The Somnambulist (Gollancz)
 

The Somnambulist (Gollancz)

by Jonathan Barnes

'Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it.' So starts the extraordinary tale of Edward Moon, detective, his silent associate the Sonambulist and devilish... (read more)

Top tags: fantasyfictionmysteryvictorian englandlondon (all tags)

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Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

quinnsmom
  • Rated 4 stars

First and foremost, my thanks to Librarything for selecting me to read this novel as part of the Early Reviewer's group at the site. Second: I think Jonathan Barnes definitely has a hit on his hand.
The last book I read even close along these lines was Gordon Dahlquist's "The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters," and as I began The Somnambulist, I immediately thought of Dahlquist's book and then my mind sort of wandered to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics. Let me state right now...

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Didn’t Like It

Braddy
  • Rated 2 stars

Here I suffered from not paying closer attention to the dust jacket. If I had been expecting more fantasy and less mystery, I might have a more positive response. As it is, though I actually felt had. To the book's credit, I was taken in by the twist at the end, and I found many of the unusual characters very likable. Unfortunately, there are TOO MANY bizarre characters. The most intriguing characters get lost. None of them are developed sufficiently. And the Somnambulist himself, the...

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Community:
  • Rated 3.511111 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 0 stars
 

Newest Comments

  • daye

    daye said:

    I finally finished it. Just okay.

    posted Wednesday, May 21 2008 ( | view 1 reply )
  • daye

    daye said:

    It is like Tom Waits meets Micheal Chabon. So far so good but I feel sorry for any book trying to compete for my attention during planting season!

    posted Saturday, May 3 2008
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