Jill

The Somnambulist follows the adventures of Edward Moon, magician and detective, and his partner, the mute Somnambulist, as they attempt to solve a series of mysteries in Victorian London. [return][return]The book has its good points. I enjoyed the dark sense of humor in which it is narrated. Barnes effectively conveys the feel of a grim turn-of-the-century London. Many characters were in some way bizarre and unlikable, and I found them all the more interesting for it. Overall, I liked the tone and the writing. [return][return]I enjoyed the first part of the book much more than the ending, which seemed to fall apart, as if the author had lost his way. Once we discover the identity of the narrator, the plot becomes convoluted. A disappointment in a book that began promisingly. [return][return]Promotional materials liken this book to Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman. I didn't find that to be the case, although The Somnambulist features two characters who could be taken for pale imitations of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar from Gaiman's Neverwhere. Read Neverwhere for the vastly superior versions.

So much fun!

There are many things I enjoyed about Reamde. The first half was well-paced and fun, with a focus on tracking of the virus named Reamde and it's creators. Unfortunately the last half or so turned into mainly an action story. It wasn't bad exactly... but very long-winded. A little extra editing would have gone a long way here. I began reading this in print, but soon switched to audiobook. Towards the end, I was counting down the tracks, anxious to move on to something else. There was a great deal of running around outdoors with guns. Also, there were guns. And more guns. Guns, guns, guns. And hey did you notice... GUNS! It gets old.

Speaking of the audiobook though, it was narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner, who did a spectacular job. Many of the characters are not native English speakers, and he did such a wonderful job giving each character a unique voice, many with accents. I usually prefer reading in print, and find different voices distracting or even annoying. Not so here.

It was interesting to me to read some of the other reviews which point out racism and sexism present in this book. I see the racism angle, with Muslims pitted against red-blooded Americans (though that's a VERY simplified version of the plot), but didn't get the sexism at all. On the contrary, probably my favorite thing about the book was the three main female characters. Each had a distinct, strong personality, and none of them filled the classic girlfriend/sidekick role (let's forget the epilogue–really, let's forget it). I was pleased with seeing these characters, especially in a tech and firearms sort of thriller.

This was my first book by Neal Stephenson, and I did like it well enough to read some of his other work. Despite my criticisms, it was a good read overall.

I read this for a class, and while I enjoyed it in that context, I wouldn't recommend it for pleasure reading. It was written in the late 1800s and very popular in its time, but it feels dated now. Really intended as a utopian political piece, Bellamy added a romance to appeal to a wider audience (it felt creepy to me). The main political part of the novel is not as dated–in that Bellamy addresses many issues we are still facing in society today. Bellamy gained many followers after the publication of this book, and they tried to implement some of his plans. It's easy to see why they found his vision appealing–his ideas are thoughtful and detailed, and for the most part, his story does depict a better place.

This volume is largely set up for things to come, and is a step back after the events of Vol. 17. Four stars earned by the character of Negan, the best villian in this series since The Governor.