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A review by jdhacker
The City of Unspeakable Fear by Jean Ray, Scott Nicolay
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is such an odd little book. I don't precisely what I expected going in, besides an excellent translation and research by Scott Nicolay, but this certainly defied whatever expectations I had of the francophone master of the weird. Now, this was the first Jean Ray I read, so I was coming to this clean without a lot of preconceived notions, your mileage may vary if you're already a fan.
As summaries indicate, this story is a strange melange of detective novel, M.R. James-ish ghost story, horror/the weird, and Dickensian style tongue-in-cheek comedy. After some startlingly funny bits and turns of phrase early on, I settled in to read it as a distinctly comedic detective story with shades of darker scooby-doo as told by an admirer of Dickens. Which was incredibly fulfilling. But as one proceeds through the work, it does grow increasingly dark, has a dread that slowly builds. So I immediately set about re-reading it with the mindset that it was exclusively a slow building, dreadful tale. In both ways it was deeply engaging and satisfying. So decide going in, or don't and take it as it goes, but know you're in for a wonderful crafted and entertaining time.
As summaries indicate, this story is a strange melange of detective novel, M.R. James-ish ghost story, horror/the weird, and Dickensian style tongue-in-cheek comedy. After some startlingly funny bits and turns of phrase early on, I settled in to read it as a distinctly comedic detective story with shades of darker scooby-doo as told by an admirer of Dickens. Which was incredibly fulfilling. But as one proceeds through the work, it does grow increasingly dark, has a dread that slowly builds. So I immediately set about re-reading it with the mindset that it was exclusively a slow building, dreadful tale. In both ways it was deeply engaging and satisfying. So decide going in, or don't and take it as it goes, but know you're in for a wonderful crafted and entertaining time.