tinywife's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
jojojgb's review against another edition
1.0
I didn’t really like anything about this book. It was too long, too dull, and there wasn’t enough intrigue to make it interesting. Also, the pacing was very uneven. There were essentially 3 stories happening at once: Pinkerton in London, Foole in London, and Shade in the Civil War. I didn’t think the differing plot lines ever really came together in a meaningful way. And the whole story left tons of questions unanswered for me. Luckily I disliked the book enough I don’t care what the answers might be.
Also, too much description of fog. We get it.
Also, too much description of fog. We get it.
koz108's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoy descriptive writing. I really do. And this book had lovely descriptions of Victorian London and Civil War America but it was slow. So slow. And I really can't stand it when authors don't use quotation marks. What's wrong with quotation marks?!
phattmatt's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sound and fury but a very pretty sound
llynn66's review against another edition
4.0
By Gaslight may have already claimed the prize as 'my favorite historical fiction book read in 2017'. The year, however, is young. I reserve the right to enjoy another title even more later in the year and to revise my opinion. But, in this elegant and rather epic saga of a man hunt that spans post Civil War America, the Victorian London demi monde and the far flung shores of South Africa, Steven Price has entered a superior offering into the mix.
By Gaslight weaves together the real life character of William Pinkerton (son of famed 19th century detective Allen Pinkerton, of the eponymous detective agency) and the fictional character of Adam Foole, also know as Edward Shade. Adam Foole is a skilled professional thief and member of London's 'flash world' of criminals. Once upon a time he was Edward Shade, an orphaned boy of mixed heritage who became caught up in the American Civil War. Before that he was another boy altogether...a boy without a home or family and with a birth name he has shed more than once. Foole has survived through cunning and criminal skill. Yet, as a boy, he had worked for Allen Pinkerton, embarking on a harrowing piece of espionage behind Confederate lines. Pinkerton senior had taken note of Edward Shade's street urchin skills and groomed the boy to work as an operative.
Edward Shade, before he vanished, became another son to Allen Pinkerton...a son not through birth but through the relationships that are forged by battle. Pinkerton senior grew obsessed with the fate of Shade and this mystery clouded his later years. The ''shadow" of this Shade also left a mark on the relationship between Pinkerton and his eldest son, William. After the great detective dies, William, himself, becomes compelled to look for Shade and to learn what his father failed to uncover about the man who may only have existed in myth.
William's quest takes him to the sooty, choleric and dangerous world of London's criminal class in search of the enigmatic boy, Edward Shade, who vanished after the war.
Meanwhile we take in much of the story through the viewpoint of Adam Foole. Foole's life has been one of both misery and splendor. His is a tale of adventure in love (with a female con artist named Charlotte Reckett) and war. I remain unsure as to whether the author intended Pinkerton or Foole to be the main protagonist. Pinkerton certainly would be the traditional choice. He represents the long arm of the law, traversing two continents to learn the truth about his father's complex relationship with a man who may be only a ghost. Yet Pinkerton's character is more difficult to warm to. He is the emotionally reserved and rough detective character we often find in crime fiction. Foole is more vibrant. At times he is a tragic soul, at times a romantic figure, at times nothing more than a slick con man. I rooted for Foole at every turn.
In the final analysis, I believe that both characters share the vital role of protagonist (I was too invested in Foole to view him antagonistically) and that they had a symbiotic relationship in the story. The motivations of one could not be fed without the actions of the other.
By Gaslight is a lush and descriptive work of bravura fiction. The cover art is such that the book screamed 'Read Me!' when I pulled it off the shelf. I compare it to another book I loved twenty years ago..."The Alienist" by Caleb Carr. I do not feel that the design of this book was accidental. In my opinion, readers who enjoyed The Alienist would also be pleased with By Gaslight. -- Finally, readers should note two things: First, this book is long. It is over 700 pages. I often read reviews of door stoppers like this one and find that the reviewer spends paragraphs complaining about how long the book was. I always wonder what they thought they were getting into when they chose the book in the first place! (It feels like me taking an ill advised trip to H&M, selecting a pair of size 4 skinny jeans, purchasing them, and then going home and writing a nasty email to the company about how the jeans were 'too small'. Only the inverse.)
