kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
I had never heard of Brian Ruckley before I picked up Edinburgh Dead on impulse at the library.
Lucky impulse.
This book is very, very cool. A thriller set in 1828 Edinburgh; it follows the investigation of Sergeant (and ex-soldier) Adam Quire as he follows the trail of a mysterious murder to the home of a member of the nobility with ties to the arcane and criminals involved in stealing dead bodies.
The language is dense and descriptive. I sometimes found myself getting a bit lost in it (sometimes in a good way, once or twice in a overly-sodden way)
This passage is when Quire looks back at Edinburgh from a walk:
"The setting sun lit the western sky with a rosy wash. Sprawled between that vast, glowing canvas and the looming crags of Arthur's Seat, the city looked small, almost humble: a dark encrustation upon the land, studded with spires and a forest of chimneys."
If you're not fond of this type of prose, you will find the book's pace slow, as the author does not limit himself to descriptive pose only in the openings of scenes.
What I liked about it was the wholly believable picture of Edinburgh and that time period it painted. Quire is a moody, crusty old ex-soldier who doggedly pursues the murderer to his own peril.
The story line walks the edge of believability in terms of the arcane/magic situations Quire finds himself in, lending a nice tension.
Near the end, when Quire seemingly takes care of the bad guys in a too-swift, anti-climactic way, I was saying to myself, "what, that's it?" I was tempted to give the book only 3 or 4 stars. But Ruckley tricked me. Not only do we find out about a betrayal I hadn't realized at all, but also a much more satisfying hand-to-hand combat against the main bad guy wherein Quire completes a journey from the stolid-policeman he was at the beginning of the book to the soldier-conversant-with violence he was in the past on a Scottish moor covered in heather. Many threads tied up together (soldiering, his skills with a gun, the disappearance of corpses, the bad guy) at the end bumped this from a 4 star to a 5 star.
This Book's Snack Rating: Like sour cream and chive kettle chips for the solid heft of Edinburgh and the sour bite of human evil and violence.
Lucky impulse.
This book is very, very cool. A thriller set in 1828 Edinburgh; it follows the investigation of Sergeant (and ex-soldier) Adam Quire as he follows the trail of a mysterious murder to the home of a member of the nobility with ties to the arcane and criminals involved in stealing dead bodies.
The language is dense and descriptive. I sometimes found myself getting a bit lost in it (sometimes in a good way, once or twice in a overly-sodden way)
This passage is when Quire looks back at Edinburgh from a walk:
"The setting sun lit the western sky with a rosy wash. Sprawled between that vast, glowing canvas and the looming crags of Arthur's Seat, the city looked small, almost humble: a dark encrustation upon the land, studded with spires and a forest of chimneys."
If you're not fond of this type of prose, you will find the book's pace slow, as the author does not limit himself to descriptive pose only in the openings of scenes.
What I liked about it was the wholly believable picture of Edinburgh and that time period it painted. Quire is a moody, crusty old ex-soldier who doggedly pursues the murderer to his own peril.
The story line walks the edge of believability in terms of the arcane/magic situations Quire finds himself in, lending a nice tension.
Near the end, when Quire seemingly takes care of the bad guys in a too-swift, anti-climactic way, I was saying to myself, "what, that's it?" I was tempted to give the book only 3 or 4 stars. But Ruckley tricked me. Not only do we find out about a betrayal I hadn't realized at all, but also a much more satisfying hand-to-hand combat against the main bad guy wherein Quire completes a journey from the stolid-policeman he was at the beginning of the book to the soldier-conversant-with violence he was in the past on a Scottish moor covered in heather. Many threads tied up together (soldiering, his skills with a gun, the disappearance of corpses, the bad guy) at the end bumped this from a 4 star to a 5 star.
This Book's Snack Rating: Like sour cream and chive kettle chips for the solid heft of Edinburgh and the sour bite of human evil and violence.
csdaley's review against another edition
4.0
This book caught me early. A historical horror novel. I liked the characters and enjoyed the setting and history. I was not a big fan of Ruckley's Wintbirth series so I was Leary but I would read another story with these characters.
reanimatedreader's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a little while to get into the book before it grabbed me. The story is an interesting combination of 19th century Edinburgh & dark magic. Touching on the subject of the medical schools purchasing dead bodies from snatchers and the corruption of the police force at the time makes a colourful background.
The pace was consistent throughout and only really got going in the last chapter.
The pace was consistent throughout and only really got going in the last chapter.
tiffasaurusrex's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but a bit tedious. Loved his other series, so I am a bit disappointed.
lucija428's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
The story was okay; the descriptions of Edinburgh are what elevated the book to three stars.
titania86's review against another edition
3.0
It's the year 1828 and Edinburgh is buzzing with scientific fervor as many scientists experiment on corpses. Other, more nefarious experiments are also being conducted on the dead, unbeknownst to the public until ravaged bodies turn up in the streets. Officer Adam Quire heads the murder investigation and is determined to solving the case even though the victim is of low class. Everyone else in the newly-formed Edinburgh police force is satisfied to chalk it up as an unsolved case and not waste any more time on it. Adam wants justice done no matter the class of the victim and decides to investigate further anyway, which leads him through the lowest class to one of the highest castes in Scotland.
