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A review by otherwyrld
The Aylesford Skull by James P. Blaylock
3.0
It's odd that I haven't encountered James Blaylock before, despite my being a SF and Fantasy fan for nearly 40 years. Maybe it's because his output has been quite small in comparison to other authors, but it seems strange that his work has never come up on my radar despite labels describing him as one of the fathers of steampunk.
Having read this book, I'm not sure that I've actually missed very much. While I didn't dislike it, it never seemed to catch fire with me. The whole thing just plodded along until it finally dragged itself to it's inevitable climatic confrontation between hero and villain. The antagonists motives never seemed very clear, and the plot was so complicated and unwieldy that it seemed bound to failure. The protagonists never seemed to be in any great hurry, even when his own child was in mortal danger. There always seemed to be time to stop for a bite to eat and a nap.
As this was only the latest part of a series, maybe I would have benefited from reading earlier works. Other reviewers have said that this wasn't necessary, but at times the back story seemed to overwhelm the plot to the point where it became frustrating to read. At this point though, I don't feel particularly motivated to search out those earlier stories.
Having read this book, I'm not sure that I've actually missed very much. While I didn't dislike it, it never seemed to catch fire with me. The whole thing just plodded along until it finally dragged itself to it's inevitable climatic confrontation between hero and villain. The antagonists motives never seemed very clear, and the plot was so complicated and unwieldy that it seemed bound to failure. The protagonists never seemed to be in any great hurry, even when his own child was in mortal danger. There always seemed to be time to stop for a bite to eat and a nap.
As this was only the latest part of a series, maybe I would have benefited from reading earlier works. Other reviewers have said that this wasn't necessary, but at times the back story seemed to overwhelm the plot to the point where it became frustrating to read. At this point though, I don't feel particularly motivated to search out those earlier stories.