A review by richardpierce
Greaveburn by Craig Hallam
4.0
There were a number of reasons I loved Greaveburn. It took me into an imaginary world that was entirely believable. It is so visual that I can imagine it being turned into a film or a 3-part BBC drama, sumptuously produced. It introduced be to a cast of different characters, each so well drawn that I had no problem visualising them. And it had a flawed hero, flawed not just physically, but psychologically, too. Add to that a narrative that kept me turning the pages, and you've got an almost perfect book.
I say almost perfect advisedly, because, as a writer, reviewing books by other writers is not easy, as it's almost impossible to switch off the writer part of me and to become only a reader. There was the odd word here and there which seemed out of place, but nothing significant. And certainly nothing to stop Greaveburn being an all-enveloping, all-consuming experience.
Elsewhere I have likened it to Ghormenghast, but not in a derivative sense. It has that perfectly-built world that all good fantasy books should have, a self-contained universe which makes sense, and where all threads are combined into a rich tapestry of story. It's a book written by someone who can tell stories, a born story-teller, because that's what good novlists are - story-tellerswho write their stories down rather than relying on the memory of others to replicate them.
I do hope there is a sequel, or at least another story to come out of the fantastic creation that the city of Greaveburn is. Craig Hallam is a talent who deserves to cross over into the mainstream and have significant commercial success.
I say almost perfect advisedly, because, as a writer, reviewing books by other writers is not easy, as it's almost impossible to switch off the writer part of me and to become only a reader. There was the odd word here and there which seemed out of place, but nothing significant. And certainly nothing to stop Greaveburn being an all-enveloping, all-consuming experience.
Elsewhere I have likened it to Ghormenghast, but not in a derivative sense. It has that perfectly-built world that all good fantasy books should have, a self-contained universe which makes sense, and where all threads are combined into a rich tapestry of story. It's a book written by someone who can tell stories, a born story-teller, because that's what good novlists are - story-tellerswho write their stories down rather than relying on the memory of others to replicate them.
I do hope there is a sequel, or at least another story to come out of the fantastic creation that the city of Greaveburn is. Craig Hallam is a talent who deserves to cross over into the mainstream and have significant commercial success.