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Title: Shadows of Glory by Owen Parry ISBN: 0-380-82087-0 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 04 September, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.54 (26 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: So-So Sophmore Story
Comment: Parry's Civil War mystery series continues with this second volume (after Faded Coat of Blue), which once again has Union Army officer Abel Jones investigating murder most foul. The Welshman is a meticulously honest and scrupulous officer (bordering on the priggish), who has been enlisted in the Union's secret service. Here he is sent by Secretary of State William Seward to the far north of New York's Finger Lakes district to find out who killed a Union spy there, and if there's an Irish rebellion brewing. Soon he finds himself highly distracted by an Irish "spiritualist" woman who claims to see spirits hovering around Jones. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of supernaturalism, and it detracts from the gritty authenticity Parry labors so hard to construct in other ways.
Similarly, although he again does a nice job of creating some well-developed supporting characters, such as a local sheriff, a jittery preacher, and a very smart black coachman, Parry also falls into that most regrettable trap of the historical novelist-unnecessarily turning real life historical personages into supporting players in his tale. The military and political figures who pop up in the first book are all there in service of the story, but here we meet Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony. Douglas plays a particularly large role, and there's no real need for him to be so involved in the plot, as opposed to a more anonymous character. Another ill-advised device is the use of letters from Jones' friend Mick Tyrone, who is assigned to Gen. Grant's medical corps. Through these, Parry tries to hammer home the point that while Jones rides around the winter wonderland of New York, there is a gruesome, horrific war on elsewhere. Tyrone's letters are full of all the gory details-lest Jones forget why he's spying.
I loved the first book in this series, but I'm afraid I didn't care that much for this one. Aside from the three flaws above (and I do recognize that others may not consider them flaws), this book had very little suspense or pace compared to Faded Coat of Blue. It's altogether much more concerned with moodiness and inner turmoil than it is with the actual mystery. Things play out achingly slowly until the very end, when a very intriguing plot is finally revealed. Told from Jones' perspective, the language is once again rich and full of the Welshman's idiom, cadence, and prejudices. His story continues in Call Each River Jordan, Honor's Kingdom, Bold Sons of Erin and further to come).
Rating: 5
Summary: Parry Does it Again
Comment: Like with the first book (Faded Coat of Blue, Owen Parry manges to present a reasonable picture of what civil war America could have been like. It is as close as any or us are likely to get without a time machine. This time the action takes place in up state New York. A rebellion of the Irish is suspected and two agents have already been killed before Able Jones even arrives. Parry introduces historical figures we have read about in a lively and interesting way. He sneaks in history lessons painlessly. This would be useful in a high school setting. Some reviewers complain about the pace, but I believe it is appropriate to the time and place described. This is a series well worth investigating.
Rating: 1
Summary: LIFELESS
Comment: Okay, Owen Parry certainly knows his Civil War history. And even though I enjoyed his first novel, "Faded Coat of Blue," I could not get interested in this novel, so unfortunately, I abandoned it mid-way through. Why? In spite of the marvelous character of Abel Jones, there was no suspense in the first half, nothing to really reach out and grab me, make me want to find out anything, because up to this point, the mystery has been so secondary. Page after page of musings and elaborately drawn scenarios, but no real focusing on plot. Characters and situations are introduced and then left unattended. I'm sure somewhere in the book, we find out a little more about the victims, but sorry guys I couldn't keep from snoring on this one!
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Title: Honor's Kingdom by Owen Parry ISBN: 006051079X Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 29 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Bold Sons of Erin : A Novel of Suspense by Owen Parry ISBN: 006051390X Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 14 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Our Simple Gifts : Civil War Christmas Tales by Owen Parry ISBN: 0060013788 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 22 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Murder at Manassas: A Harrison Raines Civil War Mystery by Michael Kilian ISBN: 0425177432 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 07 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Ironclad Alibi: A Harrison Raines Civil War Mystery by Michael Kilian ISBN: 042518823X Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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