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The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
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The Somnambulist (2007)

by Jonathan Barnes

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1,0611097,161 (3.28)135
Recently added byruthiekro, CadyM, ecurb, katiesh96, kindlin
2008 (12) ARC (16) British (12) detective (27) Early Reviewers (18) Edwardian (10) England (32) fantasy (133) fiction (172) gothic (9) hardcover (13) historical (19) historical fiction (34) horror (9) library (8) London (51) magic (26) magicians (16) murder (14) mystery (105) novel (19) read (19) read in 2008 (13) science fiction (10) steampunk (44) supernatural (10) to-read (27) unread (28) unreliable narrator (9) Victorian (44)
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    The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (fyrefly98)
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    The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (chilirlw)
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    The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque by Jeffrey Ford (Geenyas)
    Geenyas: "Portrait of Mrs Charbuque" is the story of a society portrait painter in the American "Gilded Age" who is hired by the mysterious Mrs. Charbuque for a fabulous sum -- but only if he can accurately portray her without ever seeing her face. It has the same sort of "fantastical", magical-realism approach as [The Somnambulist] with less violence but every bit as many plot twists, turns, and surprises.… (more)
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    The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (rbtanger)
    rbtanger: Similar in atmosphere and incidental details; there are also several character overlaps, especially of the side-show sort.
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English (106)  German (2)  All languages (108)
Showing 1-5 of 106 (next | show all)
When I read the "If you liked these , you will love The Somnambulist" list that Borders put together, I decided that Jonathan Barnes' debut would have to land on my "favorites" list. It was compared to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Neverwhere, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and The Prestige, some of my most favorite things ever. It was probably a mistake going into it with such high expectations, because although it was an excellent book, I felt disappointed after I turned the last page.

This Victorian-era book is about a stage magician who also solves crimes for the police. He is a sort of Sherlock Holmes type, using his powers of ratiocination to untangle the threads that the police stumble over. The title refers to his assistant (both on stage and in his crime solving), a giant who doesn't speak. They start off investigating the deaths of two men, and uncover an entire plot against the city of London. It's slightly satirical of other books in the genre, in a very subtle way. And it's bizarre. It just gets weirder and weirder and it ends on an ambiguous note that left me wondering if I was satisfied or not. It was certainly an awesomely fun ride, but was it a great book? I can't decide.

Its ambiguity was a plus for it, in some ways. Barnes did a very good job of not spelling everything out, and instead left some things to the imagination. The main character had some tragic incident in the last case he took on, and although it's referred to many times, it's never explained what happened. He never explains where the Somnambulist came from (he just showed up at the main character's door one night), or why he doesn't speak. There's a shadowy government group involved that never gets a full explanation. It lends an extra air of mystery to the already-mysterious plot.

One thing I didn't understand was the title - both the reason for naming the character and for naming the book after him. There's only one throw-away line that mentions that he sleepwalks, and his sleepwalking never plays any part in the plot. It's a cool name, sure, but it doesn't serve any purpose.

I'd probably feel better about it if I hadn't expected it to be my newest favorite book. I certainly recommend it to people looking for something fun to read. ( )
  BrookeAshley | May 7, 2013 |
I am not sure how to describe this novel--a Victorian era mystery/fantasy maybe? Edward Moon, a conjurist/detective, is called upon to solve the bizarre murder of a actor. His partner, a mute giant called the Somnambulist, comes along for the ride. It is sometimes funny, sometimes violent and sometimes very confusing. I liked the story but be warned: if you like your stories to be neatly wrapped up, you aren't going to like this one. I felt that there were a lot of loose ends. The author does introduce Hawker and Boon, characters that reappear in his second book, The Domino Men. Even with a few shortcomings, this was a very good book.
  walterqchocobo | Apr 8, 2013 |
Really, probably 3.5 stars, but it was good enough for me to round it up instead of down.

The Somnambulist features Edward Moon, a conjurer most easily compared to Sherlock Holmes, but with a freakish twist. His Watson is an 8-foot-tall mute man named--can you guess?--The Somnambulist. The pair are asked to investigate a bizarre murder in the seamier part of London at the beginning of the novel. Within pages, they have solved the murder. Or have they?

This was a quick, enjoyable read. The characters may have seemed a little like stock characters at first, but they almost always turned out to be something other than they appeared. The plot was well-paced and, for me anyway, the mystery was pretty unpredictable. But, be warned. I picked this up thinking that it might be like The Alienist but set in London with a few sideshow freaks. It starts out that way, but by the end, the book wanders into solid fantasy. That wasn't a problem for me because I am a huge fan of fantasy, but I know that's not the case for a lot of mystery fans. But it did go a little over the top for me, which is part of why it's 3.5 stars instead of 4.5. Also, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. I like to have everything pretty tidily resolved at the end. I can't even figure out why the book is titled The Somnambulist instead of The Conjurer except that it sounds cooler.

If nothing else, read the first chapter of this book. It's only about a page long. Read it while you're browsing the bookstore or the library. This was the best first chapter I've read in a long time. Here's the first paragraph: "Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it." I was solidly hooked after reading it, and you may find that you are too. ( )
  JG_IntrovertedReader | Apr 3, 2013 |
So, imagine that a magician/private detective, a time-traveler, a medium, a medium-debunker, a Scotland Yard inspector, a housekeeper, a bearded-lady of the evening, a shadowy government organization, a company called Love, a sinister "Oriental", a sideshow freak, a corpulent prisoner, a corrupt gaoler, two schoolboy hit-men, two vengeful mothers, the animated corpse of a famous poet, and a mysterious mute giant with a milk-drinking habit all run into each other in post-Victorian London, and then there is a Plot.

The more you've read in the genre, the more fun it is, but it's not annoyingly winky like those [author:Jasper Fforde] things. ( )
  JenneB | Apr 2, 2013 |
I enjoyed this story. It has a few interesting twists and some surprising characters. ( )
  malrubius | Apr 2, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 106 (next | show all)
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Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre.
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Book description
FROM THE EARLY REVIEW LIST DESCRIPTION:
A fabulous first novel about a stage magician trying to stop a sorcerous uprising in turn-of-the-century London, in the vein of bestselling works by Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman.

The Somnabulist follows the extraordinary tale of Edward Moon, stage magician and detective, and his silent sidekick the Somnambulist. A bizarre series of murders unsettles turn-of-the-century London, but as Moon begins to investigate, he realizes it is only the beginning: nourished by blood and poetry, an eerie uprising grows among the very roots of the city.

With a gallery of vividly grotesque characters, a richly evoked setting and a highly literary and playful style, this is an amazingly addictive, brilliant debut novel from an author with a great voice and huge potential.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0575079428, Paperback)

'Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it.' So starts the extraordinary tale of Edward Moon, detective, his silent associate the Sonambulist and devilish plot to recreate the apocalyptic prophecies of William Blake and bring the British Empire crashing down. With a gallery of vividly grotesque characters, a richly evoked setting and a playful highly literate style this is an amazingly readable literary fantasy and a brilliant debut.

(retrieved from Amazon Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:44:37 -0500)

(see all 5 descriptions)

A tale set in Victorian London introduces the characters of a stage magician and detective and his silent sidekick, whose fiendish plot to re-create the apocalyptic prophecies of Samuel Taylor Coleridge threaten the British Empire.

» see all 4 descriptions

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