A review by branch_c
Galveston by Sean Stewart

4.0

I rated this book 8/10 back when I first read it in '04, and I remembered it being fantastic and intense, but somehow couldn't remember the ending. So, after a re-read, my rating stands (translated to Goodreads' more limited 4/5), but I can see why I didn't remember the ending. Up until about three quarters of the way through, I was prepared to give it a 9 or a 10. Most of the book is indeed fantastic, in the sense of being a great read as well as a near perfect example of contemporary fantasy. Yes, it reminded me a lot of my fave, Tim Powers, and not just because of the poker. The plot takes interesting turns that are unexpected and yet fitting. The characters are gritty and not entirely likeable, but that doesn't mean they aren't relatable. And I think that's what makes it so intense - there is a reality to the emotional power that's rare in this kind of story. As for the ending, well, I just wish Stewart had taken it in a slightly different direction. It's just not very memorable - a kind of a slow letdown following what's come before, with matters resolved in what seemed to me a half-hearted way, and the pun is intentional in the case of Sloane. There are a couple of brief flashes of the book's former brilliance at the very end, but it just doesn't end as powerfully as I would have preferred.

Overall, I do recommend the book, and I think it's Stewart's best - of the others I've read, I'll probably revisit Mockingbird at some point, since I also rated that one 8/10 back in '06, and I have a similar memory of it.