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_danrobin's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
aditurbo's review
2.0
Couldn't bring myself to finish it. The writing is good and smart, the characters fine, and the idea is cute, but I just didn't feel anything. Couldn't care less where that jewel was. Sorry.
karlou's review
5.0
Dodger is one of those books I've been meaning for a while. When I still lived with my parents we had a Jack Russell called Dodger so it was almost fate! I have to admit however, I'm not generally a huge fan of Dickens' books but I do make an exception for Oliver Twist and when somebody strongly recommended me James Benmore's book I immediately added it to my to be read list.
From the first few pages I was hooked. As in Dickens' novel The Artful Dodger is arrested and transported to Australia, unaware of the fates of Fagin, Bill and Nancy. This part of his life is skipped over here and we meet Dodger again on his return to England five years later when he is accompanied by an Aboriginal man called Warrigal, ostensibly his servant, having apparently made his fortune exporting wool. It swiftly becomes clear however, that Jack Dawkins hasn't gone straight. He is actually in search of the Jakkapoor Stone, a valuable jewel with an dark history. What follows is a thrillingly exuberant adventure story, occasionally poignant and with clever twists and turns, featuring a cast of vibrant characters who would fit into any Dickens novel. We learn more about Dodger's childhood, with Fagin, here a more sympathetic character (drawn as he is from Dodger's memories), meet some of Fagin's other kinchins again, now grown up, and are even treated to a brief mention of Great Expectations' Abel Magwitch. Naturally though it's Dodger himself who is the star of proceedings and his character leaps off the page. He's an anti-hero really, unlike many of Dickens' characters who find retribution, Dodger feels no remorse for his crimes. Quite the opposite in fact, he's proud of his prowess as a pickpocket and as our narrator frequently boasts of his skills. Nevertheless we still cheer him on, willing him to succeed in his quest and to avoid a dreadful fate at the hands of the villain of the piece. He is open (except when it suits him) about who he is, an honest thief then who takes pride in his work but does so without malice. He steals because he wants something but he isn't bitter that the rich have more. The life that Oliver Twist eventually found would never suit The Artful Dodger.
It would be remiss of me to fail to mention here Dodger's beloved London, almost a character it's own right. This is Dickens' dirty and seedy London evocatively brought back to life. It's perhaps not as dark as Dickens' city because it's being described to us by Dodger, a man in love with his London who sees its flaws as part of its charm.
Dodger is one of those genuine couldn't put down books, the sort I walked around reading with the book in front of my face. It's actually been a few weeks since I read it but I've thought of it often. Luckily for me there is already a sequel, Dodger of the Dials and there is to be a third book, Dodger of the Revolution so I can look forward to more. If you are a fan of Charles Dickens read this book, if your main reference point for Dodger is Jack Wild singing Consider Yourself in Oliver! read this book, if you're not a fan of Dickens or musicals but enjoy well written and well plotted stories then read this book.
From the first few pages I was hooked. As in Dickens' novel The Artful Dodger is arrested and transported to Australia, unaware of the fates of Fagin, Bill and Nancy. This part of his life is skipped over here and we meet Dodger again on his return to England five years later when he is accompanied by an Aboriginal man called Warrigal, ostensibly his servant, having apparently made his fortune exporting wool. It swiftly becomes clear however, that Jack Dawkins hasn't gone straight. He is actually in search of the Jakkapoor Stone, a valuable jewel with an dark history. What follows is a thrillingly exuberant adventure story, occasionally poignant and with clever twists and turns, featuring a cast of vibrant characters who would fit into any Dickens novel. We learn more about Dodger's childhood, with Fagin, here a more sympathetic character (drawn as he is from Dodger's memories), meet some of Fagin's other kinchins again, now grown up, and are even treated to a brief mention of Great Expectations' Abel Magwitch. Naturally though it's Dodger himself who is the star of proceedings and his character leaps off the page. He's an anti-hero really, unlike many of Dickens' characters who find retribution, Dodger feels no remorse for his crimes. Quite the opposite in fact, he's proud of his prowess as a pickpocket and as our narrator frequently boasts of his skills. Nevertheless we still cheer him on, willing him to succeed in his quest and to avoid a dreadful fate at the hands of the villain of the piece. He is open (except when it suits him) about who he is, an honest thief then who takes pride in his work but does so without malice. He steals because he wants something but he isn't bitter that the rich have more. The life that Oliver Twist eventually found would never suit The Artful Dodger.
