shelbymarie32's review
4.0
If you take Watson from Sherlock Holmes, combine it with with the show Fringe, and sprinkle in a hint of Lovecraft you get this novel. This is a hard novel to explain but I loved it.
The writing is well done. I loved the use of Victorian terms, I had to look most of them up, it made the setting feel more authentic. It made getting in to the story easier and more interesting.
The characters were also well done. They felt like real people that could have existed. They had their own distinct voices too. The main character, John Hardwick, was very flawed and cleverly so. He was flawed in a very likable way, a related way. He reminded me of John Watson from Sherlock Holmes. Although he had Holmes addictions. The fact that the addiction was forced on him made his character even more interesting. You read about characters choosing to do a drug and getting addicted but he did not choose to take opium. It was forced upon him and now he has to struggle with over coming the urges.
This book was full of twist, subtle but addicting twists. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, I hope it does. The plot was intriguing from the very start and got better and better as it went along. One of my favorite parts was when they were trying to explain the concept of a parallel world in Victorian terms/language. The writing was also very good. It flowed well and never felt difficult to read.
Over all this was just a wonderful book. I liked everything about it, and i can't think of a single thing I disliked. Also this book falls in to my guilty pleasure reads. Any book set in Victorian era, with a mystery are addicting for me. And throw in supernatural elements even better. But a parallel world is like adding five cherries on top. I highly recommend this book. And I very much look forward to the next book!
The writing is well done. I loved the use of Victorian terms, I had to look most of them up, it made the setting feel more authentic. It made getting in to the story easier and more interesting.
The characters were also well done. They felt like real people that could have existed. They had their own distinct voices too. The main character, John Hardwick, was very flawed and cleverly so. He was flawed in a very likable way, a related way. He reminded me of John Watson from Sherlock Holmes. Although he had Holmes addictions. The fact that the addiction was forced on him made his character even more interesting. You read about characters choosing to do a drug and getting addicted but he did not choose to take opium. It was forced upon him and now he has to struggle with over coming the urges.
This book was full of twist, subtle but addicting twists. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, I hope it does. The plot was intriguing from the very start and got better and better as it went along. One of my favorite parts was when they were trying to explain the concept of a parallel world in Victorian terms/language. The writing was also very good. It flowed well and never felt difficult to read.
Over all this was just a wonderful book. I liked everything about it, and i can't think of a single thing I disliked. Also this book falls in to my guilty pleasure reads. Any book set in Victorian era, with a mystery are addicting for me. And throw in supernatural elements even better. But a parallel world is like adding five cherries on top. I highly recommend this book. And I very much look forward to the next book!
nonsensetwice's review
4.0
This was an interesting read. When I picked it up, I had in mind that it would be rather steampunkish. It is not. There are allusions to steampunk, but they are few. Latham captures the main character pretty well. This is the first book I’ve read where I’ve gotten a pretty good sense of the idea of an anti-hero. The main character left a bad taste in my mouth all through the end. While I can empathize with him, I don’t like him. That’s all I’ll say so as not to spoil anything else regarding the book. I gave it four stars, because it was wordy, but otherwise very good.
lucy_anywhere's review
Bored - felt like I'd read many books like it that were much better.
blodeuedd's review
3.0
This started with John returning from Burma. A former solider suffering from PTSD since he had been tortured and was no addicted to opium. Yeah, it was not good to be John.
The setting was Victorian London. A very nice setting for a mystery if I may add.
And the story is about John getting a new job, a case to work and sets out to solve a mystery.
A nice normal historical mystery.
Paranormal things going on you say? Poppycock. John seconds that.
*read a bit more* Right, I should have trusted that blurb. Balderdash. No, this Victorian mystery just turned weird. And by weird I mean weeeird. There is more things under the heavens than you and I know. John gets beaten, finds an unknown world. Meets new friends, and that mystery is a slippery one. He does question everything and even I turned whaat? another time- Sure threw me a surprise there.
So it is a paranormal mystery, and there is an ending. One crisis is averted, but more seems to be coming. Victorian London is not safe.
The setting was Victorian London. A very nice setting for a mystery if I may add.
And the story is about John getting a new job, a case to work and sets out to solve a mystery.
A nice normal historical mystery.
Paranormal things going on you say? Poppycock. John seconds that.
*read a bit more* Right, I should have trusted that blurb. Balderdash. No, this Victorian mystery just turned weird. And by weird I mean weeeird. There is more things under the heavens than you and I know. John gets beaten, finds an unknown world. Meets new friends, and that mystery is a slippery one. He does question everything and even I turned whaat? another time- Sure threw me a surprise there.
So it is a paranormal mystery, and there is an ending. One crisis is averted, but more seems to be coming. Victorian London is not safe.
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