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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
As gritty and tough as any on my recent noir/Northern Irish History binge. You can certainly learn a lot about The Troubles through fiction like this. An unflinching cross between ghost story / redemption story / crime drama where every page rings with stark realism. A very well written book. I’m giving it 4 stars only because of the ending, which was a bit meandering and extremely bloody. I’ll certainly look for more Stuart Neville while the reality of COVID keeps driving me to dark fiction. And Gerard Doyle, well, You are amazing. #audible
The conflict in Northern Ireland was constantly humming along in the background of my youth: Protestants, Catholics, car bombings, IRA, Ulster, Belfast, Londonderry. This book combines a good thriller with a lot of background on the conflict, and really helped me understand some of the finer points of what was going on. A solid four stars, and another half star for a well-read audiobook by Irishman Gerard Doyle.
Best book i've read in a looong time! It was one of those books where you just can't put it down, every page draws you in more. Can't wait to read more of his work
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Big fan of an unreliable narrator being haunted by the ghosts of his past and becoming an anti-hero bent on getting justice for the very people he murdered, which threatens to take down an entire system of corruption, deceit, and betrayal in the post-Troubles Northern Ireland
I kept hoping this book was better than it actually is. It's similar to The Sixth Sense as the main character sees dead people, but they are the ghosts of victims related to the political violence that he has participated in. He gets rid of the ghosts one by one by killing off the people responsible for the violence. The only problem is they are part of his criminal gang, and he has to hide the killings from his friends. I got bored with the book after the second killing as the book became too predictable.
After my success with Winterland, I thought I'd take a trip north to Northern Ireland. This book was definitely a step down.
The intrigue here is all IRA. It's more violent than I usually like, but that wasn't what disappointed me. It seems like the book is trying to make some moral statement about responsibility and guilt, but it ultimately fails due to a weak ending.
Nice premise, and a good writing for a thriller, but it left me unsatisfied.
The intrigue here is all IRA. It's more violent than I usually like, but that wasn't what disappointed me. It seems like the book is trying to make some moral statement about responsibility and guilt, but it ultimately fails due to a weak ending.
Nice premise, and a good writing for a thriller, but it left me unsatisfied.
I loved that this was set in Ireland and that there was a paranormal twist on the crime drama. Like most well written crime stories, you find your self rooting for the criminal. I did like that things were not wrapped in a pretty bow at the end and that there was more realism to what was going on than the 'creative license' that often permeates these stories. It had a slow start, but halfway through, I couldn't put it down. Great story, great writing and the characters were alive and real.
I've read quite a few books about Northern Ireland, both fiction and nonfiction. Hands down, this novel has the most violence of any of them. I found it hard to get through some of the descriptions of the brutality meted out on those who didn't toe line with one group or another. The scary part is, however, that this kind of blood letting, with its inevitable collateral damage occurred in real life during the Troubles, and does in fact, occur in every internecine and sectarian conflict.
I am not of Irish descent, but I have friends from Northern Ireland, including a cousin's wife from Belfast and a Derry man who worked briefly for the IRA after Bloody Sunday. I visited the Maze in the late 1990s. I've read "Say Nothing," a nonfiction study of those who transitioned from terrorist to politician after the peace accord.
The descriptions ring true in this story, except, maybe, for the ghosts. But who knows? Some of those who survived the violence and betrayals are undoubtedly haunted by their experiences.
I am not of Irish descent, but I have friends from Northern Ireland, including a cousin's wife from Belfast and a Derry man who worked briefly for the IRA after Bloody Sunday. I visited the Maze in the late 1990s. I've read "Say Nothing," a nonfiction study of those who transitioned from terrorist to politician after the peace accord.
The descriptions ring true in this story, except, maybe, for the ghosts. But who knows? Some of those who survived the violence and betrayals are undoubtedly haunted by their experiences.
Just started - 2 chapters in and I'm hooked. If the story holds up like this, I'll be so glad to know it is the start of a series.
Enjoyed it immensely though it is rather gruesome. I will like seeing what Neville can do with this in a series.
Really 4.5 stars and don't know why I'm not going all the way with 5.
Enjoyed it immensely though it is rather gruesome. I will like seeing what Neville can do with this in a series.
Really 4.5 stars and don't know why I'm not going all the way with 5.
A haunted man decides to put his ghosts to sleep...by murdering those who helped him kill in the first place.
While this was well enough written that I have to give it a four, I found myself impatient with this book.
Back when I started digging through the history of horror novels, I often found myself having mental conversations with the writers, going, "Read a mystery novel once in a while, why don't ya?" I took that as a lesson and started reading more mystery.
With this book, I kept going, "Read a horror novel once in a while, why don't ya?"
The story felt predictable, and, indeed, there were no real twists, only one at the very end that was really only there to set up a sequel.
On the other hand--the book has a lot of insight into the history of Northern Ireland, the setting is great, the characters (if not exactly likeable) are pretty much solidly in the gang/Mafia novel tradition, and the book is a real page-turner.
In the end, I have to go, "Not for me, I've read this story too many times before not to have some sort of twist on it," but it may work perfectly fine for others. Recommend if you like a good revenge book or gang/Mafia story.
While this was well enough written that I have to give it a four, I found myself impatient with this book.
Back when I started digging through the history of horror novels, I often found myself having mental conversations with the writers, going, "Read a mystery novel once in a while, why don't ya?" I took that as a lesson and started reading more mystery.
With this book, I kept going, "Read a horror novel once in a while, why don't ya?"
The story felt predictable, and, indeed, there were no real twists, only one at the very end that was really only there to set up a sequel.
On the other hand--the book has a lot of insight into the history of Northern Ireland, the setting is great, the characters (if not exactly likeable) are pretty much solidly in the gang/Mafia novel tradition, and the book is a real page-turner.
In the end, I have to go, "Not for me, I've read this story too many times before not to have some sort of twist on it," but it may work perfectly fine for others. Recommend if you like a good revenge book or gang/Mafia story.