Graveyard Dust [Paperback]

Barbara Hambly (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam Books (1999)
• ASIN: B000WL5TS0
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I have been reading Barbara Hambly's science fiction for years. When I saw that she had written a series of books based on a free man of color, as an African American I was skeptical of what her view would be. I have been pleasantly surprised. I could not put Fever Season down and anxiously waited for Graveyard Dust.

Both books are meals which should be slowly savored, with new tastes and smells to entice the palate on every page. I think the characterizations are on the money, with Benjamin's mother an excellent case in point. I like Rose Vitrac the best, but I have known Dominique's and the rest of the crowd in my life, as well as Olympe's and Benjamin's. I think Olympe's character could be better developed but I'm sure this is something the author will work on.

I suggest readers sit back and read slowly. The reward is great.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Read and Read Again, August 19, 2000

By 

"grnjade77" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read and re-read Graveyard Dust and found it as entralling the second time as it was on the first reading. I was especially happy to see that Barbara Hambly has included all the characters that have become important in Benjamin Janvier's life and that they do not "disappear" with the completion of the previous novel. With each book, Barbara Hambly enriches the fabric of the life of Benjamin Janvier. She maintains the family relationships and a circle of friends that make you want to know more about this fascinating man of her creation.

I was happy to see the relationship between Benjamin and Hannibal grow with the ease of witty remarks passed back and forth and to see the inclusion of Herr and Madame Mayerling, Rose Vitrac and Abishag Shaw. What makes Barbara Hambly's books so much better is her attention to details of the real world. One may look at a map of New Orleans and identify the streets named in the book. One may study history and see the names of real people woven into her story with consummate skill. You may scent the air, hear the clip-clop of horses hooves in the street, feel the humidity and see the afternoon light. You are immersed in the setting and have a sense that you could walk the streets where they once walked.

Here, in Graveyard Dust, Barbara Hambly gives us a detailed view of the practice of voodoo with Hollywood glamourizing. It was, (and still is), much a part of the daily lives of the people of New Orleans. While Benjamin Janvier may not agree with his sister Olympe`'s praticing of voodoo, he will still risk all to clear the charges of conspiracy to murder and to bring his somewhat fragmented family back to a whole. He will look beyond the surface of what things appear to be and fight the contraints of "custom".

While it may not be the focus of the book, I enjoyed the under underlying theme of bringing a family closer together, of getting to know each other again and of honor and loyalty to the diverse group of friends she has stitched together. Benjamin's patient, budding relationship with Rose makes a reader hopeful for them.

Barbara Hambly's goal may be to entertain, but with this series of stories about Benjamin Janvier, I have found my self returned to a slower pace and educated about a landmark time in American history, a place where good manners and grammar were observed in public and the world didn't move at the speed of a telephone cable. Time to move over and retire Anne Rice, Barbara Hambly is the new reigning Queen of New Orleans.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent, well-researched suspense novel, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I happened to pick up this third book about Ben January without having read the first two books or knowing the author. Ms. Hambley has a new fan in me! Her charachterizations drew me to the New Orleans of 1834 and kept me there through the last line of the book.