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Title: A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January (Paperback)) by Barbara Hambly ISBN: 0-553-57526-0 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (28 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Engrossing, great mystery, I want more!
Comment: I'm a fan of Ms. Hambly's vampire work and picked up Free Man of Color because of its focus on New Orleans -- a city I recently visited and of which I've learned a bit through the work of Anne Rice. Hambly's characters from the hero/detective Benjamin Janvier to the bigoted Kaintuck American takes you back to a time when a city and society were being pushed back by forces beyond their control. On top of that you get a very solid mystery to solve. Hambly describes pre-Civil War practices and traditions in a rich and descriptive way. Her use of language in describing the architecture, smells, sounds, tastes, fashions and actions of the characters bring you right into this smelly, dirty, unfair, conflicted but fascinating society. I look forward to the sequel and learning more about New Orleans and America's history. And to watch the development of a relationship between Janvier and Shaw. And hopefully get more intricate mysteries to solve. My only problem is I think Hambly put in too many plot and character twists for one book. I wonder what's left for the sequel?
Rating: 5
Summary: Engrossing mystery, believeable setting
Comment: Reviewer: Tanja Edwards (see more about me) from Norman, OK USA
Barbara Hambly gives her readers a mystery that captures their attention and a main character that captures their sympathy. Benjamin January is in quite an unenviable position. He is a free man of color, but his status is very precarious in a society that at one time respected the rights of people like him, but as more American whites have come in, his freedom could be taken away at any moment. And with the murder of a free woman of color ruffling the feathers of both the white and colored community, Benjamin's very life could be in danger.
Ms. Hambly not only makes the mystery engrossing, she also makes the caste system engrossing. We come to understand the ins and outs of the New Orleans society Benjamin and his family and friends reside. We also understand why Benjamin both reviles it and yet cannot leave it. For better or worse, this is home. And Ms. Hambly describes it in lush detail, from the wild costumes of the colored balls to the Louisiana backwoods and swamps. You can almost feel the drumbeats the slaves are forbidden to tap out, yet do so with their voices and the rhythm of their work. I will definitely be reading more of this series.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Nation Begins,,,,,,,
Comment: It is an absolute delight to discover new authors that have multiple titles. I purchased this first book a few years before and someone borrowed it. When it was recommended to me by an academic (who loves historical fiction) I looked for it. It had been borrowed and returned. Dog eared though it was, I commenced to reading, and I haven't stopped. Barbara Hambly has me hooked. I love Benjamin January. I am at once transported to Old New Orleans. The clashing cultures of the French and the Americans. The complex lives of the blacks, whites and inbetweens fascinates. Hambly has done her homework. I am a traveler through her looking glass.
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Title: Fever Season (Benjamin January (Paperback)) by BARBARA HAMBLY ISBN: 0553575279 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 04 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January (Paperback)) by Barbara Hambly ISBN: 0553575287 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Sold Down the River (Benjamin January (Paperback)) by Barbara Hambly ISBN: 0553575295 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 29 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Die upon a Kiss by Barbara Hambly ISBN: 0553581651 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Wet Grave by Barbara Hambly ISBN: 0553581597 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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