The Somnambulist

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.

This book introduced me to a sub-genre of speculative fiction I have never heard of before “steampunk”. Speculative fiction is a genre that I really enjoy so it comes as no surprise that I thought this was a great read! The characters are well written, delightful and wilfully bizarre. There is a certain suspension of disbelief required to appreciate the book but I urge you to give it a go...you won't be disappointed!

I read this book primarily because it was the only one I had available while camping, and I once went hiking in the rain because it bored me so much. There were almost no redeeming characteristics about it; plot, characters, prose, al were uninteresting to me. It's the sort of book that winks at you a lot, taking pride in its own cleverness, except there is none. In short: I did not like this one bit.

This book starts out with a warning: “Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it.”

I really should have listened to it, because that's a good description. I kept reading - making it to roughly the 2/3 mark - because I kept expecting it to get better, kept expecting it to live up to the glowing blurbs on the back cover. Finally I just gave up.