Monday 29 March 2010

A Good Book

I just finished The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W.Dahlquist, and am now here on the internet to recommend it to you.

If you like Victorian-era fiction, steampunk, mystery, sci-fi, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (comic not film), or ripping reads in general, this is definitely worth a look.

The book follows the exploits of three outwardly disparate characters who are inadvertently drawn together by the diabolical actions of a pan-European gang of evil aristocrats, who have discovered a way to steal people's memories and put them into glass books. As you do.

There follows a barrage of intrigue, violence, scamming, paranoia, green ankle boots, and sexy pants. If it's made into a film (and if it isn't I will be surprised) then it's going to be a bit like the last Sherlock Holmes. But without the problem of having been done already, and with the added bonus of Monica Bellucci as a sexy - yet malevolent - Contessa. They'd better cast Monica Bellucci...

Arguably the book is overlong, but I didn't find that a problem because the story continually introduced new characters and presented little clues as to what was going on so that I always felt involved with the unfolding plot. The chapters were mega big, which was annoying to start with because I couldn't just read to the end of a chapter in ten-twenty minutes and then go do something else, I had to stop part way through and leave it hanging. However I just read that this is because the book was first published in sections, like a Victorian melodrama, which is quite a nice touch. And it did add to the feeling of being involved with the story.

Also there are lots of naughty times, which can be rather lewd, so don't buy it for your granny. Unless she's into that kind of thing.

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