A review by tangleroot_eli
The Dark Volume by Gordon Dahlquist

4.0

Like [b:The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters|44930|The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters|Gordon Dahlquist|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170271749s/44930.jpg|292054], I devoured The Dark Volume. Since (or because of) Glass Books, Dahlquist's prose has become more polished and his plot-lines more controlled. But control comes at a price: Dark Volume doesn't reach Glass Books's level of jaw-dropping imaginative recklessness. Dahlquist's over-fondness for italics continues unabated, and, as one of the great joys of Glass Books was the curious alliance of Temple, Svenson, & Chang, only having them appear on-page together for about 1/10th of a 500+-page book was disappointing. However, the continued development of the Contessa's character and the further machinations of the Cabal, as well as Dahlquist's unerring sense of pacing make this another gripping read.