heidän omat suhteensa, salaisuutensa ja intohimonsa. Newton tavoittelee alkemistien viisasten kiveä hulluuden partaalle saakka, Hooke katkeroituu ikuisena kakkkosena, ja Halleyn elämää varjostaa Towerissa tehty murha.
Kuohuvia ovat myös heidän omat suhteensa, salaisuutensa ja intohimonsa. Newton tavoittelee alkemistien viisasten kiveä hulluuden partaalle saakka, Hooke katkeroituu ikuisena kakkkosena, ja Halleyn elämää varjostaa Towerissa tehty murha.
405 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
5 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Clark
20 books76 followersJournalist, award-winning author and broadcaster, Stuart Clark is a brilliant storyteller. Fiction or non-fiction, his work is written with conviction and with passion. In recent years, he has devoted his career to presenting the complex and dynamic world of astronomy to the general public.
His latest work is the pioneering trilogy The Sky's Dark Labyrinth. In the way that CJ Sansom's hugely successful Shardlake series marries crime writing with popular history, so The Sky's Dark Labyrinth trilogy blends gripping, original historical fiction with popular science.
Stuart holds a first-class honours degree and a phd in astrophysics. A Visiting Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a former Vice Chair of the Association of British Science Writers. But it was his first work of narrative nonfiction, The Sun Kings, that established him as a popular science writer par excellence. Without fail the reviews, ranging from Nature to Bookslut.com, remarked on his exceptional storytelling ability and sheer verve of his writing. It was shortlisted by the Royal Society for their 2008 general science book prize, it won Italy's 2009 Montselice Prize for best scientific translation, and the Association of American Publishers 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for Excellence in the Cosmology and Astronomy category.
Stuart is a regular contributor to national and international radio and television programmes and dvd productions. He frequently lectures throughout the UK and, increasingly, throughout the world.
His latest work is the pioneering trilogy The Sky's Dark Labyrinth. In the way that CJ Sansom's hugely successful Shardlake series marries crime writing with popular history, so The Sky's Dark Labyrinth trilogy blends gripping, original historical fiction with popular science.
Stuart holds a first-class honours degree and a phd in astrophysics. A Visiting Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a former Vice Chair of the Association of British Science Writers. But it was his first work of narrative nonfiction, The Sun Kings, that established him as a popular science writer par excellence. Without fail the reviews, ranging from Nature to Bookslut.com, remarked on his exceptional storytelling ability and sheer verve of his writing. It was shortlisted by the Royal Society for their 2008 general science book prize, it won Italy's 2009 Montselice Prize for best scientific translation, and the Association of American Publishers 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for Excellence in the Cosmology and Astronomy category.
Stuart is a regular contributor to national and international radio and television programmes and dvd productions. He frequently lectures throughout the UK and, increasingly, throughout the world.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 6, 2014
I'm a bit torn about this one. It took me forever to finally get it via amazon and then I consumed it in about 30 hours. On the plus side, Clark's writing and pacing has improved since his first novel The Sky's Dark Labyrinth which I also really enjoyed. This time out he ably juggles a huge cast of characters -- Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley, Gottfried Leibniz, Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren, Johannes Hevelius, John Flamsteed, plus wives and lovers and a fictional civil servant named Winslow, who is this book's Cardinal Pippe and just as big a waste of space.
Clark has a really good understanding of seventeenth century scientific culture and has clearly done a ton of research, which he lists at the end of the book. But since Newton's physics is so hard, Clark doesn't spend too much effort having the characters explain things to each other in highly implausible bits of dialogue. My only two complaints on this score are (1) the multiple references to "Kepler's laws" which were not a thing in the 17th century and (2) Christopher Wren admonishing Hooke about "Christiaan Whatshisname, that philosopher from Holland", in reference to Huygens, then the most famous scientist in Europe at the time (circa 1680).
