It begins with a simple note. Roger Bascombe wishes to inform Celeste Temple that their engagement is forthwith terminated. But, Celeste, for all her lack of worldly experience, is determined to find out why her fiancé should have thrown her over so cruelly. Adopting a disguise, she follows her erstwhile lover to the forbidding Harschmort manor, where she discovers a world —by turns dizzyingly seductive and utterly shocking–she could never have imagined, and a conspiracy so ter... (show more)
It begins with a simple note. Roger Bascombe wishes to inform Celeste Temple that their engagement is forthwith terminated. But, Celeste, for all her lack of worldly experience, is determined to find out why her fiancé should have thrown her over so cruelly. Adopting a disguise, she follows her erstwhile lover to the forbidding Harschmort manor, where she discovers a world —by turns dizzyingly seductive and utterly shocking–she could never have imagined, and a conspiracy so terrifying as to be almost beyond belief.
Seething with danger, terror and romance, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is a mammoth work of the imagination, a deliriously readable, heartstoppingly suspenseful, and darkly erotic masterpiece of storytelling. (show less)
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The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters were my first introduction to the genre of "Steampunk Fantasy", or maybe it's the first book of that genre as i... (show more)
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters were my first introduction to the genre of "Steampunk Fantasy", or maybe it's the first book of that genre as it is certainly unlike anything I've read before. Regardless of what other reviewers have written here, I myself could not put it down; talk about downright fun escapism! Written in the style of a gaslight era seriel novel it had everything: mystery and suspense, action, sex [with a healthy dose of fetishism], shockingly evil yet somehow strangely alluring villians with plans for world domination, the burgeoning of an unlikely romance, and plenty of cliff-hanger moments. I found I really cared about the three main protoganists who join together to save themselves and the world: Miss Temple, the quintessential no-nonsense, proper lady who discovers a darker, wilder, side of herself. Cardinal Chang, the mysterious, poetry loving, and quite deadly, assassin who finds himself drawn to Miss Temple. And of course the haunted and gallant Dr. Svenson. Admittedly, there were a few somewhat slow passages but not enough to put me off and most of the book was more like a gothic rollercoaster ride through a house of toungue-in-cheek horrors. I did not read the book until the two volume paperback editions were published and when I reached the end of Volume I, I immediately went to the bookstore for volume II. This novel and it's sequel, The Dark Volume, are singlehandedly responsible for my failure to do any spring-cleaning this year! Dahlquists unique style may not be for everyone but I am hoping for a third installment! (show less)
The book starts out wonderfully, with fully realized and interesting characters, and a wonderful take on the victorian style of storytelling. Many... (show more)
The book starts out wonderfully, with fully realized and interesting characters, and a wonderful take on the victorian style of storytelling. Many reviewers complain about the overwriting, but this is really a masterful demonstration of a different style of writing than your usual pulp-fiction. The middle of the book is truly engrossing.
The premise is so promising, and interesting, that Dahlquist could have gone in almost any direction. Unfortunately, he just couldn't sustain his own creation, and around the last quarter of the book, he simply seems to give up. Instead of treating his characters with the respect they deserve, he lets the whole thing devolve into a bloodbath, for no good reason.
So very unsatisfying after such a promising beginning. And I can't believe he wrote a sequel, for god's sake! By the time I got to the last page I was absolutely relieved to be done, such a shame after I had enjoyed so much of it. Bleah. (show less)
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is certainly an unusual book for the 21st century. A strange melodramatic mixture of Jules Verne, Philip Pullman and maybe a touch of Conan Doyle, it didn’t really work for me. The author seemed happy to use 100 words where 50 would do –I felt the book could have been half the size.
You’ve by now heard the story - Celeste (Called “Miss Temple” through the book) travels from an unnamed island, presumably in the Caribbean, to a London-ish unnamed city in an... (show more)
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is certainly an unusual book for the 21st century. A strange melodramatic mixture of Jules Verne, Philip Pullman and maybe a touch of Conan Doyle, it didn’t really work for me. The author seemed happy to use 100 words where 50 would do –I felt the book could have been half the size.
You’ve by now heard the story - Celeste (Called “Miss Temple” through the book) travels from an unnamed island, presumably in the Caribbean, to a London-ish unnamed city in an un-named British-like country in an un-named Victorian-like era, meets and gets engaged to and then has her engagement broke by Roger.
A surprisingly (to both herself and her ex-fiancé) enterprising young woman, she sets out to understand why she has been unceremoniously dumped. This leads her into discovering a plot to extract the minds of the richest and most influential people in the country, storing the memories in the titular glass books. Escaping (just), she is helped two unlikely protagonists. Through many long-winded and over-described adventures, she and her companions survive, eliminating all of the plotters one way or another. Or do they? After 800 pages, we get a cliff-hanger of an ending.
Just one of the several annoying things about the book. I found the book alternately annoying and addicting. There were numerous chase and fight scenes, which were over-described and tedious. I also found the not-naming of the places very annoying. But the imaginative concept of the plot and the in-fighting of the plotters was original, as were the three heroes. And the mixture of Vernesque technology brought a mood to the book that was enjoyable. I did see some suggestion that it was like Dickens or Wilkie Collins, but I felt none of that realism they brought to their stories. This was much more Jules Verne or Philip Pullman. It was OK, but I can’t recommend it. (show less)
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Having seen many of the blurbs and reader reviews surrounding this novel I was quite eager to dive in. I consider myself an intellectual and pride myself on being better & more diversely read than anyone I know. This being said, I cannot express my profound disappoint in this work and how confounded I am that anyone came away finding a single redeeming quality in it.
I look forward to a big, complex novel that is packed with engaging, well-drawn out characters and a twisting narrative... (show more)
Having seen many of the blurbs and reader reviews surrounding this novel I was quite eager to dive in. I consider myself an intellectual and pride myself on being better & more diversely read than anyone I know. This being said, I cannot express my profound disappoint in this work and how confounded I am that anyone came away finding a single redeeming quality in it.
I look forward to a big, complex novel that is packed with engaging, well-drawn out characters and a twisting narrative & plot. This novel did not have a single character I cared about and I found myself several hundred pages into the book before anything really exciting happened. Far from the "roller-coaster ride" one of the novel's reviews professed. At best, the story resembled Kubrick's creepy film, "Eyes Wide Shut". At worst, this debut work by Gordon Dahlquist was annoyingly overwritten, poorly edited and rambled on senselessly much of the time. At this point, I do not even think a film adaptation could make this work interesting.
Unless you are ready to invest several weeks into poring through this 800 page novel - with little pay-off - then skip it entirely. You'll thank me - I promise! (show less)
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