Secondly, several reviewers have pointed out an anomaly in style that was used in this book, to the distraction of some and the downright irritation of others. This was the choice the editors made in not enclosing character dialogue in quotation marks. Many readers found this to be unnecessarily confusing and also a hindrance to their enjoyment of the book. Although I was able to get into the flow of the narrative and get past this stylistic oddity, I do feel like it is a valid complaint. And I wonder if more books will get this treatment, in the future, as we continue to move more toward 'text speak' in our writing. I suppose I am enough of a fuddy duddy to hope that this will not be the case.
That is a small issue in a wonderful larger confection of deft writing.
By Gaslight weaves together the real life character of William Pinkerton (son of famed 19th century detective Allen Pinkerton, of the eponymous detective agency) and the fictional character of Adam Foole, also know as Edward Shade. Adam Foole is a skilled professional thief and member of London's 'flash world' of criminals. Once upon a time he was Edward Shade, an orphaned boy of mixed heritage who became caught up in the American Civil War. Before that he was another boy altogether...a boy without a home or family and with a birth name he has shed more than once. Foole has survived through cunning and criminal skill. Yet, as a boy, he had worked for Allen Pinkerton, embarking on a harrowing piece of espionage behind Confederate lines. Pinkerton senior had taken note of Edward Shade's street urchin skills and groomed the boy to work as an operative.
Edward Shade, before he vanished, became another son to Allen Pinkerton...a son not through birth but through the relationships that are forged by battle. Pinkerton senior grew obsessed with the fate of Shade and this mystery clouded his later years. The ''shadow" of this Shade also left a mark on the relationship between Pinkerton and his eldest son, William. After the great detective dies, William, himself, becomes compelled to look for Shade and to learn what his father failed to uncover about the man who may only have existed in myth.
William's quest takes him to the sooty, choleric and dangerous world of London's criminal class in search of the enigmatic boy, Edward Shade, who vanished after the war.
Meanwhile we take in much of the story through the viewpoint of Adam Foole. Foole's life has been one of both misery and splendor. His is a tale of adventure in love (with a female con artist named Charlotte Reckett) and war. I remain unsure as to whether the author intended Pinkerton or Foole to be the main protagonist. Pinkerton certainly would be the traditional choice. He represents the long arm of the law, traversing two continents to learn the truth about his father's complex relationship with a man who may be only a ghost. Yet Pinkerton's character is more difficult to warm to. He is the emotionally reserved and rough detective character we often find in crime fiction. Foole is more vibrant. At times he is a tragic soul, at times a romantic figure, at times nothing more than a slick con man. I rooted for Foole at every turn.
In the final analysis, I believe that both characters share the vital role of protagonist (I was too invested in Foole to view him antagonistically) and that they had a symbiotic relationship in the story. The motivations of one could not be fed without the actions of the other.
By Gaslight is a lush and descriptive work of bravura fiction. The cover art is such that the book screamed 'Read Me!' when I pulled it off the shelf. I compare it to another book I loved twenty years ago..."The Alienist" by Caleb Carr. I do not feel that the design of this book was accidental. In my opinion, readers who enjoyed The Alienist would also be pleased with By Gaslight. -- Finally, readers should note two things: First, this book is long. It is over 700 pages. I often read reviews of door stoppers like this one and find that the reviewer spends paragraphs complaining about how long the book was. I always wonder what they thought they were getting into when they chose the book in the first place! (It feels like me taking an ill advised trip to H&M, selecting a pair of size 4 skinny jeans, purchasing them, and then going home and writing a nasty email to the company about how the jeans were 'too small'. Only the inverse.)
