The Somnambulist (GOLLANCZ S.F.) - Hardcover

Barnes, Jonathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 057507941X ISBN 13: 9780575079410

Publisher: Gollancz, 2007

Synopsis

'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 wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it.'

So starts the extraordinary tale of Edward Moon, detective, his silent sidekick the Sonambulist and devilish plot to recreate the apocalyptic prophecies of William Blake and bring the British Empire crashing down.

With a gallery of vividly grotesque characters, a richly evoked setting and a playful highly literate style this is an amazingly readable literary fantasy and a brilliant debut.

About this title

Review:

"Strange, outrageous, and wonderful . There is much that is strange, magical, and darkly hilarious about this book . An original and monumentally inventive piece of work by a writer still in his 20s. Barnes seems to leave himself room for a sequel-a consummation devoutly to be wished." -- Washington Post

"Strange, outrageous, and wonderful ... There is much that is strange, magical, and darkly hilarious about this book ... An original and monumentally inventive piece of work by a writer still in his 20s. Barnes seems to leave himself room for a sequel--a consummation devoutly to be wished."--Washington Post

"Old school entertainment in the penny-dreadful tradition that almost succeeds in being as sublime as it is ridiculous."--Entertainment Weekly

"A first novel that shows all the polish and poise of a master storyteller....By turns disquieting, funny, and taunting."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Magical, dark, beautifully odd-and utterly compelling-this is an astonishing debut."--Michael Marshall, author of The Intruders

"The Somnambulist is not your great-grandfather's mystery yarn."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Anyone who loves a good, kind of creepy thriller most likely will find something to love in [these] pages.... Thoroughly enjoyable."--Kansas City Star

"This superb debut from British author Barnes raises the bar for historical thrillers."--Publishers Weekly

"A cheeky tale...salvaged from the sensationalist novels of the past three centuries....it doesn't take an English-lit wonk to appreciate the antic mind that would name two of the grotesquely deformed prostitutes in Mrs. Puggsley's brothel after virginal victims of Count Dracula."--New York Times

"[B]rilliant...Barnes crafts one of the finest first novels of the young century...Truly surprising plot twists and red herrings abound."--Austin Chronicle

Book Description:

An extraordinary tale of poetry, secret societies, travelling circuses and walking dead set in a richly realised Victorian London

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 057507941X
• ISBN 13: 9780575079410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288