It would be remiss of me to fail to mention here Dodger's beloved London, almost a character it's own right. This is Dickens' dirty and seedy London evocatively brought back to life. It's perhaps not as dark as Dickens' city because it's being described to us by Dodger, a man in love with his London who sees its flaws as part of its charm.
Dodger is one of those genuine couldn't put down books, the sort I walked around reading with the book in front of my face. It's actually been a few weeks since I read it but I've thought of it often. Luckily for me there is already a sequel, Dodger of the Dials and there is to be a third book, Dodger of the Revolution so I can look forward to more. If you are a fan of Charles Dickens read this book, if your main reference point for Dodger is Jack Wild singing Consider Yourself in Oliver! read this book, if you're not a fan of Dickens or musicals but enjoy well written and well plotted stories then read this book.
loram's review
3.0
As sequels to Oliver Twist go, this one was pretty good. Benmore depicts the Artful Dodger in a sort of 'winning rogue' sort of way that makes him likeable and easy to sympathize with as he gets into one tight situation after another.
The premise is that Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger, has returned to England after criminal exile in Australia with a special dispensation from the governor, but the governor has his own reasons for sending Jack back. He is to track down a valuable stone, called the Jackapoor stone, accompanied by a native employee of the governor who is also an assassin.
The premise is reasonably believable, however, some of the elements of the plot are not. There were scenes that ranged from the doubtful, like Jack finding out so many years later that Fagin had been killed, to the highly unlikely like the current residents of his old derelict lodgings allowing a known thief and his quiet, black friend to have a night's lodgings out of Christian charity. Sorry but in Victorian England, suspicion of such a pair would be too high to invite them into your home for the night and the building in question would probably have been uninhabitable and torn down long since!
The icing on the cake of unbelievability though, was later in the book when Jack meets up with all his old friends, Fagin's boys. I guess the author missed the part of Oliver Twist at the end where all the boys died of drink. Still, the reformation of Charley Bates was handled very well so at least that consistency with the book was carried forward.
Despite these problems with the plot, the story was told well and I did enjoy it, though it got a little slow in the middle. There is a sequel to this sequel which suggests to me that it could become an ongoing series, but I have mixed feelings about it. Judging from the sample of Dodger of the Dials, it looks like it will be much the same in that the character is well depicted, but what he does goes in directions that don't ring true.
Overall I enjoyed the read, but felt like it could have been done better.
The premise is that Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger, has returned to England after criminal exile in Australia with a special dispensation from the governor, but the governor has his own reasons for sending Jack back. He is to track down a valuable stone, called the Jackapoor stone, accompanied by a native employee of the governor who is also an assassin.
The premise is reasonably believable, however, some of the elements of the plot are not. There were scenes that ranged from the doubtful, like Jack finding out so many years later that Fagin had been killed, to the highly unlikely like the current residents of his old derelict lodgings allowing a known thief and his quiet, black friend to have a night's lodgings out of Christian charity. Sorry but in Victorian England, suspicion of such a pair would be too high to invite them into your home for the night and the building in question would probably have been uninhabitable and torn down long since!
The icing on the cake of unbelievability though, was later in the book when Jack meets up with all his old friends, Fagin's boys. I guess the author missed the part of Oliver Twist at the end where all the boys died of drink. Still, the reformation of Charley Bates was handled very well so at least that consistency with the book was carried forward.
Despite these problems with the plot, the story was told well and I did enjoy it, though it got a little slow in the middle. There is a sequel to this sequel which suggests to me that it could become an ongoing series, but I have mixed feelings about it. Judging from the sample of Dodger of the Dials, it looks like it will be much the same in that the character is well depicted, but what he does goes in directions that don't ring true.
Overall I enjoyed the read, but felt like it could have been done better.
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