Secondly, several reviewers have pointed out an anomaly in style that was used in this book, to the distraction of some and the downright irritation of others. This was the choice the editors made in not enclosing character dialogue in quotation marks. Many readers found this to be unnecessarily confusing and also a hindrance to their enjoyment of the book. Although I was able to get into the flow of the narrative and get past this stylistic oddity, I do feel like it is a valid complaint. And I wonder if more books will get this treatment, in the future, as we continue to move more toward 'text speak' in our writing. I suppose I am enough of a fuddy duddy to hope that this will not be the case.
That is a small issue in a wonderful larger confection of deft writing.
snixo048's review against another edition
4.0
This book was an epic with so many little genre vignettes that I couldn't put it down. The story kept me engaged despite meandering across three continents and over 50 years. The two main characters play off each other beautifully and are wonderfully complex. Also, this book had my favourite short sentence of 2016: "He brooded." This book did brooding perfectly.
velocitygirl14's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't quite sure if I'd like this book, since I was sort of overdosed on mysteries. The historical premise intrigued me as well as the cover. So I took a chance and really enjoyed the story, which is told in parallels and balanced between two people with complicated relationships and deep, painful secrets. It's not a straight forward mystery.
Maybe it's not even a mystery at all, but a story about unspoken truths and perceptions.
Great book, moves well and is full of great historical tidbits. Well done.
Maybe it's not even a mystery at all, but a story about unspoken truths and perceptions.
Great book, moves well and is full of great historical tidbits. Well done.
davidwemyers's review against another edition
4.0
Whew...
This one is a doorstop, weighing in at a hefty 731 pages. It's a sort of noir mystery set in Victorian London which will probably sell tons of copies due to it's awesomely spooky cover.
The good: Price is a published poet, and it shows. His prose is lyrical, and you'll definitely expand your vocabulary a bit if you read it with a dictionary next to you. There are fairly interesting layers of moral ambiguity, in fact the theoretical protagonist comes off markedly less sympathetic than the antagonist. Price gives enough a of a sense of the inner lives of his characters for them to be understandable.
The bad: The plot has issues. Nothing I'd call a deal breaker, but at least two noticeably unlikely coincidences without which the whole narrative falls apart. They're not the end of the world for a book of this length, but they did leave me feeling a bit annoyed when I finally closed it. Also it shows it's length in parts. There are one or two subplots which are well written but go nowhere of interest - at least one was clearly added just give Price a big setpiece in the London sewers.
Ultimately, the nice part about this book is that if you like the first 50 pages or so, you'll like it until the end. Price's writing and gift for period detail is strong start to finish, and that was enough to keep me engaged the whole time. If you read for a couple hours and you're indifferent, I wouldn't recommend finishing it, the story itself is probably the weakest part.
This one is a doorstop, weighing in at a hefty 731 pages. It's a sort of noir mystery set in Victorian London which will probably sell tons of copies due to it's awesomely spooky cover.
The good: Price is a published poet, and it shows. His prose is lyrical, and you'll definitely expand your vocabulary a bit if you read it with a dictionary next to you. There are fairly interesting layers of moral ambiguity, in fact the theoretical protagonist comes off markedly less sympathetic than the antagonist. Price gives enough a of a sense of the inner lives of his characters for them to be understandable.
The bad: The plot has issues. Nothing I'd call a deal breaker, but at least two noticeably unlikely coincidences without which the whole narrative falls apart. They're not the end of the world for a book of this length, but they did leave me feeling a bit annoyed when I finally closed it. Also it shows it's length in parts. There are one or two subplots which are well written but go nowhere of interest - at least one was clearly added just give Price a big setpiece in the London sewers.
Ultimately, the nice part about this book is that if you like the first 50 pages or so, you'll like it until the end. Price's writing and gift for period detail is strong start to finish, and that was enough to keep me engaged the whole time. If you read for a couple hours and you're indifferent, I wouldn't recommend finishing it, the story itself is probably the weakest part.