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lakserk's review against another edition
3.0
Second time reading it and Our Lady of Darkness remains a good occult mystery book with some highly original ideas and great weaving of a lot of early 20th century supernatural literature in it. For starters, this is the birthplace of Megapolisomancy and De Castries, a seductive idea with which I've been entranced for more than 20 years now - the magic of big cities, the idea that a megapolisomancer can magically use the city, its structure and energies for his purposes. Leiber here essentially creates an original neomythology. Furthermore, the way he imbues the plot with half of the big names of early 20th century supernatural literature as well as those of infamous occultists is a fan's wet dream. And the way he depicts and brings to life '70s San Fransisco is masterful.
Still, as much as I love Leiber, the execution here is not flawless: the pacing tends to become tedious in several places, the plot is weighed down with unnecessary elements that seem to exist just to satisfy the aficionados and overally it feels much more of a trek than Conjure Wife.
Still, as much as I love Leiber, the execution here is not flawless: the pacing tends to become tedious in several places, the plot is weighed down with unnecessary elements that seem to exist just to satisfy the aficionados and overally it feels much more of a trek than Conjure Wife.
aberdeenwaters's review against another edition
4.0
I had different expectations for this one. But I still enjoyed it. Sure, it’s a horror novel, but it also functions as autobiography, meta fiction, and perhaps a tribute to pulp writers of yesteryear. It also maps out San Francisco of the 70s in great detail. Will read more Fritz
foofers1622's review against another edition
4.0
I'm bummed that I'm just now finding out about Fritz Leiber. I could have easily finished this in one day but made myself stop. A few creepy parts that actually gave me goosebumps.
rebcamuse's review against another edition
4.0
cw: sexual assault
Tremayne seems to have hit his stride with this tenth installment of the Sister Fidelma series. Brother Eadulf faces the noose for a crime he did not commit and Sister Fidelma must race against the clock to prove his innocence. The red herrings are plentiful here, some more obvious than others. As with [b:Valley of the Shadow|1525161|Valley of the Shadow (Sister Fidelma, #6)|Peter Tremayne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314990563l/1525161._SY75_.jpg|1517089], if memory serves, evil is spread far and wide, not just focused on one person. There are helpers, of course, along the way, but sometimes they are a bit too implausible, such as the Apollo-like entrance of the Cashel guards near the end. Where these book still falter for me is the ever-present "court" scene being the centerpiece and method for Fidelma's revelations. I get that she's a dalaigh, but in this particular instance it was particularly frustrating because she does an "almost" reveal in a different location (with an audience far more interesting than the typical peanut gallery), but then no...we have the formal (and formulaic) grandstanding that appears in every novel. I'm just waiting for something more interesting to happen, but I think I will be disappointed.
Outside the Fidelma-a-la-Perry Mason aspect, however, this is probably the strongest book of the first ten in the series. I will say that more recent audiences should be aware that sexual assault plays a very big role in this book, so consider that a content warning.
Tremayne seems to have hit his stride with this tenth installment of the Sister Fidelma series. Brother Eadulf faces the noose for a crime he did not commit and Sister Fidelma must race against the clock to prove his innocence. The red herrings are plentiful here, some more obvious than others. As with [b:Valley of the Shadow|1525161|Valley of the Shadow (Sister Fidelma, #6)|Peter Tremayne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314990563l/1525161._SY75_.jpg|1517089], if memory serves, evil is spread far and wide, not just focused on one person. There are helpers, of course, along the way, but sometimes they are a bit too implausible, such as the Apollo-like entrance of the Cashel guards near the end. Where these book still falter for me is the ever-present "court" scene being the centerpiece and method for Fidelma's revelations. I get that she's a dalaigh, but in this particular instance it was particularly frustrating because she does an "almost" reveal in a different location (with an audience far more interesting than the typical peanut gallery), but then no...we have the formal (and formulaic) grandstanding that appears in every novel. I'm just waiting for something more interesting to happen, but I think I will be disappointed.
Outside the Fidelma-a-la-Perry Mason aspect, however, this is probably the strongest book of the first ten in the series. I will say that more recent audiences should be aware that sexual assault plays a very big role in this book, so consider that a content warning.
bookiesanta's review against another edition
5.0
The thing I liked about OLOD was, I really didn't see the horror coming. It starts out a happy-go-lucky story of a horror-writer living in SF, meeting all his friends, and then a strange occurrence. And another, but it's more weird than frightening at first. And the levels of dread rise, subtly, until the moment I realized just how dark things had gotten, and then the horror spiraled down quickly. Very well done.
throatsprockets's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty good attempt at bringing Lovecraftian horror into the modern day of 1978, Our Lady of Darkness is evocative, atmospheric and sometimes deeply personal. This time the cyclopean city of eldritch dread is San Francisco, and the dreaded tower is the apartment building that Fritz Leiber was living in at the time. Most of the characters are thinly disguised palimpsests of Leiber's friends, and the protagonist Franz Westen is clearly based on Leiber himself. Leiber even works his own alcoholism and his grief at the relatively recent death of his wife into the story.
It involves a writer of supernatural fiction, down on his luck and reduced to novelizing a trashy tv show, who has found a mysterious book which details the supernatural underpinnings of big cities. When he investigates the book and its mysterious author, Westen discovers that he is at the centre of a sinister plot dating back decades and that malevolent entities have him in their sights.
The mid-1970s setting dates the book quite a lot, and the attitude the characters take to sexuality sometimes unintentionally becomes even creepier than the supernatural happenings. Some of the exposition is overdone and the dialogue is often unconvincing. But when it flies it soars, and unlike a lot of horror novels it lands the ending.
It involves a writer of supernatural fiction, down on his luck and reduced to novelizing a trashy tv show, who has found a mysterious book which details the supernatural underpinnings of big cities. When he investigates the book and its mysterious author, Westen discovers that he is at the centre of a sinister plot dating back decades and that malevolent entities have him in their sights.
The mid-1970s setting dates the book quite a lot, and the attitude the characters take to sexuality sometimes unintentionally becomes even creepier than the supernatural happenings. Some of the exposition is overdone and the dialogue is often unconvincing. But when it flies it soars, and unlike a lot of horror novels it lands the ending.
roshk99's review against another edition
4.0
Fidelma does it again, this time saving Eadulf from a death sentence with her quick wit and attention to details.
toniherrero's review against another edition
3.0
Este libro tiene muchas cosas buenas: la atmósfera, unos personajes bien construidos, las referencias a libros y autores malditos (de Quincey, Lovecraft, Bierce), la teoría de la Megapolisomancia,... Pero falla en lo esencial, la trama. A la hora de deshacer el entuerto el autor lo finiquita de una forma algo triste y pueril. ¡Qué queréis que os diga! A mi la señora esta de las tinieblas, una vez se materializa, me parece más bien risible. Es más, me quedo una y mil veces con el velo de misterio que rodea a la amante de Thibaut de Castries. Una pena, la verdad, pero se merece tres estrellas muy justitas.
helenbronj's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
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