Dark Cities Underground [Paperback]

Lisa Goldstein (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books (1999)
• ASIN: B000OTKXEU
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but not Goldstein's best, August 11, 2000

By 

"sdixonsf" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Cities Underground (Paperback)

If this had been the first novel I ever read by Lisa Goldstein, I think I would have loved it without reservations. Unfortunately, as much as I love the ideas presented in this book, the plot seems less coherent than those of her previous novels, despite being somewhat simpler, and the characterizations just don't seem as rich as those in earlier novels.

Each of her novels has been very different from every other. Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon is a brilliantly realized Elizabethan fantasy, Summer King Winter Fool is classic high fantasy, Tourists is a haunting novel about modern American travelers in a strange land where all the rules are different, and Walking the Labyrinth is an eerie but fun "exploring my family's mysterious and magical past" type of novel. I would give any of these novels five stars.

With Dark Cities Underground, Goldstein seems to be going further into Charles De Lint urban fantasy territory, where there is magic all around us, if only we can open our eyes to see it. I do enjoy books like this sometimes, but Goldstein's earlier books all seem much more lyrical to me, and oddly much more evocative of the strangeness in everyday things.

I still recommend reading this novel. The story is wonderful, and it's fun the way it connects so many of the best-loved stories of childhood. But if you enjoy this novel, do yourself a favor and check out any of Lisa Goldstein's other novels. Each of them is a uniquely beautiful fantasy masterpiece.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take a subway ride through childhood mythic adventure..., August 6, 2001

By 

Darren McKeever - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Cities Underground (Paperback)

Could there possibly be a connection between Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit and Wind in the Willows? Could they all be stories that were told, not by the authors to their children, but rather by the children to their parents? Could they all be about the same place, a fantastic world that only children could enter and return to tell stories about?

When a struggling journalist is hired to do a biography of A. E. Jones, the author of the classic children's series "Jeremy in Neverwas", her suspicions are aroused. Especially when she meets the author's son, now a disturbed, middle-aged man, who has become estranged from his mother for stealing his childhood. As she continues her research into truth behind Neverwas she never expects that her own daughter will also be drawn into this fantastic world. A world far more dangerous than any children's book.

This is terrific book. The author ties in history, myth and literature to create a timeless story. A fast paced and exciting roller-coaster ride. No, make that a fast paced and exciting subway ride! You'll get my meaning when you read the book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Original but disappointing, December 22, 1999

By 

John L. Velonis (Dobbs Ferry, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Cities Underground (Hardcover)

Dark Cities Underground starts out in the fine tradition of many fantasies in which the characters discover bit by bit a vast, ancient secret world parallel to our own. Lisa Goldstein incorporates many original ideas into this time-tested framework, but unfortunately her prose is, well, prosaic, lacking (to my mind) the mystery and wonder necessary to draw the reader fully into the alternate world. And instead of the characters gradually discovering the secret, one clue at a time, most of it is simply told to them by an obliging trio of sisters, after having first been revealed to the reader as the narrative follows several denizens of the alternate world in their incursions into this one. The plot undergoes numerous twists, some of which are not very convincing, but it does carry you along. The characters were developed to some extent, but they still seemed somewhat simplistic to me.

On the whole, I'd say it's worth a read (it doesn't take very long); but for a much richer experience I suggest Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood (dark fantasy) or A.S. Byatt's Possession (literary detective work).