FEAR HAUNTS THE TURRET ROOM . . . It is hard to say just what sort of noise it was. I swung the lamp round and scanned the darkened chamber. I saw no one, of course, and nothing. It was then that my ears caught hold of it -- a faint, energetic whispering, as of a voice struggling to make itself heard. My scalp tingled with a sudden sense of impending danger. All in an instant I spied a glimmer of movement, and was struck cold to see a strange, ghostly shape swimming in the air before me. The words it was whispering were but two, louder now, and repeated several times over in a desperate, pleading tone -- HELP ME! A vanished professor, an outbreak of graffiti, and a heretic saint are but a few of the elements in this new fifth volume of author Jeffrey E. Barlough's acclaimed Western Lights series!
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This charming Victorian fantasy, fifth in the Western Lights series (following 2007's Bertram of Butter Cross), surrounds a mystery with cozy world-building. Eugene Stanley, visiting Salthead University to help his uncle complete a long-delayed book, first discovers that a mysterious lamp's light shows strange spirits and then inadvertently enters the spirit world while seeking missing Professor Haygarth. Though more narrator than hero, Stanley's determination to find the professor raises him above a mere Watson, and his final decision adds a welcome note of quiet surprise. It's not explained why mastodons and saber-cats roam this alternate England, or what occasioned and resulted from the catastrophe called the sundering, but while these mysteries may lead newcomers to the rest of the series, neither is necessary to appreciate this installment on its own. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
A pre-eminent inventor of wonderfully weird fiction . . . alternate history, science fantasy, gothic horror, every standard label except great writing comes up short. --The Agony Column
Superb . . . the engaging plot and the artful writing elevate Barlough's work far above most other contemporary genre fiction. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Imperturbably entertaining. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Superb . . . the engaging plot and the artful writing elevate Barlough's work far above most other contemporary genre fiction. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Imperturbably entertaining. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will seize the reader's rapt attention from first page to last,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Anchorwick (Paperback)
A trained biologist and veterinarian, Jeffrey E. Barlough has published seventy research and review articles in his lengthy career. It was when he turned his talents to fiction in 2007 with "Bertram of Butter Cross" that he first came to the attention of the Midwest Book Review as a true word-smith craftsman of fantasy adventure at its very best. Now he has written "Anchorwick", the story of young Eugene Stanley who, newly-arrived in the ancient university town of Salthead to pursue his studies and to aid his uncle, Professor Christopher Greenshilds, who works upon a scholarly tome. Quickly Eugene becomes caught up in mystery, danger, and puzzling messages concerning the disappearance of Professor Haygarth some two years earlier. Enthusiastically recommended to the attention of both fantasy fans and mystery buffs, "Anchorwick" (scheduled by the publisher for release in October 2008) is the fifth volume in the 'New Western Lights' series of fantasy mysteries and will seize the reader's rapt attention from first page to last.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good place to start,
By tJohn (Bayside, New York United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Anchorwick (Paperback)
All of Barlough's work is well worth exploring, and this is a sort of prequel which makes a good introduction to the world of these books. It is also somewhat tighter in construction than some of the others. It is cerainly possible to quibble with the internal logic of the series -technology is at about an 18th-19th century level, and they have invented the phonograph, but, although they live surrounded by dangerous ice age megafauna, they have somehow failed to either discover gunpowder or even come up with the crossbow. Nevertheless, it is a unique series that stands out from the generic.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"I EXPECT you'll be returning to that treatise of yours on the ancient Aegean cultures, now that the Long Vacation is behind us," said a stout, heavy-breathing don to the Hurlstone Professor of Classics as they were sitting together in the large and hospitable hall of Antrobus College. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sooty smokers, priory vaults, musty old dons, hoary demon, tawny rascals, the ogreland, mastodon men, chops and ale, dubious realm, thirteenth earl, turret room, heretic saint, young medical man, uncle exclaimed, anatomy rooms, light the portal, designing villain Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Haygarth, Miss Gridley, Miss Haygarth, Madam Dorcas, Lord Bale, Hackton House, Robert Mallow, Daniel Dampe, Professor Windygate, Mary Corpuscle, Professor Scuttlewig, Brown Bear, Captain Hammock, Abbey Glacis, Sir Jocelyn Jeremy, Sir Edmund Shakebag, Winston Haygarth, Dalhousie Street, Balthasar Timothy, Titus Tiggs, The Professor of Paleology, Stephen Budge, Hulkes of Anchorwick, Miss Moonflathers, Plaxtonian Museum Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"I EXPECT you'll be returning to that treatise of yours on the ancient Aegean cultures, now that the Long Vacation is behind us," said a stout, heavy-breathing don to the Hurlstone Professor of Classics as they were sitting together in the large and hospitable hall of Antrobus College. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sooty smokers, priory vaults, musty old dons, hoary demon, tawny rascals, the ogreland, mastodon men, chops and ale, dubious realm, thirteenth earl, turret room, heretic saint, young medical man, uncle exclaimed, anatomy rooms, light the portal, designing villain Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Professor Haygarth, Miss Gridley, Miss Haygarth, Madam Dorcas, Lord Bale, Hackton House, Robert Mallow, Daniel Dampe, Professor Windygate, Mary Corpuscle, Professor Scuttlewig, Brown Bear, Captain Hammock, Abbey Glacis, Sir Jocelyn Jeremy, Sir Edmund Shakebag, Winston Haygarth, Dalhousie Street, Balthasar Timothy, Titus Tiggs, The Professor of Paleology, Stephen Budge, Hulkes of Anchorwick, Miss Moonflathers, Plaxtonian Museum Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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