Customer Reviews

The Dark Volume

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

 

 

I definitely remember that when reading 'The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters' the last 300 pages or so taxed my patience to its very limits; and thus it is very odd that when I saw its sequel, 'The Dark Volume', stacked up in a local booskhop, I at once grabbed a copy: obviously the dark, oppressive atmosphere poisoning an imaginary 19th century kingdom had to some extent captivated my imagination.

`The Dark Volume' takes up the thread where its predecessoer left it, and, all in all, it is 500 pages more of the same: endlessly convoluted cabals revolving around a kind of blue glass with evil propensities. And though the characters constantly chase, flee, hunt, pursue, waylay, entrap each other etc. etc., quite early on a sort of stasis sets in, as those people might keep milling around in their small doomed universe virtually forever, forever on the move, forever scheming, at least nominally with some place of destination, but ultimately going nowhere at all. To be sure, there is some sort of linear plot development and we are treated to climactical showdown reuniting the protagonists, but these perfunctorily handled structural devices did not shape my reading experience very much.

As the book breaks off quite abruptly and the very last sentence announces that someone is planning revenge, several hundred pages more rife with intricate plotting seem to be in the offing; and as I keep wondering if the 'old queen' that has been fleetingly mentioned several times will ever step centre stage, I might well succumb to the lures of the next instalment of this haphazardly sprawling saga.

The deadliest members of the Cabal are dead, the glass books are gone, and Gordon Dahlquist's anti-heroes have escaped with their lives.

Well... it turns out to not be that simply. Dahlquist's densely ornate second novel "The Dark Volume" picks up almost exactly where his first left off, only to hurtle his unlikely trio into the heart of new dangers -- blue glass women, deadly glass books, and old enemies transformed beyond recognition. Much of the adventure and intrigue seems to be recycled from the first, although there are some truly shocking new developments in store.

Miss Temple awakes in a small fishing village to find that Cardinal Chang (much despised by the villagers) and Dr. Svenson have both gone, and Eloise has been left to care for her. But their problems aren't over yet -- the village is being haunted by a bizarre series of killings, in which blue glass was used to murder. And the remnants of the Cabal's leadership are skulking around nearby.

In the days that follow, Chang discovers the secrets of the Trapping-Xonck family and Svenson runs afoul of a government agent and a shocking discovery about the memories embedded in blue glass. And Miss Temple -- whose mind has been infected by the blue glass books -- finds herself surruonded by the Cabal's inhuman members, and faced with a mysterious glass book that holds death.

"The Dark Volume" runs in the same pattern as Dahlquist's previous book -- a stately Victorian style, weird grotesque technologies, and three interconnected quests riddled with personal loss. In fact, that is the biggest problem with this book: Dahlquist often seems to be covering the same ground that he has before, as if he's not quite sure where to go next.

But he does provide some new twists to his story, especially of the Cabal fragmenting and turning against itself. And it's pretty obvious that a third book about the Cabal and its glass books is in the works. Not only does Dahlquist provide plenty of loose ends, but a really horrible cliffhanger.

Dahlquist's writing is still the slow-moving, dense Victorian style, using a lot of formal dialogue and evocative prose ("slipping from the moonlight like a ghost, her feet rustling through grass thick with dew..."). Along the way, he smothers the storyline in an atmosphere of dread and suspense, with plenty of horrific characters (the glass-mutated Xonck), bloody action, mutilated corpses, and weirder plotting.

Miss Temple arguably has the roughest time here, haunted by how she shot her ex-fiance and by the glass books (which leads to a creepy molestation by the Contessa). And she has a bit of romantic interest with Chang, who is developing a warmer side even as he continues to kick butt. Poor Dr. Svenson is relatively neglected, except for the discovery of his love interest's nasty allegiances.

"The Dark Volume" runs through familiar territory that makes it seem longer and slower than it is, but it's still a worthwhile Victorian sci-fi story.

Whatever you do, do not read this book without reading the first one, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. If you do, you won't have a clue what is going on.

If you're still reading this review, then presumably you have already read Glass Books. You'll get more of the same in this volume. A bit slower paced. Fewer revelations. A little more inter-character sexual tension. Miss Temple continues to blossom as the most interesting of the three characters. Chang becomes a bit more interesting too. The good Doctor becomes a little duller.

Basically, the entire point of this book is a bridge to the third book. Don't read it unless you enjoyed the first one enough to justify it. If you did, you'll like this one too.

