Dan Simmons book DROOD is a masterpiece of sorcerous historical fiction. The sorcery doesn't lie in some otherworldly supernatural changes to history, but instead lies in the astonishing historical verisimilitude that Simmons brings to his portrayal of Victorian society, Charles Dickens and his mili...
bookshelves: dickensphenalia, published-2009, victoriana, dodgy-narrator, room-101 Read in October, 2009 mp3 Unabridged and superbly read by John Lee.Dan Simmons is one cheapskate, tacky guy. I am verily outraged (hee, I do so love to be outraged from time to time) that so much time in Drood is ...
If I could, I would give this two and half stars. And now I can, thank you Booklikes! The first half of Drood was excellent. Simmons did a wonderful job of catching/drawing Collins and Dickens as well as the London of the time. The book flows extremely well. Sadly, the second half of the book...
Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my GIFTS AND GUILTY list.Regardless of how many books are alr...
The first 2/3 of this book offers up a remarkably rich and engaging narrative combined with a nice mix of historical/literary detail. I'm afraid Simmons loses this nice balance in the final act, however. The story gets deeply bogged down with odd (and seemingly irrelevant?) historical trivia, losing...
First, a warning. If you plan on reading Wilkie Collins's works, particularly The Moonstone, you may want to wait before reading this as it gives away the plots and culprits. I bought The Moonstone a few years ago after learning that Collins was the progenitor of the detective novel, and while I'm s...
Wilkie Collins as narrator of the last 15 or so years of Charles Dickens life. Some wonderful research is included to give details about both famous authors. At times the book can drag. It does go off on a Drood like tanget (I didn't care for it and had to remind myself, that is sort of the point of...
Drood is the epic story of the friendship and rivalry of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins as told from the point of view of Collins. More than that it is either the story of an encounter with the Most successful and least known serial murderer in London's history or of Collins' opium fueled decent...
A very good, rather chilling novel that has Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens as friends and rivals in Victorian London. The story covers the last five years of Dickens life, and a mystery involving a man who may or may not exist. I found it to be very interesting and compelling to read, and would ...
This is a literate romp through Victorian London but I give it a ‘meh.’ I didn’t enjoy the fictionalization of either Dickens or Collins. Yes, it was boldly imagined, but the book went on too long and the plot wandered; luckily you could skip paragraphs without missing anything crucial. In the end I...
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