Newton is the book's great anti-hero, sometimes too much so. Clark does a great job with Newton's alchemy and Arianism, but it's a bit cliched to depict Newton's general misanthropy as repressed homosexuality, and it's not clear what Newton has to gain from betraying his young disciple Fatio to the authorities if he wasn't going to have Fatio murdered to silence him (of course this betrayal by Newton almost certainly didn't really happen). Halley, by contrast, is the book's hero, also sometimes too much so. The historical Halley was obviously an astute, diplomatic and public-minded man, without whom the Principia might not have ever been published. I'm also willing to believe Halley was a devoted husband and father. Nevertheless men in the 17th century didn't say things like "Mary and I have decided it's time to start a family" to their friends. Halley's troubled atheism also strikes me as pretty anachronistic as the evidence suggests Halley was actually an untroubled deist.
But the really silly parts revolve around the fictional political intrigues orchestrated by the spymaster/courtier Winslow who serves a succession of monarchs to provide continuity on the evil of absolutist politics. This includes a thoroughly ridiculous scene in which Newton and Halley are interrogated in the Tower of London by Queen Caroline of Ansbach about the role of God in Newton's cosmology. As with Cardinal Pippe from the first book I don't understand the point. With a massive cast of fascinating characters and fascinating history why does Clark need to further stuff the book with political fantasy? Halley's and Newton's lives were enough touched by politics to create plenty of tension while sticking with the broad historical facts.
Still, for a fun read bursting with cool historical information you could do a lot worse than this. I'll probably move on to read the third book on Einstein in a few months.
Clark has a really good understanding of seventeenth century scientific culture and has clearly done a ton of research, which he lists at the end of the book. But since Newton's physics is so hard, Clark doesn't spend too much effort having the characters explain things to each other in highly implausible bits of dialogue. My only two complaints on this score are (1) the multiple references to "Kepler's laws" which were not a thing in the 17th century and (2) Christopher Wren admonishing Hooke about "Christiaan Whatshisname, that philosopher from Holland", in reference to Huygens, then the most famous scientist in Europe at the time (circa 1680).
Newton is the book's great anti-hero, sometimes too much so. Clark does a great job with Newton's alchemy and Arianism, but it's a bit cliched to depict Newton's general misanthropy as repressed homosexuality, and it's not clear what Newton has to gain from betraying his young disciple Fatio to the authorities if he wasn't going to have Fatio murdered to silence him (of course this betrayal by Newton almost certainly didn't really happen). Halley, by contrast, is the book's hero, also sometimes too much so. The historical Halley was obviously an astute, diplomatic and public-minded man, without whom the Principia might not have ever been published. I'm also willing to believe Halley was a devoted husband and father. Nevertheless men in the 17th century didn't say things like "Mary and I have decided it's time to start a family" to their friends. Halley's troubled atheism also strikes me as pretty anachronistic as the evidence suggests Halley was actually an untroubled deist.
But the really silly parts revolve around the fictional political intrigues orchestrated by the spymaster/courtier Winslow who serves a succession of monarchs to provide continuity on the evil of absolutist politics. This includes a thoroughly ridiculous scene in which Newton and Halley are interrogated in the Tower of London by Queen Caroline of Ansbach about the role of God in Newton's cosmology. As with Cardinal Pippe from the first book I don't understand the point. With a massive cast of fascinating characters and fascinating history why does Clark need to further stuff the book with political fantasy? Halley's and Newton's lives were enough touched by politics to create plenty of tension while sticking with the broad historical facts.
Still, for a fun read bursting with cool historical information you could do a lot worse than this. I'll probably move on to read the third book on Einstein in a few months.
July 14, 2012
The second book in Clark's trilogy reads very similar to the first in terms of tone and style. That's obviously not a bad thing for a trilogy! This time around though the central characters are Newton, Hooke, Halley, Wren and several others. Theirs is the time that picks up on Galileo and Kepler's findings, which were traced in the first book, and they find themselves equally embroiled in religion and power games. The obsession with gravity leads these men to ranks of power, but it's not an easy ride and they're constantly challenged by the monarchy and the church.
