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Title: The House in the High Wood: A Story of Old Talbotshire by Jeffrey E. Barlough ISBN: 0-441-00841-0 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 07 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: House in the High Wood
Comment: Where have all the people of the village on the lake vanished away to? One man remembers the horrific truth...
Barlough creates an astonishing--one hesitates even to call it an imitation--believably nineteenth-century gothic style in this novel, which is more horrific in theme than its similarly styled prequel. His chosen style means that Barlough sacrifices something in characterization perforce, but he manages to do a fair amount. In this second book the plot is less unwieldy than in the first, and is timed and handled gracefully. Though the style will put off some readers, I found this an enjoyable book, strikingly original in its combination of period and fantastic detail.
Rating: 5
Summary: Absorbing book, frustrating universe
Comment: Barlough's virtues have been well listed by the other reviewers. His characters are compelling and his style, often compared to a Dickens-Doyle-Lovecraft blend, is different and absobing. The world of these books, however, is a bit odd. Although sometimes described as psuedo-victorian, in fact it feels older, perhaps 18th or early 19th Century. Curiously, unless I missed it, there appears to be no gunpowder, and the cities do not have railroads or any other late 19th Century devices. And how does the "sundering," be it comet strike or something else, explain those prehistoric animals? Perhaps the next book will explain, perhaps not. In any event, these are certainly worth a look.
Rating: 4
Summary: A dark and compelling fantasy
Comment: Over the span of two novels Jeffrey Barlough has become one of my favorite writers. Barlough's strengths lie in his picturesque depictions of a world in the aftermath of a great cataclysm (that either hasn't been fully explained yet or that I have unfortunately missed) and his marvelously vivid characters. Barlough's charming characters have great names like Mr. Nicodemus Binks, Mr. Shank Bottom, Miss Cherry Ives, and Mr. Alfred Snorem.
Barlough writes with a non-traditional writing style. Both of his current novels read much like a Charles Dickens novel. But Barlough's novels have entertaining plots too. In _The House in the High Wood_, Barlough introduces the reader to the small town of Shilston Upcot, which has a dark and mysterious past. The reclusive squire, Mark Trench, sets out to uncover the hideous secrets behind the disappearance of his father many years past.
I think that a reader coming to this novel without a great deal of patience will not fully appreciate it. Barlough's story moves at a leisurely pace with frequent digressions to explain a character's backstory. One of the complaints that I heard frequently with regards to Barlough's first novel, _Dark Sleeper_, is that the plot was subsumed by Barlough's characters. Those who agree with this statement will likely find much of the same in this novel. Those of us who enjoy intriguing characters and wonderful stylistic differences will love both of Barlough's first novels.
_The House in the High Wood_ is one of my favorite fantasies of 2001. Highly recommended.
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Title: Dark Sleeper by Jeffrey E. Barlough ISBN: 0441007309 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Secret Life by Jeff Vandermeer, Jeffrey Ford ISBN: 1930846274 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Strange Cargo by Jeffrey E. Barlough ISBN: 0441011608 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 03 August, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Cities by Paul Di Filippo, China Mieville, Michael Moorcock, Geoff Ryman, Peter Crowther ISBN: 1568583044 Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross ISBN: 1930846258 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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