Sal

Sal reviewed a book.

“I like Moore's work, and I enjoy works based on the Jack the Ripper legend - but this graphic novel just didn't do it for me (in fact, it's taken me 3 months to read it, because I couldn't bring myself to keep picking it up).

The pacing seemed to be awry. When it was good, it was great...”

“I like Moore's work, and I enjoy works based on the Jack the Ripper legend - but this graphic novel just didn't do it for me (in fact, it's taken me 3 months to read it, because I couldn't bring myself to keep picking it up).

The pacing seemed to be awry. When it was good, it was great - but when it meandered, it was dull and uninspiring. Some passages seemed to sprawl on for an eternity, which made it feel like wading through treacle.

I'm not daunted by long books, but this was not an easy read and it was hard to find the motivation to keep returning to it. Had it not been regarded as such a seminal work, I would've probably given up weeks ago. ”

Sal rated a book.

• Rated 2 stars

Sal finished reading a book.

Sal added a book.

Sal reviewed a book.

“This was a very creepy book, and I can't decide whether it was creepy on its own merits - because the writing was very atmospheric, and the author certainly seemed to deliver you into Victorian London...or whether it was creepy because of your own knowledge of the Jack the Ripper timeline, so you...”

“This was a very creepy book, and I can't decide whether it was creepy on its own merits - because the writing was very atmospheric, and the author certainly seemed to deliver you into Victorian London...or whether it was creepy because of your own knowledge of the Jack the Ripper timeline, so you knew that when certain characters were introduced that they were heading towards their own demise...

I thought the psychotic element of Jack's character was extremely well portrayed (although I'm not entirely sure about his backstory) and the role of Babbitt was very good. I'm not sure whether it was meant to be blindingly obvious who Jack was in his various guises (as it was so obvious) and you were supposed to be sympathetic towards him and barracking for him, or whether it was meant to be a bit of a shock when he was revealed. I am leaning towards the former!

Similarly, you were left in an odd position of also cheering for Mary, who most people will be aware of (being the most famous of the deaths) - which meant that every page turn was met with dread, as you were sure she was walking her way towards her untimely demise.

And that's my only real problem with the book - was the sense of impending doom the writer's own, or was the sense of impending doom solely because the reader knows the real life outcome and is unnerved about how it may play out?

Additionally, the Titanic element was almost wholly redundant. I suppose if he really wanted to put in a, "And here's what happened next," it was a better way of doing it than just writing an epilogue, but it felt tacked on - and almost quite jarring to have spent 300 pages in Victorian London only to be thrown back onto the Titanic for a page again!

Probably a 3.5 rather than a 4, but I would read Scarrow's work again - and it did have me hiding under the covers a few times. ”