Once again, Clark does an admirable job creating the space and time of the book in vivid detail. This time around London and Cambridge take centre stage as the Royal Society is at the heart of the new findings. All the side characters and plots add to the story to make it more of a novel about these men rather than just their scientific discoveries, but I felt that these side-plots were too quickly told and discarded at times. They did not necessarily contribute to the overall character or story development so I felt like Clark felt obliged to include them from a biographical perspective. Having said that, they did surprise me most times as I never knew much about these men besides what they've contributed to science and astronomy.
Overall, it's a great follow-up to the first book and deserves a read if you enjoyed it.
Once again, Clark does an admirable job creating the space and time of the book in vivid detail. This time around London and Cambridge take centre stage as the Royal Society is at the heart of the new findings. All the side characters and plots add to the story to make it more of a novel about these men rather than just their scientific discoveries, but I felt that these side-plots were too quickly told and discarded at times. They did not necessarily contribute to the overall character or story development so I felt like Clark felt obliged to include them from a biographical perspective. Having said that, they did surprise me most times as I never knew much about these men besides what they've contributed to science and astronomy.
Overall, it's a great follow-up to the first book and deserves a read if you enjoyed it.
September 22, 2014
I really loved this book. I like the way that Stuart Clark has expertly outlaid the attitudes of the era. It really gives you an idea of what challenges these amazing scientists had to face in their time. He has interweaved science, religion, politics and the intrigues of the English monarchy all into one. It is fascinating how strong certain beliefs were and how people would do anything to hold onto power. I also like how he refers back to Kepler and Galileo from the first book, and how they laid the foundations for Newtons theory about gravity. He has also attempted to leave the book on a bit of cliff hanger by Newton admitting to the major fallacy in his theory. Will have to see what Einstein says about that!
February 8, 2012
Beautifully written and eloquent. There is a real flow and sense of fully developed character that makes it easy to read, without underestimating the intelligence of the reader or skimping on the facts.
Obviously written by someone with a real love of language as well as his subject matter (you've just got to love a writer who uses the word "prorogued"),this tells of the interactions between (among others) Edmund Halley, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, their contributions to our understanding of gravity and the stirrings of a real clash between science and religion.
Obviously written by someone with a real love of language as well as his subject matter (you've just got to love a writer who uses the word "prorogued"),this tells of the interactions between (among others) Edmund Halley, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, their contributions to our understanding of gravity and the stirrings of a real clash between science and religion.
May 22, 2025
(The following review was originally posted to my blog on July 3, 2024: https://archive.ph/wRDMn)
Firstly, the tagline (“Sparks of genius—the momentous clash between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke”) is a bit misleading. While the book does indeed cover the timeline between Newton’s work on the Principia all the way up his Presidency, the conflict with Hooke is actually not even the focus of the story.
Although there is a wide cast of familiar characters, the attention divided between them is unequal. The premise starts with Halley as the main protagonist and Newton and Hooke as the deuteragonists, but as it progresses it mainly flips back and forth between Newton and Halley’s perspectives, with Hooke’s presence dwindling more and more after Grace’s death until he becomes demoted to a minor background character.
Despite being limited to supporting characters, certain other philosophers like Flamsteed and Leibniz get a satisfying amount of screentime, with even a scene here and there featuring Fellows like Wren, Papin, and Pepys, and even a whole chapter dedicated to Locke. But for some reason, Boyle’s role was disappointingly brief, limited to a line or two during a clandestine meeting with Newton. Given his connections to both Newton and Hooke, you’d think he’d be featured just a bit more prominently, but alas.
I enjoyed the interactions between Hooke and Grace, even if some of the more sexual scenes came off as incredibly unrealistic and like something out of an adult fantasy story. Without going off into a political rant (I’m by no means a libertarian, but I’m no feminist either, if you must know), even as someone who is largely accepting and sympathetic of Hooke’s unhealthy relationship with his niece, it came off as more than a little unbelievable that a 16 year-old (presumably a virgin) who found herself cornered in an uncomfortable situation (presumably for the first time) not only reacted by initiating sexual contact, but did so with the boldness and dexterity of an experienced woman. It just made me roll my eyes. That, and the “first-aid handjob”, while kind of sweet, came off as gratuitous.