I enjoyed this third volume even more than it's predecessors! The first volumes felt (to me) introductory in comparison, as though the world of The Dream Eater's was newly discovered and not yet complete in the author's mind - I did find the plot at times, hard to follow. However, in The Dark Volume, I feel Dahlquist's stride has been hit. His understanding of his magically executed characters is strong and sure, and the world is full and cohesive.
I must admit that as a reader I enjoy fully succumbing to the character of a story - and due to Dahlquist's peerless ability to define all points of each moment (and yes, most moments in his writing ARE complex, his characters internally changing moment by moment due to almost constant action) it was so easy to disappear into this world. I really believe his books are best read by just jumping in and giving over to them - if you resist, you probably will be a bit confused.
I very much hope there is another Volume on the way!

I was so excited about this one, I re-read the first book while waiting for it to come out, which provided for a perfect experience. This volume delved further into its heroes' inner workings, providing some the darkness underlined in the title. It also explored more of the powers and effects of the glass-- not only its sensuous pulls but also the *darker*, death-inspired urges it can provoke in its viewers. The writing is fantastic, the perfect style for such an adventure. My only complaint is that it ended where it did, I would very much like for the third one to be out now, and also, not everything that seems to be, there at the end, absolutely HAS to be, right?
(A side note: I'm curious as to what scenes precisely some of the other reviewers found extraneous in the first novel. Having read it twice, I felt every bit was necessary and enjoyable, and I plan to read both again before the third volume comes out, unless the author behaves and puts it out right now. It's an adventure, and should be read as such, in a swoop of hungry reading, not in those few minutes between lying down and closing your eyes every night. Some have complained that there are too many characters, but it seems to me that this speaks more to an inability to concentrate/focus on the part of the reader; each character is necessary, plays a role, defines a challenge or perimeter. THIS is the way books should be: full, like the world. So different from the blanking of your mind that occurs in front of the blue screen of the television.)
(A fuller review is posted at zoe-in-wonderland.blogspot)

I enjoyed Dahlquist's first book, "The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters," even though it was verbose, over-the-top, and someone overwrought quasi-Victorian suspense. It reminded me of episodes of the old 1960s western-cum-science fiction series, "The Wild, Wild West," in its representation of a sinister and deadly counter-culture with myriad evil, dastardly motives and even more evil and dastardly antagonists at its center. It was a good book to read on a very long flight as it held the attention and did not make extraneous intellectual demands on the reader. However, I found "The Dark Volume," the sequel to the former book, absolutely incomprehensible and so poorly written I only continued to read it because I wanted to see just how awful it could be! I wasn't disappointed - it was TRULY abysmal! This is not a sequel, per se - nothing much happens in this book that the reader can't figure out for her/himself at the conclusion of "Dream Eaters," if you pay attention to the last few chapters. What Dahlquist has employed is quite the laziest of conceits in writing fiction - he parlays the separate travails of each of his three protagonists into simultaneous chapters of the book. What a great way to stretch out a non-existent plot! What an ingenious way to make very little seem like continuous action and thrills in almost 500 pages (hard-cover)! What a way to set the reader up for (SPOILER ALERT) what promises to be yet another forthcoming volume to follow this dreary excuse for a book! Perhaps what galled me the most was Dahlquist's nonsensical and ridiculous use of simile and metaphor - I have read better and more imaginative descriptions in the theme papers of Fifth Graders. Tell me, Mr. D., what exactly is the color of a "bruised plum" supposed to be? Aren't bruised plums black? Can't we just say, "black?" Or must the reader be subjected ad nauseum to your obnoxious and tiresome (and often, inappropriate) descriptions of your characters' thoughts and supposed perceptions? I seldom feel like I have been absolutely cheated when I purchase a book, because let's face it, one cannot trust literary criticism these days, even when one finds it in the New York Times Book Review. I almost wrote to Bantam Books and demanded a refund after finishing "The Dark Volume!" If you were completely enamored of the first book and have a photographic memory for the most obscure and ridiculous details which the author set forth in that volume, then you might (and here, I am stretching probability until it squeals like a set of no-tread tires turning an icy corner at 50 mph) find "The Dark Volume" mildly entertaining. If not, I would avoid it like the "blood fever" that has ostensibly hit the luckless folks inhabiting Dahlquist's imaginary universe.

I liked this book and the first one too..very original concept..sometimes I got confused with names and characters...but makes me wish we had a view of the blue or even the orange glass..

This book seems to be a bunch of "searching for someone". There is definitely a gifted writing style, but the plot rambles on and on till it's boring.

This book is fantastic and totally leaves you hanging! I can't wait for the next one! The twits and turns of the plot are masterful as well as the descriptions of people! Especially that of the Duke. It just makes your skin crawl! So worth reading but you absolutely must read the first two to have any inkling of whats actually going on.

Not having read the first books I had to pay close attention to understand the plot, but I liked the atmospherics and the characters, and stayed with the convoluted action to the end. A very fun read!