Scan barcode
A review by kelliowen
The Dust of Wonderland by Lee Thomas
4.0
While a bit slow out of the gate, this tale seeps into your skin and festers as you read. When you're done, it sits, quietly stewing in the back of your mind. A week later, I'm still debating some of the conflict resolutions, still pondering the abilities of Travis, and have put the book on the re-read shelf. Yes, that's a good sign.
The story was a new twist on an old stand by—nothing in it has been overused, abused, or done to the point that you want to throw it. It's almost a ghost story that isn't, a serial killer tale that isn't, and most definitely a revenge tale in which who is getting revenge on whom is the question rather than the result. The dynamics of the characters are fresh—using angles and conflicts that are intriguing, passionately personal no matter who you are, and will divide you as much as it does the characters. Themes of redemption run rampant, but the real question is the same as it was when Ken started on this journey twenty years ago... When you don't know if you can save yourself, do you rescue your past or your future?
Even though New Orleans has been used enough in literature and film to have built a ready-made preconceived atmosphere with people, if you let Thomas paint the picture for you, it’s a whole new atmosphere in the Garden District. The mystery is intertwining, the people are urban exotic, and their surroundings are suggested secrets, subtly whispered by memories, that pull you along—like a tour guide in Lafayette No. 1.
As I mentioned above, the pace is a little slow at the beginning, as he takes his time giving you enough details about the characters to care whether they live or die. But give him your patience, because you will care who lives and dies—and may hunt him down at a convention to tell him how wrong he was! Thomas' style is, as always, graceful. He is a well-rounded storyteller that draws you in and makes you believe—and yes, he would make an incredible refrigerator salesman in Alaska.
But what did I really think? The story was interesting, the characters were sufficient, and the atmosphere was natural. But like all good things, it's not the ingredients that make the mouth water, it's the final dish. In lesser hands this may have been under cooked, in better hands the spices would have been changed and the subtle burn in the back of your throat may have been absent. As it is, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this [other than that pokey beginning] and will definitely re-read it at some point. Thus, it gets more than 3 stars… how about 4-1/2? Pretty-version hard covers should be available, ohhhhhhhh about now—go, get one.
.......................
Originally posted at Horror-Web
The story was a new twist on an old stand by—nothing in it has been overused, abused, or done to the point that you want to throw it. It's almost a ghost story that isn't, a serial killer tale that isn't, and most definitely a revenge tale in which who is getting revenge on whom is the question rather than the result. The dynamics of the characters are fresh—using angles and conflicts that are intriguing, passionately personal no matter who you are, and will divide you as much as it does the characters. Themes of redemption run rampant, but the real question is the same as it was when Ken started on this journey twenty years ago... When you don't know if you can save yourself, do you rescue your past or your future?
Even though New Orleans has been used enough in literature and film to have built a ready-made preconceived atmosphere with people, if you let Thomas paint the picture for you, it’s a whole new atmosphere in the Garden District. The mystery is intertwining, the people are urban exotic, and their surroundings are suggested secrets, subtly whispered by memories, that pull you along—like a tour guide in Lafayette No. 1.
As I mentioned above, the pace is a little slow at the beginning, as he takes his time giving you enough details about the characters to care whether they live or die. But give him your patience, because you will care who lives and dies—and may hunt him down at a convention to tell him how wrong he was! Thomas' style is, as always, graceful. He is a well-rounded storyteller that draws you in and makes you believe—and yes, he would make an incredible refrigerator salesman in Alaska.
But what did I really think? The story was interesting, the characters were sufficient, and the atmosphere was natural. But like all good things, it's not the ingredients that make the mouth water, it's the final dish. In lesser hands this may have been under cooked, in better hands the spices would have been changed and the subtle burn in the back of your throat may have been absent. As it is, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this [other than that pokey beginning] and will definitely re-read it at some point. Thus, it gets more than 3 stars… how about 4-1/2? Pretty-version hard covers should be available, ohhhhhhhh about now—go, get one.
.......................
Originally posted at Horror-Web