Considering that both sides of Hooke’s affair are explored here—from his sincere caring and protectiveness to his darker fits of jealous rage and emotional manipulation that enshroud the former—it would have been neither unreasonable nor unbelievable to hold Hooke himself responsible for the very same “whorish” behavior that he was all too eager to shame her for. And although Halley may or may not have caught the eye of Grace in real life, it served as a painful reminder that she most likely never returned her uncle’s feelings, and that any sexual favors were performed out of a sense of obligation towards her only source of security. What’s more, both of the Hookes came off as being burdened with guilt—Grace, for being unable to love her uncle as more than her uncle, and Robert, for his sexual possession of her—which may have explained why the references to their affairs disappeared from the diary after Grace’s, well… disgrace involving Robert Holmes. A very complicated relationship, to say the least.
The part about Grace giving her uncle dancing lessons just hours before she died really hit me in the feels, and I’m certain it was inspired by the couple of diary entries that mentioned “dancing shoos” (although those were from a whole decade before her death).
It was overall an enjoyable read that felt like a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Several of the men fostered mutual grudges against one another, but I found that my sympathy for Newton waned to nearly nothing by the end of the book. If you thought he was an asshole in life, you’d be right, but the author’s added interpretation of his motives crank the cuntery up to eleven here. Even worse is how Halley is treated.
Granted, there are more pressing complications that arise in Halley’s life that originated with the death of his father, but the reward for his unwavering faith and loyalty in Newton is not only to be used thanklessly (and on one occasion is outright insulted) by him, but to be caught in the crossfire of retaliation from what had once been mutual friends of theirs—particularly his mentor Flamsteed, with whom, to be fair, he’d always shared a precarious relationship with. Even as the hero of the story, Halley really has it tough, getting screwed left and right throughout.
Newton being portrayed as a closeted homosexual is done in a largely believable way, but it doesn’t really change much. If anything, Fatio becomes the more tragic and sympathetic figure of the two, although the reason for Newton throwing him under the bus was to protect himself from having his secret exposed (and it’s not the one you’d assume). I will say though, that I particularly enjoyed the idea that the justification for Fatio later being involved in the French cult was due to the influence of Newton’s religious delusions spreading like a contagion. Were this actually the case, I would not be a bit surprised.
Newton’s hypocrisy also shines through here on more than one occasion, a notable example being how he looked down on Flamsteed, refusing to acknowledge the other man as his peer despite his theory relying heavily on the latter’s astronomical observations. Say what you want about how Hooke openly relegating mathematicians to builders as philosophers were to architectures, but the parallel here is clear enough that you’d think Newton would feel ashamed to agree with Hooke’s hierarchy.
In the end, Newton is a manipulative karma-dodging bastard who leaves behind a plethora of ruined lives in his wake. In other words, not all that different from reality.
That said, however, I still highly recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in the history of Newton and/or his contemporaries. While the narrative is mostly based on what actually happened, it is almost seamlessly interwoven with a few artistic liberties and fictional events—none of which alter the outcome in any major way. Chief among them is the spymaster Winslow, a character whose sole existence in-universe is to torment poor Halley and keep him on his toes, but he also manages to drive the plot forward and bring everything together in the end, which ultimately centers on the theme of Newton’s new philosophy being viewed as a threat to religion and government.
Firstly, the tagline (“Sparks of genius—the momentous clash between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke”) is a bit misleading. While the book does indeed cover the timeline between Newton’s work on the Principia all the way up his Presidency, the conflict with Hooke is actually not even the focus of the story.
