Jonathan Barnes

Professor of Ancient Philosophy Jonathan Barnes

An extraordinary tale of poetry, secret societies, travelling circuses and walking dead, set in a richly realised Victorian London.

The Somnambulist

A tale set in Victorian London introduces the characters of stage magician and detective Edward Moon and his silent sidekick, whose fiendish plot to re-create the apocalyptic prophecies of Samuel Taylor Coleridge threaten the British Empire. A first novel. 30,000 first printing.

Kirsten Simkiss

This book is definitely not one I would recommend in any way, shape, or form. While the vocabulary of the book was interesting (as it's been a VERY long time since I last had to look up a word in a dictionary), the plot and the characters leave a lot to be desired. Ironically, the first paragraph of the book reads as follows: "Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it."

I really should have listened to that paragraph. I thought it was funny going in, but the more I read the book, the more I agreed with it. The mystery defies all logic and cannot be solved by the reader as you read as it relies on a time traveler, a magician with a love of solving crime (although he doesn't seem to be good at it), his loyal friend the Somnambulist (I never could figure out why the Somnambulist gives a damn about his friend because he's a dick), and a series of other ridiculous characters that verge into the world of impossibility. (Actually, it reminded me of the show Penny Dreadful in ways, though clearly not as well planned out or written as I actually loved Penny Dreadful.)

I'm not going to harp on about it because, if I'm being honest, I don't want to be mean and I don't want to spoil it for those looking to read it. That being said, here is a summation of my thoughts: the plot makes no sense and the characters are either minor and loveable or major and people you can't seem to ever relate to. It's not a book I would recommend to others if given the opportunity.

The Somnambulist

Reviews