The Somnambulist (GOLLANCZ S.F.) - Softcover

Jonathan Barnes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575082143 ISBN 13: 9780575082144

Publisher: Gollancz, 2008

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 Somnambulist and a 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: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0575082143
• ISBN 13: 9780575082144
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288