Although there is a wide cast of familiar characters, the attention divided between them is unequal. The premise starts with Halley as the main protagonist and Newton and Hooke as the deuteragonists, but as it progresses it mainly flips back and forth between Newton and Halley’s perspectives, with Hooke’s presence dwindling more and more after Grace’s death until he becomes demoted to a minor background character.
Despite being limited to supporting characters, certain other philosophers like Flamsteed and Leibniz get a satisfying amount of screentime, with even a scene here and there featuring Fellows like Wren, Papin, and Pepys, and even a whole chapter dedicated to Locke. But for some reason, Boyle’s role was disappointingly brief, limited to a line or two during a clandestine meeting with Newton. Given his connections to both Newton and Hooke, you’d think he’d be featured just a bit more prominently, but alas.
I enjoyed the interactions between Hooke and Grace, even if some of the more sexual scenes came off as incredibly unrealistic and like something out of an adult fantasy story. Without going off into a political rant (I’m by no means a libertarian, but I’m no feminist either, if you must know), even as someone who is largely accepting and sympathetic of Hooke’s unhealthy relationship with his niece, it came off as more than a little unbelievable that a 16 year-old (presumably a virgin) who found herself cornered in an uncomfortable situation (presumably for the first time) not only reacted by initiating sexual contact, but did so with the boldness and dexterity of an experienced woman. It just made me roll my eyes. That, and the “first-aid handjob”, while kind of sweet, came off as gratuitous.
Considering that both sides of Hooke’s affair are explored here—from his sincere caring and protectiveness to his darker fits of jealous rage and emotional manipulation that enshroud the former—it would have been neither unreasonable nor unbelievable to hold Hooke himself responsible for the very same “whorish” behavior that he was all too eager to shame her for. And although Halley may or may not have caught the eye of Grace in real life, it served as a painful reminder that she most likely never returned her uncle’s feelings, and that any sexual favors were performed out of a sense of obligation towards her only source of security. What’s more, both of the Hookes came off as being burdened with guilt—Grace, for being unable to love her uncle as more than her uncle, and Robert, for his sexual possession of her—which may have explained why the references to their affairs disappeared from the diary after Grace’s, well… disgrace involving Robert Holmes. A very complicated relationship, to say the least.
The part about Grace giving her uncle dancing lessons just hours before she died really hit me in the feels, and I’m certain it was inspired by the couple of diary entries that mentioned “dancing shoos” (although those were from a whole decade before her death).
It was overall an enjoyable read that felt like a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Several of the men fostered mutual grudges against one another, but I found that my sympathy for Newton waned to nearly nothing by the end of the book. If you thought he was an asshole in life, you’d be right, but the author’s added interpretation of his motives crank the cuntery up to eleven here. Even worse is how Halley is treated.
Granted, there are more pressing complications that arise in Halley’s life that originated with the death of his father, but the reward for his unwavering faith and loyalty in Newton is not only to be used thanklessly (and on one occasion is outright insulted) by him, but to be caught in the crossfire of retaliation from what had once been mutual friends of theirs—particularly his mentor Flamsteed, with whom, to be fair, he’d always shared a precarious relationship with. Even as the hero of the story, Halley really has it tough, getting screwed left and right throughout.
Newton being portrayed as a closeted homosexual is done in a largely believable way, but it doesn’t really change much. If anything, Fatio becomes the more tragic and sympathetic figure of the two, although the reason for Newton throwing him under the bus was to protect himself from having his secret exposed (and it’s not the one you’d assume). I will say though, that I particularly enjoyed the idea that the justification for Fatio later being involved in the French cult was due to the influence of Newton’s religious delusions spreading like a contagion. Were this actually the case, I would not be a bit surprised.
Newton’s hypocrisy also shines through here on more than one occasion, a notable example being how he looked down on Flamsteed, refusing to acknowledge the other man as his peer despite his theory relying heavily on the latter’s astronomical observations. Say what you want about how Hooke openly relegating mathematicians to builders as philosophers were to architectures, but the parallel here is clear enough that you’d think Newton would feel ashamed to agree with Hooke’s hierarchy.
