I don't think there's actually any recorder playing in this one.
Despite the cover sporting what I presume is an English Civil War era standard instead of an alien and the name simply being of the supporters of Parliament in that conflict instead of "The ___ of the ____" kind of thing, I started this book oblivious to it being a pure historical.
I liked this book a lot. Ben gets to be a pirate and seek vengeance on the man who killed his friend. There are tough choices and moral ambiguity. Polly must deceive someone she is attracted to in order to keep history from being dramatically changed. The movers and shakers here, the figureheads are not these larger than life, um, figures. The king is something of a pathetic figure - small and weak, while Cromwell's face is littered with warts.
The Doctor and Jamie are a kind of double act which I suppose presages what's to come. My man gripe is that they are essentially under house arrest for most of the story and don't feature very prominently. A lot of pages, however, are devoted to Roundheads and Royalists and the scheming all around. Ben and Polly are agents of action, they get their hands dirty, so to speak, in moving the story (and history) along. The Doctor plays a minor role and acts more from behind the scenes.
Despite the relative paucity of scenes with the Doctor, Mark Gatiss has a fine and fun tale on his hands here. Jamie is funny, if underused, while Ben and Polly really shine here.
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