I liked The Edinburgh Dead as a mystery, a period piece, and a thriller. The writing style is easy to read, but more formal than usual, reflecting a slightly modernized version of the writing style of the era. I really liked the main character, Adam Quire. He had a rich back story and experienced the senselessness of war during his time serving in the Napoleonic Wars. The flashbacks to that time in his life were powerful and really captured the unpredictability and horror of war. He saw the poor and unprivileged fighting and dying for the rich and their sovereign. Because of his history, he had no tolerance for the poor being graverobbed in the name of science and constantly dismissed by the majority as unimportant. I also liked Adam's straight-forward attitude and manner. He did what needed to be done and didn't agonize or mope when things went wrong in the pursuit of doing what he believed in and what was right. He proved to be a great contrast to the villains and higher class people who only cared about status, power, money, and upward mobility.
Unfortunately, the zombie element in the novel is relatively small in the greater scheme of things. The main villain's evil sidekick manservant is a zombie, but really some sort of evil spirit possessing a dead guy. He could move from dead body to dead body for the rest of time if he wanted, making him pretty scary, but not too zombie-like. The only zombie beings were dogs that did the villain's bidding and got rid of people who proved to be a problem. They were scary, but didn't have the same effect as people turned into zombies.
The Edinburgh Dead was an enjoyable horror and mystery that incorporated a lot of disparate aspects and manages to make them all work fairly well. The change of locale to Scotland served the story well and gave the story a whole different feel than other books I have read. My only complaint was that there weren't more zombies and they did not play as big of a role in the story as I expected based on the title and the . If you are interested in a period novel about class warfare and magic, then this is for you.
I liked The Edinburgh Dead as a mystery, a period piece, and a thriller. The writing style is easy to read, but more formal than usual, reflecting a slightly modernized version of the writing style of the era. I really liked the main character, Adam Quire. He had a rich back story and experienced the senselessness of war during his time serving in the Napoleonic Wars. The flashbacks to that time in his life were powerful and really captured the unpredictability and horror of war. He saw the poor and unprivileged fighting and dying for the rich and their sovereign. Because of his history, he had no tolerance for the poor being graverobbed in the name of science and constantly dismissed by the majority as unimportant. I also liked Adam's straight-forward attitude and manner. He did what needed to be done and didn't agonize or mope when things went wrong in the pursuit of doing what he believed in and what was right. He proved to be a great contrast to the villains and higher class people who only cared about status, power, money, and upward mobility.
Unfortunately, the zombie element in the novel is relatively small in the greater scheme of things. The main villain's evil sidekick manservant is a zombie, but really some sort of evil spirit possessing a dead guy. He could move from dead body to dead body for the rest of time if he wanted, making him pretty scary, but not too zombie-like. The only zombie beings were dogs that did the villain's bidding and got rid of people who proved to be a problem. They were scary, but didn't have the same effect as people turned into zombies.
The Edinburgh Dead was an enjoyable horror and mystery that incorporated a lot of disparate aspects and manages to make them all work fairly well. The change of locale to Scotland served the story well and gave the story a whole different feel than other books I have read. My only complaint was that there weren't more zombies and they did not play as big of a role in the story as I expected based on the title and the . If you are interested in a period novel about class warfare and magic, then this is for you.
rhiancmoore's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hkar0610's review against another edition
2.0
At page 75 I decided to stop. This novel has decent bones and I would like to know the rest of the plot points, but I care very little for the main character and the writing is plagued by too much detail and not enough story.
sans's review against another edition
2.0
I have to add a zombie shelf now. Awesome. ~_~
This was quite a struggle for me to get through, not only because of the subject matter (not a zombie or horror fan on the whole), but mostly because of the writing style. The endless expositions, the constant re-wording of exactly the same plot points/ideas/conversations/descriptions, speeches from characters that didn't fit with what was going on in the book *coughKnoxcough*, random and repeated bitch-slapping the reader with "ZOMG, look you guys, you can't explain everything with Teh Science!" was just too much for me. Granted, I typically don't read horror. Like, at all. So it may be that the writing style fit perfectly with the subject. In any case, it's not my cuppa and I'm glad I don't have to pick this book up again.
This was quite a struggle for me to get through, not only because of the subject matter (not a zombie or horror fan on the whole), but mostly because of the writing style. The endless expositions, the constant re-wording of exactly the same plot points/ideas/conversations/descriptions, speeches from characters that didn't fit with what was going on in the book *coughKnoxcough*, random and repeated bitch-slapping the reader with "ZOMG, look you guys, you can't explain everything with Teh Science!" was just too much for me. Granted, I typically don't read horror. Like, at all. So it may be that the writing style fit perfectly with the subject. In any case, it's not my cuppa and I'm glad I don't have to pick this book up again.