≫ Libro Gratis The Domino Men Gollancz Jonathan Barnes 9780575082304 Books

The Domino Men Gollancz Jonathan Barnes 9780575082304 Books

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The Domino Men Gollancz Jonathan Barnes 9780575082304 Books

This book was supplied to me as part of the Amazon Vine program.

I loved this book. I read it really quickly, never once getting bored of the story. Confused - yes, bored, no.

The story is definitely odd. A mix of magic and modern government black agencies. And the end is a definitely odd twist.

if you like spy novels and magic, you should love this book. Give it a try.


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The Domino Men Gollancz Jonathan Barnes 9780575082304 Books Reviews

This is one of the most intensely irritating novels I've ever read completely through. I finished it, even while gritting my teeth because the author is inventive, witty, and adept at getting his readers to believe in the most astonishing scenarios, e.g. Queen Victoria sacrificing London's future inhabitants in order to keep her descendents on the throne. It irritated me because the author treats his main characters with a casual cruelty, the book ends smugly rather than cathartically, and foreshadowing is way overused--an annoying literary technique even in small doses.

Whether or not you will enjoy this fantasy depends on why you read this genre in the first place. This is a list of items that I found disappointing

**************SPOILER ALERT*************************

* The hero, Henry Lamb is a likeable but bumbling London file clerk. He loves his grandfather, is loyal to his unlovable mother, and is hopelessly enamoured of his young, pretty landlady. He is dumped into the secret war between the House of Windsor and the Directorate (supposedly the defenders of London) and is soon way over his head in mayhem and sinister childhood reminiscences. I was cheering for him both in his love life and in his fight against the evil, remorseless supermen that dominate both sides of the war. But through the latter part of the book, the author is busy sneering at Henry, using the third-person omniscient voice. Then he crucifies Henry at the end of the book. I ended up with the feeling that the author was laughing at his readers--setting us up to take a fall along with the hapless, sacrificial Lamb.

* Speaking of unlovable mothers, Queen Elizabeth II and her relationship with the heir-apparent is depicted with absolute savagery. Only one woman comes off with dignity in this book, and she suffers a ghastly death.

* This book couldn't decide whether it was a fantasy or a Swiftian satire on the swinish human condition. It was an unsettling mixture.

If you enjoyed "Gulliver's Travels," are anti-Royalist, and sneer at happy endings as the stuff of mass market, Robert-Jordan-type fantasies, you might actually like "The Domino Men." I was force-fed Swift and hated every minute of it, am a closet-Royalist, and demand some sort of catharsis at the end of my fantasies, so this book was not for me.
This book is not for everyone, but if strange characters and odd circumstances might interest you this book and author is a find.
A well written sequel. Barnes is a fine storyteller. The repeated characters are of great interest. Asolid read and good time.
After reading Barnes' _The Somnambulist_, I gave _The Domino Men_ a read. While initially I was impressed with Barnes' command of English in his debut novel, I was disappointed with his latest effort. The writing isn't a sharp, and the plot grew increasingly flaccid, to the point where when the prime evil that is driving the story is revealed, it is almost hysterically anti-climactic. The only saving grace here was the appearance of the "Domino Men" themselves, Harker and Boon - the ridiculously sinister characters from _The Somnambulist_.

In _The Domino Men_, the protagonist Henry Lamb discovers there has been a secret war between the Direcotrate and the House of Windsor, one attempting to save London from destruction, the other intent on its doom. As the story unfolds, Henry finds himself drawn into increasingly bizarre situations acting on behalf of the Directorate, even as the Prince of Wales gradually is shown the role of the Winsors in the conflict. Barnes expressed my feelings towards the story succicently when he writes, (I try) to turn away, but fail to do so, morbidly riveted by the spectacle of it." (p 233.) The story wasn't awful, but had it not been such a spectacle I would have put the book down and quit reading it. As it turns out, the immoderate and inhumane treatment of Lamb and the frustrating bovine way in which he accepts his fate (and the odd situations he finds himself in) kept me reading it to the end.

With this said, I can't recommend the book. I had hoped there would be greater references to the Somnambulist and his bizzare behaviour, given the open-ended finish to his previous book. Instead, center stage was given to the characters who seemed a forced plot-device (a "Macguffin" if you will) from his earlier work, with predictably mediorce results. To be fair, perhaps Barnes' writing isn't to my taste; objectively, though, I give it two stars.
I had read the Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes and enjoyed it. I was very disappointed in The Domino Men--it was actually creepy and not a "true" mystery. Very confusing book.
Continuation of the Somnambulist novel. Not very interesting. Pulls punches on royal family. Attempted fantastic novel, not completely successful. Author should try new characters and plot.
Heavy sci-fi imagination combined with Victorian England color. Fascinating.
This book was supplied to me as part of the Vine program.

I loved this book. I read it really quickly, never once getting bored of the story. Confused - yes, bored, no.

The story is definitely odd. A mix of magic and modern government black agencies. And the end is a definitely odd twist.

if you like spy novels and magic, you should love this book. Give it a try.