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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Southern Gothic Done Well, January 16, 2008
This review is from: Firefly Rain (Discoveries) (Hardcover)
In Firefly Rain, Richard Dansky brings the reader into a well-woven Southern Gothic (or as the author calls it 'Snowbird Gothic') tale of homecomings, loss, and the need for closure. He creates an unmistakable sense of dread from the opening scene, one that fuels the need to keep reading and uncover the full scope of the story. Dansky's rural North Carolina farming community is believable as well, almost a character unto itself. He fills it with the glimpses of back-story and relationship that take the town beyond simple setting and turn it into a real, believable place. Richard Dansky's first original novel highlights the author's many strengths - crisp, concise storytelling; solid characters and tight, believable dialog. I look forward to seeing more of his talent in the future.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Darn Them Audi Stealin' Ghosts!!!!, May 20, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
"Firefly" rain isn't so much a ghost story as it is a tale of a very klutzy Charlie Brown-like loser getting haunted occasionally. Seriously, Jacob, our protagonist, returns to his childhood home after failing in a Boston business venture, only to have his furniture destroyed en route while being moved, his car stolen, his cell phone getting destroyed, bugs avoiding him, getting concussed after running out into a nasty rainstorm wearing an old pair of slippers and bathrobe, and the local Carolina populace turning against him. We see this sad-sack try to re-coup some of his life, while one mini-disaster after another pops up against him. To be honest it almost gets laughable, and at one point when Jacob picks up a shotgun....you seriously begin wondering if this stooge is going to end up shooting off his foot??? When Jacob climbs atop a toilet in hopes of shutting a rain soaked window, you almost begin hoping he'll take a header into the bathtub. If you are hoping for thrills and chills...."Firefly Rain" is going to disappoint, as it's neither scary or haunting. I will say that Richard Dansky has a nice writing style, and the story flows nicely....unfortunately he just doesn't have much of a story to tell.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can you really go home again?, June 25, 2010
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"Firefly Rain" is all about the writing; author and video game designer Richard Dansky has a quirky and effective way with words. "Dawn was coming up slow and wary, like it wasn't sure it wanted the job...Out in the fields, the creatures that normally went to bed with the day were uneasy..." He sustains his use of creative language throughout, engaging all the reader's senses. The story features Jacob Logan, many years away from his North Carolina home, now coming back to recoup for a while after the failure of his Boston business. His parents are both dead and buried on the rural family property. The house is empty...isn't it? Strange events and poltergeist-like effects begin to bind Jacob to his home until it seems doubtful that he will ever get away again. The town's strange characters are beautifully drawn, and the house and dusty town take shape in your mind's eye. Dansky kept me reading with his spell of words. Why, then, three stars? "Firefly Rain" aims at the "horror lite" genre, and unfortunately it just misses the mark. I didn't find a single aha! moment in the story. There are all the classic themes of gothic horror--a remote haunted house, ghostly intervention, a main character down on his luck and not in charge of his fate, the need for expiation to end a curse. We have a "hound from hell," ferocious weather, graves, a journal from the past, and (reminiscent of "Children of the Corn") a no-fly zone for fireflies. Is it just too much, maybe? Would the book be more successful if the author had focused his plot on a few elements and developed each more fully? So the plot didn't work for me; but when a debut novel features excellent writing and thoughtful character creation, I'll surely be watching for the author's next offering and giving his work another try. Linda Bulger, 2010
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