A review by jsimpson
Vellum: The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan

3.0

I don't have too much to add from what the reviewers have already said on this. I read this a few months ago, and did thoroughly enjoy and appreciate it, especially seeing as how it was Hal Duncan's first novel. I think, however, that he was a bit ambitious in scope, bit off more than he could chew. There's like 5 plots going on, winding through a myriad of alternate universes, which makes for a rather disorienting read. It was hard work at time, but i stuck through, mainly because i am obsessed with the topics Duncan was writing about. Angels, Qaballah, the nature of reality, ancient Babylon (kind of a neat take on the Ishtar myth, in there), archetypes, mixed in with some futuristic Sci-Fi stuff. An ambitious project, and he succeeded rather admirably. I also found out about some other really cool Fabulist writers via Hal Duncan, namely Jeff VanDermeer and Italo Calvino, both of whom i would recommend and i will review more later, as the time becomes available. I recommend this read for fans of weirdo speculative fiction/fantasy/horror, for fans of ambitious experimental art and would rather see someone take risks than to play it safe.