Review: Conspiracy and Adventure
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2012
Conspiracy theories have been used as fodder for many mystery novels, some novels have been received well by the reading public, while other novels have fizzled out into oblivion. One such mystery novel utilizing a conspiracy theory is The Pelican Code written by author Tim Lea. The Pelican Code contains the central theme of the conspiracy theory about William Shakespeare not being the original author of the many great literary works supposedly penned by him.The story of The Pelican Code moves alternately between the time period of Elizabethan Ruled England, circa 1593 and modern day England, Italy and America. The story starts off in modern Padova, Italy where a recent earthquake causes the cleanup of aftermath rubble which leads to the discovery of an old box containing a painting, a letter and three leather bound books and thus the mystery and adventure begins. Next we meet Toby Malone in modern day England. Toby is in his thirties and has a decent life as a book shop manager, although a tragedy through no fault of his own forced him out of a prestigious job that he loved. Kit's expulsion from his job was very similar to what happened to his hero Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was also tragically forced from his position of stature due accusations of heresy. Toby had so much admiration for Christopher Marlowe he even took on his nickname - Kit, wore clothes from the Elizabethan period and fashioned his hair and goatee after that style of that time as well.  Christopher Marlowe was also considered as one of the possible authors that Shakespeare stole literary works from. Eventually Kit gets word and temporary possession of the discovered box and its content which leads him on a very dangerous adventure to discover the truth about The Pelican Code.  Another very interesting character introduced into the story is Professor John Walsh who teaches English literature in Pennsylvania who frequently encounters questions from eager students about Shakespeare being the actual author of the many written works that have been attributed to him; he too becomes drawn into the fray surrounding The Pelican Code. There are several other characters involved in the story as well and of course there is a mysterious faction that does not want the truth about the code (if resolved) to be released to the public.This story on the whole is an interesting and intriguing look at the mystery surrounding the true author of Shakespeare's works. The story contains action and intrigue as each character is pulled further into the mystery and trying to solve The Pelican Code. The story develops at a good pace and the intrigue is well played which leads to making this book a pretty good read. I would recommend this book as a good read especially for those who like mystery and intrigue.