Roger Ascham and the Dead Queen's Command, page 4
part #1.50 of Tournament Series
He was, quite simply, the most curious man I had ever met.
Mr Ascham knew all manner of strange arcana, from theories about the ancient stone circles on the Salisbury Plain to the latest scientific methods in medicine and mathematics. And what he didn’t know, he sought to find out. Whether it was the visiting Astronomer Royal, the king’s surgeon or a travelling tinker selling a miracle cure, Mr Ascham would always probe them with pointed questions: asking the Astronomer Royal if Amerigo Vespucci’s claims about using the moon and Mars to determine longitude were valid, asking my father’s surgeon why certain plants caused certain kinds of rashes, or asking the tinker if he was aware that he was a quack.
Such was Mr Ascham’s knowledge of so broad a range of subjects, it was not unknown during his time at Cambridge for professors in other disciplines to come to his rooms to confer with him on areas of their own supposed expertise.
For in a world where people claimed to find higher wisdom from God or the Bible, my dear tutor prayed at the twin altars of knowledge and logic. ‘Everything,’ he once told me, ‘happens for a logical reason, from the downward flow of streams to illnesses to the actions of men. We just have to find that reason. The acquisition of knowledge, the sheer pleasure of finding things out, is the greatest gift in life.’
On one well-known occasion, after a local boy prone to foamy-mouthed fits died suddenly and the local abbot attributed the event to the boy’s possession by Satan, Mr Ascham asked to see the lad’s brain. Yes, his brain! The dead boy’s skull was cracked open and, sure enough, Mr Ascham found a white foreign body the size of an apple lodged in his brain. Mr Ascham later told me in reference to that event, ‘Before we blame the supernatural, Bess, we should exhaust all the natural explanations first.’ The abbot didn’t speak to him for a year after that. Not everyone shared Mr Ascham’s pleasure for finding things out.
And then, in the prime of his university career, he had come to teach me, a mere child, the third in line to the throne. Even at that tender age, it had struck me that the remarkable Mr Roger Ascham was wildly overqualified to be tutoring a girl of thirteen, even if she was a princess. I wondered why. What did he see in me that no-one else did?
In any case, this exchange between us about the Moslem sultan’s use of English was not unusual. I was wrong and he was right—again.
We turned our attention back to the invitation. It added that the chess tournament would take place in one month’s time in the Sultan’s capital, the ancient city of Constantinople.
Accompanying the invitation was a note from my father, addressed to Mr Ascham.
Ascham,
I understand that your associate, Mr Gilbert Giles, was the finest player at Cambridge. Would you please inquire as to whether this is still the case and if it be so, dispatch him to me at once. No less than the reputation of the corpus christianum requires our best man at this tournament.
Henry, R
By the way, I appreciated your efforts in the matter of Cumberland’s son. They did not go unnoticed.
About Matthew Reilly
Matthew Reilly is the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.
His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.
Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.
Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online, Jack West and the Hero's Helmet and now Roger Ascham and the Dead Queen's Command. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.
Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.
Also by Matthew Reilly
CONTEST
TEMPLE
ICE STATION
AREA 7
SCARECROW
SCARECROW AND THE ARMY OF THIEVES
HOVER CAR RACER
HELL ISLAND
SEVEN ANCIENT WONDERS
THE SIX SACRED STONES
THE FIVE GREATEST WARRIORS
THE FOUR LEGENDARY KINGDOMS
THE THREE SECRET CITIES
THE TOURNAMENT
TROLL MOUNTAIN
THE GREAT ZOO OF CHINA
THE SECRET RUNNERS OF NEW YORK
Contest
The New York State Library. A brooding labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles and spiralling staircases. For Doctor Stephen Swain and his daughter, Holly, it is the site of a nightmare. For one night, this historic building is to be the venue for a contest. A contest in which Swain is to compete – whether he likes it or not.
The rules are simple. Seven contestants will enter. Only one will leave. With his daughter in his arms, Swain is plunged into a terrifying fight for survival. He can choose to run, to hide or to fight – but if he wants to live, he has to win. For in this contest, unless you leave as the victor, you do not leave at all.
Temple
Deep in the jungle of Peru, the hunt for a legendary Incan idol is under way – an idol that in the present day could be used as the basis for a terrifying new weapon.
Guiding a US Army team is Professor William Race, a young linguist who must translate an ancient manuscript which contains the location of the idol.
What they find is an ominous stone temple, sealed tight. They open it – and soon discover that some doors are meant to remain unopened . . .
Hover Car Racer
Meet Jason Chaser, hover car racer. He’s won himself a place at the International Race School, where racers either make it on to the Pro Circuit – or they crash and burn.
But he’s an outsider. He’s younger than the other racers. His car, the Argonaut, is older. And on top of that, someone doesn’t want him to succeed at the School and will do anything to stop him.
Now Jason Chaser isn’t just fighting for his place on the starting line, he’s racing for his life.
Ice Station
A Scarecrow Novel
THE DISCOVERY OF A LIFETIME
At a remote ice station in Antarctica, a team of US scientists has found something buried deep within a 100-million-year-old layer of ice. Something made of metal.
THE LAW OF SURVIVAL
In a land without boundaries, there are no rules. Every country would kill for this prize.
