Reviews

The Traveller and Other Stories by John Connolly, Stuart Neville

duparker's review against another edition

4.0

I am glad that I decided to reach out and try new authors and randomly grabbed this book. The collection of stories presented, is really enjoyable and entertaining, and in many ways thought provoking. Each story is unique and interesting, but feels at home as a collection.

I wasn't aware of the dark and brooding style, when I grabbed the book, but really enjoy the details and the ghosts that inhabit the stories. The mixtures of faith hope and violence moved the stories along and the use of children to bring a reality to the settings was well done. The book is worth seeking out and enjoying.

sausome's review against another edition

5.0

I am not familiar with Stuart Neville, and I cannot BELIEVE it! This was a phenomenal collection of short stories. They were dark and noir, but also incredibly unsettling and otherworldly. I most enjoyed the first half of the collection, grouped under "Monsters," but the second half was also good, just more noir than supernatural. Neville writes children suuuuuuper eerily and perfectly. The mastery of this collection is the incredible atmospheric quality he creates, with grit, chill, dark, and eeriness, almost Gothic without the historical feel. Even when his stories are more about a gritty mobster underbelly of this Northern Ireland setting, something just feels perfectly, darkly "off" and unsettling. I will definitely be adding Stuart Neville to my must-read authors.

nancyk's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

bgg616's review against another edition

4.0

Stuart Neville's first novel [b:The Ghosts of Belfast|6388743|The Ghosts of Belfast (Jack Lennon Investigations #1)|Stuart Neville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1484820630l/6388743._SX50_.jpg|6577040] has been called the best novel about the Troubles. Neville is from Armagh in Northern Ireland, a city and county that saw a great many of the worst incidents during this period. He writes crime novels, and in this case, short stories and a novella. This book includes ghost stories, and stories about the Troubles and post-Troubles period. There are still people seeking retribution more than 20 years after the peace agreement.

The ghost stories are chilling, and some appear to be based on local stories. His protagonists include vicious sorts, and sympathetic figures. The novella, "The Traveler", features Jack Lennon, a former policeman, seriously injured at the hands of terrorists. This story is the ultimate one featured in the collection and suspenseful. Lennon has been threatened by an old adversary who has tracked him down. There really is no place to hide in Northern Ireland. Lennon and his teenage daughter are in extreme danger.

Neville deserves more attention than he gets. This volume includes an introduction by [a:John Connolly|38951|John Connolly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201288913p2/38951.jpg]. Hopefully Connolly's name will lead more readers to pick up this worthy collection.

jbriaz's review

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

3.5 stars. All of these stories were well written with varying results. But as other readers have mentioned, these stories are unrelentingly dark. I am an avid reader of noir and crime fiction, particularly Irish and Scottish crime fiction, and even I found most of these stories to be too dark, hence why this doesn’t get more than 3.5 stars.

nonna7's review against another edition

4.0

This is a book of short stories and a novella, The Traveler. A warning to the reader: these stories are dark - every single one of them. The final story, the novella for which the book is named, follow up with Jack Lennon who narrowly escaped with his daughter, Ellen, when she was a little girl. She is now a teenager living in a small town with her father, Jack, who is working as a security guard. However his past is about to catch up with him. The final scene is grisly. I would love to see Neville give Ellen a book of her own though. She's an interesting kid. There is also a story based on an Irish lesson of an old hag who steals children plus a few more that are as dark as they can be.

It's a short book and worth the time, but, again, I can't stress enough. It's DARK and not for those who are prone to nightmares.

thaispessanha's review against another edition

slow-paced

0.25

becca_j's review

5.0

Gut wrenchingly wonderful! I hadn’t realized how much I missed Gerry Fegan, Ellen and their ghosts.

All of the stories are very good, but the The Traveller is outstanding. Short stories show a writers true talent and these shine so brightly.

pvn's review

4.0

Neville writes really well, so it's no surprise that this is a solid collection of stories. Decent variety and most were engaging. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!