In the end, Newton is a manipulative karma-dodging bastard who leaves behind a plethora of ruined lives in his wake. In other words, not all that different from reality.
That said, however, I still highly recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in the history of Newton and/or his contemporaries. While the narrative is mostly based on what actually happened, it is almost seamlessly interwoven with a few artistic liberties and fictional events—none of which alter the outcome in any major way. Chief among them is the spymaster Winslow, a character whose sole existence in-universe is to torment poor Halley and keep him on his toes, but he also manages to drive the plot forward and bring everything together in the end, which ultimately centers on the theme of Newton’s new philosophy being viewed as a threat to religion and government.
July 18, 2020
The second in a series of historical novels about famous scientists. The first, about Galileo and Kepler, was pretty good.
The blurb on this one implies it's about the clash between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, but Edmond Halley is a key protagonist too, as are Gottfried Leibniz and John Locke amongst others.
As in the first book, it's as much about the clashes between science, religion and politics as about those between the protagonists. There was so much here that I didn't know and it's generally very well done. Gripping stuff. 3.5 stars.
The final book in the trilogy skips forward quite some time and is about Einstein. I look forward to it.
The blurb on this one implies it's about the clash between Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, but Edmond Halley is a key protagonist too, as are Gottfried Leibniz and John Locke amongst others.
As in the first book, it's as much about the clashes between science, religion and politics as about those between the protagonists. There was so much here that I didn't know and it's generally very well done. Gripping stuff. 3.5 stars.
The final book in the trilogy skips forward quite some time and is about Einstein. I look forward to it.
December 21, 2024
This has many of the weaknesses of the first book, The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth, the insertion of fiction into real lives, the clunky, unconvincing sex scenes, and just isn’t as interesting. The jeopardy around the main characters, Newton, Herschel and Hooke feels false and artificial.
December 5, 2017
good historical fiction that brings newton et al alive
January 24, 2020
Introducing Halley, Newton and Hooke to the search for gravity. A good mixture of fiction and fact continuing the story that began with Keppler and Galileo in The Sky's Dark Labyrinth
October 17, 2021
A very good mixture of fact and fiction about Newton, Hooke, Halley and others.
December 12, 2022
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. What an insight into the the life of Newton, Hooke and Halley.
February 3, 2015
Having read the Sky's Dark Labyrinth a few years ago, I was pleased to receive the second book in the trilogy for Christmas.
Stuart Clark has a unique ability to weave a ripping great story, loaded with historical details around the lives of influential scientists from an earlier age. In this case, Halley, Hooke, Newton and others are shown to be real people doing extraordinary things in a time when people took their politics way more seriously.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an even minor science bent. And, I do realize that the third book is already published.
Stuart Clark has a unique ability to weave a ripping great story, loaded with historical details around the lives of influential scientists from an earlier age. In this case, Halley, Hooke, Newton and others are shown to be real people doing extraordinary things in a time when people took their politics way more seriously.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an even minor science bent. And, I do realize that the third book is already published.
June 14, 2013
I enjoyed this second installment just as much as the first, with its intrigues, obsessions and persecutions amid the struggling ranks of the Royal Society. Looking forward to reading the last installment which brings things relatively up to date with Einstein and his revolutionary theories(my apologies for a terrible pun).
August 6, 2014
It gives an insight to the fascinating history of Newton and his contemporaries, and explores their motivations. At times the writing is awkward and clichéd, and I would perhaps have preferred the book as non-fiction. It is clearly very thoroughly researched.
April 5, 2013
interesting background to Newton & the politics of the time
May 14, 2013
Excellent historical fiction. Brings the time and characters to life
January 25, 2016
Tarina oli mielenkiintoinen, elävöitti aikakauden ja varsinkin tieteestä tutut nimet saivat persoonallisuuden lisäkseen. Iso miinus oikoluvusta.
July 9, 2015
Great book on the History of Science. I am looking forward to part 3.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews