Customer Reviews

Five Star Science Fiction/Fantasy - Deep Blue

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I have long been a fan of Mr. Wilson's finely crafted works of fiction (This is my Blood, Dark Ages Clan Vampire novel Lasombra, and many more), and you will become a fan, too, when you read his latest, Deep Blue, a complex and lyrical blues riff about agony and spiritual redemption. When a soul-dead, burned-out blues guitarist/singer named Brandt encounters a homeless black man whose heart-wrenching harmonica music rises from the depths of true agony, he begs the old man to teach him how to play that way. The old man warns Brandt that it is the pain, not the technique, that produces the sound. Brandt insists upon taking the burden of the old man's pain into himself so that he can play the blues with the same aching quality, but soon discovers that his new gift is also a curse. Brandt's music becomes imbued with sad, otherworldly beauty, but he finds he must play and play and play, lest the burden of the pain he's invited into his soul overwhelm him. Brandt and his band embark upon a spiritual quest to keep the restless spirits that surround them at bay and to fight the demonic force that feeds and grows powerful upon the world's pain. This is an exquisite meditation upon the nature of pain and redemption written with a blues sensibility that rolls through the mind like bleak, resounding chords of dark music. The perfect novel for a hot, sultry night.

Brandt defines the down and out musician. When he's not soused in Jose Cuervo he plays rhythm guitar for an unremarkable band in a hole-in-the-wall bar. Until one night he hears a lone harmonica playing music so deep, so pure, so full of pain he wanders the empty streets driven by the desire to play it. One by one the music transforms the other members. They feel pain so sharp and piercing it could only be the pain of the entire world straining for release. The band sells all to follow Brandt and seek out that one song. The one song behind it all. The one perfect pattern that blends each piece in harmony.

Deep Blue is that song. It lives in the words, bleeds off the page, and seeps into your being. Mood, story, emotion bound together and layered on top of rich, rhythmical cadences that thrust the reader forward in wave after unrelenting wave.

Deep Blue left this reader with something to ponder. Deep Blue left this writer with something to aspire to. David Niall Wilson's Deep Blue is simply the best novel I've read this year.

Deep Blue is one of those exceptional works of horror fiction that is able transcend genre. Rarely bloody but often unsettling, Wilson's language is poetic, his imagery surreal, and the overall impression is that the reader has stepped into a world that is similar--but not exactly the same--as the one we live in.

One of the greatest strengths of the novel are Wilson's characters, each one unique, each with a secret that drives the plot home. Down and out guitarist Brandt is given center stage at the opening, but by the end of the book the drummer Dexter, with his ability to recognize patterns and shapes in the randomness of life, has become one of its most important players. Like the novelist himself pulling plot strings, Dexter is the one who pulls them together at the end, fitting the pieces into a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Beginning in a city full of restless ghosts, ending in a rural backwoods setting complete with an electrifying mountain legend called the Sineater, Wilson's Deep Blue is a masterful work of fiction, and one of the most unique and thought-provoking novels you will read this year.

In my opinion David Niall Wilson shines brightest when writing about hidden folkways and arcane religious images. In Deep Blue, Wilson creates imagery that is both original, and at the same time reminiscent of Manly Wade Wellman. Deep Blue contains passages that will take you, the reader, out of yourself and into a world you will be glad to return from in one piece. David Wilson weaves a tapestry of music, suspense, and horror that grips the reader and pulls them along for a great ride. This has been my favorite David N. Wilson work yet. This book is a must read for Wilson's established fan base, and a great first time read for those unfamiliar with his work. Bravo ! Mr. Wilson, Bravo !

I snagged this one because I read a few interesting comments by the author in the Kindle forums here at Amazon. I thought, this guy seems pretty sharp, and went looking for his novels. The first one (of many!) that I found was the one referenced in the forum, called "Deep Blue".

I'm not going to waste a lot of space here and try to generalize the plot of this novel -- others have done so already, and likely better than I could. What I will comment on instead will be content.

First, it's a nice _long_ read. For the price of three bucks, I was _treated_ to a week's worth of story, and I'm not a slow reader. The author has a very smooth and descriptive writing style, and I felt that although long, it was a "necessary" long read, as to shorten the story would have lessened to overall impact of the work on the whole, thus cheating the reader. I found myself getting drawn into a very unique story, well told, and not so overly complicated as to become bloated. The book spends almost the first half teasing us with interesting happenings that are not quite explained, and chapters dedicated to the individual characters so we get to know them well by the time things really start to pick up about mid-way through the book. Again, I liked the leisurly pace used to draw the reader into the first half, and after finishing, I realize it was worth it to get to know the characters which gave the story more impact later on.

This author really writes smoothly -- I don't know why I've never heard of his work before now, but I'm off to get a few more of his titles right now. Personally, I really like a good long read, especially when you can feel that the author himself is working hard to communicate to the reader, and not just looking to crank out crap to make a few bucks.

This one is interesting -- don't miss out on it. Just read the synopsis, and you'll be hooked just like I was.

--Henry

Brandt and the rest of the makeshift band he plays with on occasion have lost touch with their music. Brandt wears Harlequin make-up that separates him from the others and makes him look like "a dead clown," and lead guitarist Shaver "only [lives] for the solo." Their individual pain is so great, it gets in the way of making good music together.

One night, Brandt, after getting so drunk he leaves his apartment keys behind, is drawn by the soulful sound of a harmonica into the presence of its source: an old black man named Wally with the secret to the basis of rock and roll: the blues. Brandt wants to learn to play like that, but the only way is to channel the pain of the world through his guitar. "No way outta the pain 'cept t'rough da music," Wally says.

