The Devil's Company Paperback – April 20, 2010

This is a vastly entertaining read! As an historical novel, it smoothly interweaves the history of the times in Europe, outlines what lure brought the Jews from Spain to Amsterdam, and emphasizes Amsterdam’s exciting history in finance, particularly the stock market. The fictional characters’ development by the author is delightful. After first reading the author’s books “The Whiskey Rebels” (I live three miles from the historical site of the whiskey rebellion in Pittsburgh) then “The Coffee Trader”, I am now immersed in the author’s four-book series of his Benjamin Weaver character, and equally delighted and greatly entertained with its intrigues. Thank you, David Liss!

Our anti-hero, Benjamin Weaver, finds himself entangled in a power struggle between the East India Trading Company and the English Government. Not only is Benjamin used as a pawn in this elaborate scheme of conflicting interests, but his family and friends are also in danger. Further complicating this scenario are the presence of English spies, French agents, and even an Indian agent added to the mix.This is a multilayered account of the deceit and betrayal of what the Company is willing to do to stifle entrepreneurship in the person of Absalom Pepper, thought to be dead, who had plans to develop an engine which can weave cloth from cotton harvested in the American colonies and would be competitive in price from cloth shipped from India. These plans are eagerly sought by all concerned and Weaver is caught in the thick of it.The plots are convoluted with a huge amount of characters and situations in play, but the writing is excellent and Benjamin's narrative keeps my interest. One new character is Celia Glade, who I believe will finally make Weaver forget Miriam. He does engage in violence, either for his defense or for the benefit of others, but it is quite evident here that Benjamin has a moral compass. He tells his friend, Elias Gordon, " The Company is a monster, and it is for Parliament to decide the size and shape of its cage." Benjamin is able to rescue family and friends, but is defeated in his desire for justice due to the various agendas of parties involved. It is expediency that wins in the end. Tough read, but worth it.

"The Devil's Company" is a book I discovered by accident. Intrigued by the cover and the synopsis I decided to give it a try and, boy, am I ever glad I did. The book was an incredibly enthralling read that truly captivated me like few books did. In fact, it turned out to be one of the rare books that I simply could not put down and had to keep on reading, setting everything else aside - including my own workload. This is something that happens to me very rarely.Written stylistically like a true classic in the vein of C.S. Forrester's Hornblower books, I found this book to revel in period details that were not only exceedingly authentic but also often overlooked by other writers tackling the same time period. As such the world of the East India Company in London is coming to vibrant live in every word and every phrase with imaginative backdrops and characters.The key to the book is the story, however, drawing the reader in to the hilt. Revolving around Benjamin Weaver, a thieftaker, who is forced against his will to go undercover and investigate incidents he knows absolutely nothing about. Armed with only a name and impressed upon never to mention it to anyone, Weaver finds himself to be the puppet for many powerful groups. However, his ultimate goal is to find redemption for himself and take revenge upon those who so forcefully bent him to to their bidding.With rich characterizations and a cool array of personalities, "The Devil's Company" is a rich novel that has it all, style, glamor, cool and a seemingly endless array of surprises.

David Liss has developed into one of my favorite writers by now.All of his Ben Weaver books are just excellent, and "The Devil's Company" is the best one yet.I will get my only complaints out of the way first.I don't really particularly care that Mr. Liss or his protagonist are Jewish. But it is obviously very important to him, and he can't get over it. Whatever.The other thing is that while doing a good job of developing a romantic interest with a compelling character, Mr. Liss denies his hero (and his readers) any ultimate satisfaction in that regard. Mr Liss, please just let poor Ben have a couple of good romps in the hay.I was able to get more out of "The Devil's Company" than the previous Weaver books because I read this one on my Kindle, which is equipped with a dictionary. Obviously Mr. Liss has a specialized one packed full of "archaic", "historical" and "dated" words, which is the first description I get when I click on them. However, they are effective and help put the reader into the 18th century mentality. I do realize that Mr. Liss is actually an expert on this period, and he well uses his expertise.But the author is also very adept at creating a great and convoluted story and he builds tension and suspense with very strong plot and character development. Now this is something only the best writers are able to do. He even knows how to throw in some dry humor, which whets my appetite and lubricates the tale's flow."The Devil's Company" had me hooked early and never let go to the last page. The ending was very well done, and left me very satisfied.I highly recommend this book and I was sorry when it ended and I will much look forward to the next one in this commendable series.

I was always surprised all along the book, and I felt that the author feels a delectation at telling us the most unprobable situations. The style in itself is a delicacy. Of course I learned a lot, though in a very pleasant way, about business history and 18th century England.

As usual David Loss has produced an amazing mixture of fiction interwoven with historical facts.

What a great story! David Liss gets right into great authentication of the time in every way, from language to dress and lodging etc. one feels you are part of the scene.I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it deserves five stars

Not as fascinating as the coffee trader or conspiracy of paper. It was a bit preachy. Big corporations vs a freer market of inventors and entrepreneurs.

High expectation small reward... One gets more exciting info just by reading wikipedia on the subject of the East India Company.