Customer Reviews

On the Banks of Lethe

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a fan of the author for some time, and was not let down in the slightest with his second novel. Realistic, gritty and a pleasureable read, it even kept me at work late to finish the final pages. I would suggest this to all who enjoy a good, thougth provoking scare.

My cat jumped in my lap when I was in the middle of the book and I jumped ten feet, then went to find my husband and calm down. A great read.

"Lethe" starts off comfortably enough. The tale of a fairly average man who just happens to be a successful artist, trying to move his life forward in the wake of an unfortunate act of betrayal.

With little warning, the world is turned upside-down as Grant relentlessly pummels you in the face with a narrative that is both brutal and pointed, as you slip down the road of comfort into the bizarre, and on to down right frightening. Even as moments of genuine sentiment warm you up, the bliss doesn't last long, as you are pulled back into wonderful chaos, leaving you exhausted, in a good way.

But don't even think about a nap. You won't be sleeping any time soon.

Make no mistake, James Grant likes to mess with your head. And he's good at it.

This is an unusual and highly readable novel.

The story is nightmarish in places, all too real in others, yet its poignancy will have you in tears.

This is only the author's second novel; I advise keeping an eye out for future works by this James L. Grant.

;)

Brilliant book. Grant's second novel is a much more grown up book. While I rather enjoyed his first, I felt there was a little too much of the writer's experiences in the book. This on the other hand, is anything but. A well crafted book, with clever twists in the narrative so you're never bored, and forced to read on so you can get some bloody answers finally! :)

To be honest, I did not expect the story to twist in that direction. And that's not a bad thing. Pretty original piece of work and a book I never felt bored with, either. Highly recommended :)

Why it took me this long to read this novel, I cannot say. I'd been meaning to pick it up since its release, and immediately after diving in I could honestly say I regret the wait.

Bringing us a highly intelligent and riveting novel that manages to skullpunch you with every visceral emotion that rampages through the protagonists, Grant will entrench you in a beautifully crafted love story right before yanking you out of it and beating everything you knew to that point with a rusted meat tenderizer. Then, he repeats the process.

I've never had a book rattle me so much as this one. After a night's sleep I'm still visibly shaken by Lethe's conclusion. I'm not sure if I want to buy Grant a beer or punch him in the sternum.

If you don't smoke, you might want to pick up the habit before reading this novel; you're going to need a cigarette when you're done. Trust me; it's worth it.

Grant, if you read these reviews, then congratulations. You made a grown man cry and thirst to do it all over again.

I had high hopes for this, being a fan of Mr Grant's online comics and horror and general. While it was far from a poor read, I didn't find it to be the breakthrough terrifying and emotional tale that other reviewers did. The idea behind it is clever, but I felt a bit like I was reading Stephen King's "It" by way of Goth Town. They're far from identical, but they share some of the same ideas, and while Lethe is a more intimate story, it's not nearly as well written or engaging as I might have hoped for. Mr Grant crafts a clever, different story from your typical horror novel, but a lot of it is too vague or mystical to be really frightening or awe-inspiring. He also has a tendency to reuse phrases a lot ("lips like soft pillows", "like chewing on tinfoil") which, while hardly the end of the world, can be a bit jarring when you start noticing them popping up over and over.

How much you'll enjoy this story probably depends mostly on how much you like/empathize with the main characters, and unfortunately I didn't connect with either of them. Both the male and female lead come across as a bit too fantasised, a bit too clearly idealistic (ie, "This is what I think the coolest people would be like"), and, in several cases, eye-rollingly glib and smug.

Read it and you'll probably enjoy the time you spend with it, but On the Banks of Lethe is a bit too full of self-indulgent puffery for my tastes.

And that's just one of the scenes in this book that takes the reader by the throat.

James L. Grant has matured as a writer in strides five feet long since "Pedestrian Wolves" .

There is little to compare the two books. While P.W. was a booze soaked romp in boots through New Orleans, Lethe is a slow crawl up your spine with those same boots caked in dust and blood, and the plot structure of JLG's second novel is complex and concrete and indicative of an author coming into his own.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

I bought a copy for my Mom and she told me "James writes very well. Lethe had me scared witless and on the edge of my seat from almost the first page."

I agree. I meant to do that to her.

A side note...I grew up where James L. Grant did; the setting for Lethe, and he captured the creepy feeling of it more completely than i am comfortable with. He made me scared to ever go back.

I eagerly await this man's third novel. I rate this one 4 stars so that I can give his next piece five.

I have been a fan of Grant's work (which, I might add is in forms other than novels) for a good while. Even so, I really had no clue what to expect when I cracked this book open.

What I found was a novel I couldn't put down until the wee hours of the morning. Even at that point, I put the book down not because I was tired, but because I had finally finished it.

And what exactly did I find?

I found a story that is marvelously constructed, realistic (even with it's dark fantasy), and unexpected (in a good way!). I grew close to Grant's vibrant and powerfully-written characters. I laughed with them when they laughed and I cried at with them when they cried.

Plot twits and dramatic moments/situations/scenes are NOT cheesily executed. When something dramatic would happen, it would fit right in with the story. Instead of muttering to myself, "Where the hell did that come from?", I would find myself understanding how all the pieces of a puzzle were gradually coming together and I would want to continue.

The writing is mature (a pleasant surprise after reading so many "this-is-my-1st-or-2nd-novel" writers' sophomoric styles of syntax/verse). The book also moves at what I feel is just the right pace: not too fast and not too slow.

Essentially, Grant's entire book, from beginning to end, is amazing. This is one book you won't be able to put down, and it will leave you with an eerie feeling at the end that so many horror novels today fail to deliver.

Lethe keeps your head spinning from start to finish. Each time I thought I had figured out what the hell was going on, I turned the page and found out that I was wrong. Grant splices humor and horror together so neither gets old or lets you get comfortable. I'm generally a fairly slow reader, but this took me around 2 days to finish, because I really didn't want to put it down.