The catch is that he cannot choose when to play; he is at the mercy and whim of the world's pain. The next night, Brandt plays the concert of his life, going into a semi-trance and stunning his bandmates with his skill. Soon, similar events affect the other band members in ways they don't totally understand, but that manages to bring them back together to find a way to be a true band once again.

That author David Niall Wilson (My Eyes Are Nailed, But Still I See) knows music inside and out is evident in Deep Blue. He knows the mathematics, the history, and the emotion. His story of a band that has lost its core is often disturbing, but always touching. The relationships that form the core of the band are dealt with deeply and admirably. Wilson obviously also knows a thing or two about band dynamics.

I would have liked a little more consistency in transitions (it's impossible to predict whether a new chapter will change the point of view or continue the previous one), and sometimes it seems that the story itself doesn't quite know where it is headed, taking a good number of forked paths along the way (including a subplot that offers another perspective on the sineater), but everything eventually comes together again into a natural conclusion.

In any case, the scenes with the music are what will keep you reading. Wilson paints liquid rainbows when he describes each band member's experience behind his or her newly-rediscovered instruments and skills, and if this were all that the book were about, it would be enough. But there's plenty more going on in Deep Blue to satisfy the author's fans (who are used to him not sticking to genre conventions) and to draw in plenty of new ones.

Disclosure Notice: I received a copy of this audiobook from Crossroad Press and the Author, David Niall Wilson, for review purposes.

There are stories I will never forget. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Terminal by Brian Keene, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Vacation by Jeremy C Shipp, and Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck among a few others. And now I am adding Deep Blue by David Niall Wilson to that list. I have read (or listened to) a lot of good stories in my life, but Deep Blue, much like those others listed above, is one of those rare great stories. A story that leaves a mark (or marks) and touches you in ways you didn't expect.

Deep Blue is the story of a group of musicians, a band if you like, who are drawn into the cosmic battle between good and evil most unwittingly by Brandt, the drunken guitarist and lead singer of the band. His chance encounter with a blues harmonica player in an random alley during the wee hours of the morning changes his life and lives of his friends forever. This change leads them through a series of supernatural music events to a showdown with the ultimate evil in the small religious town of "Friendly" California.

I will talk about the audio recording of this novel in a moment, but I have a few more things I want to say about the story itself first. This is the kinda story that can and should make some one's career. The characters are deep and rich. The scenes and events flow into each other with precision. Nothing feels tacked on, everything makes sense together: music, religion, fate, pain, good, evil, coffee, patterns, etc. This just book works, and works well. I can't say enough about it (and I did say more when I interview the author for my podcast, which will be released on August 31st 2010 at http://thesnarkyavenger.com.) (Yeah I just plugged my podcast, you got a problem with that?) So go get a copy audio, ebook, or print; and read (or listen to) it.

The audio recording of Deep Blue is top notch. Chris Patton, who is apparently a voice acting machine, did an incredible job reading this book. The reading is crisp and clean. All the characters have unique voices, and the voice's for the female characters sound like women (not like a man with a five o'clock shadow and black chest hair in a strapless, slinky red dress and a blond wig trying to sound like a woman. Not that I am saying that Chris Patton wears slinky red dresses and blond wig or has a five o'clock shadow; or that I know anything about men who do.) The unabridged audio edition of Deep Blue is very good and, if you're into audiobooks, should not be missed.

So I give Deep Blue 6 out of 5 snark bites for the story, and 4 out of 5 snark bites for the audio. (It would have gotten 5 out of 5 snark bite for the audio except for a few minor flaws and a few mispronounced words. Yeah, I'm a little picky about stuff sometimes.) And overall I would give it 5 out of 5 snark bites, so go a copy now.

You can read more of my reviews at [...].

Are you a music lover? Have you ever found yourself slipping away, lost inside the notes of a great tune? If so, you will love this book!

Wilson brings us a down and out band, playing in dive bars and drinking way too much alcohol. They're all in search of that one song that will be their own; the one that will bring them fame. Then a chance encounter between one member and an old man playing achingly beautiful blues on a harmonica takes them on a strange journey that changes all their lives. We crawl inside the musical notes and experience the pain and redemption in a way I've never experienced with a written word.

David Niall Wilson is a magnificent storyteller. I have only recently discovered his novels and short stories and have been charmed by his poetic, passionate style.
Deep Blue is a surreal, lyrical novel that hypnotizes with its rhythm. The soul of the novel is in the music, the blues. I could almost hear the waves of music, pulling me in to experience the pain and confusion of Brandt and his friends. As they make their way through a world shaped by supernatural and sinister forces I was touched by their courage and friendships.
Deep Blue is a complex story about expressing and confronting personal fears, pain and the horror of the world and ultimately, through the music, releasing that pain. A story the reader will not forget.

Guitarist and vocalist Brandt knows that the booze has taken him down so far as he barely can perform at gigs. He is so drunk he has left his keys behind so he cannot enter his apartment. When he hears strange sounding blues, he investigates and meets harmonica playing Wally. Not long afterward, Brandt plays the performance of his life and walks away

Band member Synthesia follows with her most incredible show and leaves. That leaves band members Shaver and Dexter to cross over, but both fears where the music will take them. Unless the entire band takes the giant leap along with Shaver's artist pal Liz, they will not be able to accomplish their mission when they confront their enemy in the California Mountains.

This is an engaging but weird fantasy that needs patience and a bit of adjustment to comprehend what is going on as David Niall Wilson keeps readers guessing. Once the readers begins to grasp the underlying parable that emerges slowly that there is more to this band and its mentor than a local gig, the tale hooks the audience with its magic's in the music theme. Readers who give the plot time to develop will appreciate the complex DEEP BLUE allegory.

Harriet Klausner