Mystery Book Reviews

Book Review: The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist

By Angela Youngman Apr 16, 2007, 16:12 GMT

Gordon Dahlquist\'s debut novel is a big, juicy, epic that will appeal to Diana Gabaldon fans (see her quote below) and lovers of literary fantasy, like Keith Donohue\'s The Stolen Child. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters begins with a "Dear Jane" letter in which Celeste Temple learns of the end of her engagement. Curiosity leads her to follow her fiancé to London where she uncovers a secret. Find ...more

The very look of this book is daunting - a massive tome of nearly 800 pages. Very decorative and unusual in the way it is presented with a shiny blue cover and mottled front pages giving the impression of something aged and glassy. There are even Victorian style advertisments for Pingmann's Wax, lectures by Dr Lorenz and the Indigo Clay company among others at the back of the book.

Set in an imaginary city around Victorian times, it is the story of an unlikely threesome - Miss Temple a young woman in search of a husband who has just been jilted; Cardinal Chang - a disreputable searcher of secrets and an assassin; and Dr. Sevenson  who reluctantly seeks to chaperone an unhelpful Prince.

When Miss Temple is unexpectedly jilted by her newly acquired betrothed, she is determined to find out what is going on. Secretly following him, she becomes emeshed in a web of deceit, murder and mystery. It is a hard read and seems to jump a lot between one character and another making it hard to keep track of what is happening. This is not a book for the faint hearted. 

Personally I think it would have been better if it had been edited down more, cutting out some of the long drawn out passages. An interesting story line, but one which gets lost amid the prose.