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Title: Dark Sleeper by Jeffrey E. Barlough ISBN: 0-441-00730-9 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A different kind of novel
Comment: This is one of the more unique novels that I have encountered in the last year. It has element of alternate history and science/fiction fantasy, but is equally a mystery in the tradition of Arthur Conan Doyle. Moreover, the writing is undeniably similar to Dickens, and his contemporaries.
If I had to pick, I would have to classify this book as a mystery, because the other elements are mostly window dressing for a story that could occur in a multitude of settings. That's not to say the other elements aren't impressive; they most certainly are. The novel takes place in what is apparently a remote corner of Europe after some sort of extraterrestrial impact devastated most of the planet. Furthermore, either Ice Age mammals never died out, or they are enjoying a renaissance as a result of the cataclysm. This unusual, creative scenario help create a real sense of desperation and isolation among the characters. Although there lives are relatively comfortable, they have been marginalized and pushed to the brink, so anything out of the ordinary is an even greater cause for concern.
As for the story itself, it's hard to comment without giving away details. Suffice it to say that it touches upon the supernatural, but not in the ways one might expect. Regarding some of the complaints I've seen about the book being anticlimactic, I think it is necessary to consider Barlough's style when leveling criticism. He seems to be a writer for whom the journey is as important as the conclusion. I happen to like this style of storytelling, but if you need non-stop action, this may not be the book for you.
All in all, I found "Dark Sleeper" to be an original, witty novel with a remarkably unique narrative style. Enjoy!
Rating: 2
Summary: The Worst of Dickens & Lovecraft
Comment: Dark Sleeper is an odd duck of a novel, a Weird Tales-style story told in the form of a Dickens pastiche. Though perhaps unlikely sounding, the idea is reasonably fresh, a quality sorely lacking in currently published fantasy.
Bafflingly, though, Barlough has chosen to pastiche not Dicken's skill with description and character, but his most annoying depictions of behavioral and verbal "comic" grotesquerie -- rather than capturing the tone and feel of Dickensian storytelling, Barlough instead conjures the most horrendous bits of Nicholas Nickelby and The Pickwick Papers, eccentrics talking nonsense for pages to finish out Dickens' weekly word quota.
After fifty pages or so this gets pretty tired, but at least there's some nominally creepy Lovecraftian spookiness going on. This holds one's attention to mid-book, at which point the entire mystery is explained in thudding exposition. This recreates the worst of Lovecraft: the rare bits when he stopped to explain what hell was going on. From that point on Dark Sleeper is just silly.
Still, two stars for intent: this isn't another cynically motivated would-be bestseller. Barlough clearly loves the material he pastiches -- he just hasn't managed to pull a successful novel out of it.
Rating: 4
Summary: a real joy
Comment: Barlough is a breath of fresh air. Well written dark fanstasy and horror that is also original is a rarity but he succeeds on both accounts splendidly. The characters are marvolous and well constructed as is the background plot. His ability to mimic 19th century english is superb. It feels like you are reading a Dickens novel until Barlough hits you with the horrors that tie the story together. My only real complaint is that the book sometimes gets dragged down in the plethora of subplots but since all the charaters are interesting and thier stories compeling i didn't once object. Not quite as strong as his second outing, "House in the High Wood", but still highly recommended.
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Title: The House in the High Wood: A Story of Old Talbotshire by Jeffrey E. Barlough ISBN: 0441008410 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 07 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross ISBN: 1930846258 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Secret Life by Jeff Vandermeer, Jeffrey Ford ISBN: 1930846274 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Irresistible Forces by Jo Beverley, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mary Jo Putney, Catherine Asaro, Jennifer Roberson, Deb Stover ISBN: 0451211111 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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