The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters
Miss Temple, Cardinal Chang, and Dr. Svenson Series, Book 1
کتاب های مرتبط
- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
- دیدگاه کاربران
نقد و بررسی
June 12, 2006
Debut novelist Dahlquist aims for a blockbuster with a mishmash of Sherlock Holmes, Jane Eyre and Eyes Wide Shut
that never quite comes together. Three months after 25-year-old Celeste Temple travels from "her island" (a Bermuda-like place) plantation home to Victorian London, fiancé Roger Bascombe breaks their engagement. Driven more by curiosity than desire, she follows him from his job at the foreign ministry to Harschmort House, where, with little prodding, she quickly finds herself in silk undergarments at a ritual involving masked guests and two-way mirrors. Making her escape, Miss Temple (as she's called throughout) kills a henchman. Ceremony organizers pursue her as she pursues their secrets. Poetry-quoting assassin Cardinal Chang and diplomat Dr. Abelard Svenson come to her aid. Chang tries to save a half-Chinese prostitute; Abelard tries to save a governess named Elöise; Miss Temple discovers she is not the woman she thought she was, nor Roger the man she hoped for. Meanwhile, through science and alchemy, evildoers capture erotic memories and personal will in blue crystals. Dahlquist introduces so many characters, props and plot twists, near-death experiences and narrow escapes that the novel has the feel of a frantic R-rated classic comic book—if comics were arch.
August 15, 2006
An abruptly terminated engagement propels a curious Celeste Temple to trail her ex-fianc, which leads her into the wicked and mysterious machinations of a nefarious cabal of pleasure and surrender. Along with two companions, who are also accidentally drawn into this secret world, Celeste runs against time and resists seduction to thwart the "dream eaters" and their alchemical "glass books" as they aspire to power and dominion. The unlikely but heroic triostrong-willed lady-of-wealth Celeste Temples, worldly man-for-hire Cardinal Chang, and the intelligent and reluctantly courageous Dr. Abelard Svensonare winningly portrayed with personality and nuance and are lively cohorts on this dark adventure. Intricately plotted, precisely written, with relentless twists and turns, this debut from playwright Dahlquist is reminiscent of a Victorian grotesque meets Eyes Wide Shut meets Indiana Jones. Its ambitious, imaginative scope and numerous dramatis personae require concentration, a few plot threads are left unresolved, and a truly satisfying explanation of the powerful blue glass eludes the reader. Nevertheless, if you can suspend belief, this is an engaging work for lovers of over-the-top Victorian suspense and intrigue. Recommended. [With a six-figure marketing campaign; see Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/06.]Ann Kim, Library Journal
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
دیدگاه کاربران