A LEADER OF MEN
A team of crack United States marines is sent to the station to secure the discovery. Their leader – Lieutenant Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW. They are a tight unit, tough and fearless. They would follow their leader into hell. They just did . . .
Area 7
A Scarecrow Novel
A HIDDEN LOCATION
It is America’s most secret base, a remote installation known only as Area 7.
THE VISITOR
And today it has a guest: the President of the United States. But he’s going to get more than he bargained for on this trip. Because hostile forces are waiting inside . . .
HIS SAVIOUR
Among the President’s helicopter crew, however, is a young marine. His name is Schofield. Call-sign: SCARECROW. Rumour has it, he’s a good man in a storm. Judging by what the President has just walked into, he’d better be . . .
Scarecrow
A Scarecrow Novel
IT IS THE GREATEST BOUNTY HUNT IN HISTORY
There are 15 targets. And they must all be dead by 12 noon, today. The price on their heads: $20 million each.
ONE HERO
Among the names on the target list, one stands out. An enigmatic marine named Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW.
NO LIMITS
And so Schofield is hunted by gangs of international bounty hunters, including the ‘Black Knight’, a ruthless hunter who seems intent on eliminating only him.
He led his men into hell in Ice Station. He protected the President against all odds in Area 7. This time it’s different. Because this time SCARECROW is the target.
Hell Island
A Scarecrow Novella
It is an island that doesn’t appear on any maps. A secret place, where classified experiments have been carried out. Experiments that have gone terribly wrong . . .
Four crack special forces units are dropped in. One of them is a team of marines, led by Captain Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW.
Nothing can prepare Schofield’s team for what they find there. You could say they’ve just entered hell. But that would be wrong. This is much, much worse.
Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves
A Scarecrow Novel
THE SECRET BASE
It is a former Soviet base known only as Dragon Island. It houses a weapon of terrible destructive force . . . that has just been re-activated.
A RENEGADE ARMY
The island has been seized by a brutal terrorist force calling itself the Army of Thieves, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
ONE SMALL TEAM
There is an equipment-testing team up in the Arctic. It does not have the weaponry or strength to attack a fortified island held by a vicious army. But it is led by a marine captain named Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW. And Scarecrow will lead the team in anyway, because someone has to.
Seven Ancient Wonders
A Jack West Jr Novel
AN ANCIENT SECRET
Two thousand years ago, it was hidden within the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Now, in the present day, it must be found again . . .
ONE HERO TO FIND IT
Captain Jack West Jr – part soldier, part scholar, all hero. The odds are stacked against him and his loyal team: nine brave companions taking on the most powerful countries on earth.
AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER
From the pyramids of Egypt to the swamps of Sudan, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the boulevards of Paris: the desperate race begins.
FOR A PRIZE WITHOUT EQUAL
The greatest prize of all: the power to end the world or rule it.
AND SO THE GREAT ADVENTURE BEGINS
The Six Sacred Stones
A Jack West Jr Novel
THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING
A mysterious ceremony at a hidden location has unlocked a catastrophic countdown to world annihilation.
ONE HERO
Now, to save the world, supersoldier Jack West Jr and his loyal team of adventurers must find and rebuild a legendary device known as ‘the Machine’.
SIX FABLED STONES
The only clues to locating this Machine are held within the fabled Six Sacred Stones, which are scattered around the globe. But Jack and his team are not the only ones seeking the Stones, there are other players involved who don’t want to see the world saved at all . . .
The Five Greatest Warriors
A Jack West Jr Novel
THE END OF THE WORLD HAS ARRIVED
Jack West Jr and his loyal team have been separated, their mission is in ruins, and Jack was last seen plummeting down a fathomless abyss.
OCEANS WILL RISE, CITIES WILL FALL
After surviving his deadly fall, Jack must now race against his enemies to locate and set in place the remaining pieces of ‘the Machine’ before the coming Armageddon.
WHO ARE THE FIVE WARRIORS?
Jack will learn of the individuals who throughout history have been most intimately connected to his quest, but not before he and his friends find out exactly what the end of the world looks like . . .
The Four Legendary Kingdoms
A Jack West Jr Novel
A RUTHLESS KIDNAPPING
Jack West Jr has been brutally kidnapped. He awakes in a cell to find a masked attacker charging at him with a knife.
THE GREAT GAMES
Jack has been 'chosen' to compete in a series of deadly challenges designed to fulfil an ancient ritual. He will have to traverse diabolical mazes, fight cruel assassins and face unimaginable horros if he - and the world - is to survive.
TO HELL AND BACK
In the process, he will discover the mysterious and powerful group of individuals behind it all: the four legendary kingdoms.
He might also discover that he is not the only hero in this place...
The Three Secret Cities
A Jack West Jr Novel
A SHADOW WORLD
When Jack West Jr won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil.
BEHIND THE REAL WORLD
Now these dark forces are coming after Jack...in ruthless fashion.
CRASHING INTO OUR WORLD
With the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find three incredible lost cities of legend.
It's an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted...
This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.
First published 2020 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000
Copyright © Karanadon Entertainment Pty Ltd 2020
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available
from the National Library of Australia
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au
EPUB format: 978 1 7609 8233 1
Cover design by Gavin Tyrrell
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THE TOURNAMENT
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It is costly wisdom that is bought by experience.
– ROGER ASCHAM
Matthew Reilly, Roger Ascham and the Dead Queen's Command
