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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book,
By
This review is from: Hawksmoor (Paperback)
"Hawksmoor" is actually one of my very favorite books, and certainly ranks with "Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem" as one of Ackroyd's best. Yes, it does travel back and forth in time and space, but it is not difficult for an attentive reader to follow. Ackroyd's knowledge of the esoteric underpinnings of numerology and architecture, and his vast knowledge of the history and culture of London make this book a rewarding mystery. I cannot visit a Hawksmoor church now without this book haunting my steps.
I've read it repeatedly, and taught it in an "Alternative Londons" course (with "From Hell" and "Neverwhere", two more superior London books). Students have loved it. Not, perhaps to everyone's taste, but highly recommended. If you're looking for emotional ties to characters (as the other reviewer seemed to be), look elsewhere; part of the novel's mood lies in the icy detachment of the characters in both timelines. If you're looking for a brainy adventure with more than a touch of the creepy supernatural, this is a book for you.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but Somewhat Pointless,
By
This review is from: Hawksmoor (Paperback)
I am a mystery fan who recently read Hawksmoor so that this review is from the perspective of a mystery fan. As has been pointed out, the book revolves around two parallel stories, one in the eighteenth century and one in the "present" (about 20 years ago). The eighteenth century part of the book is written in first person and the writing for this part of the book is well done. The use of eighteenth century English really helps one feel the mood of post-plague London. It is a bit difficult to follow in some places, but the effort is worth the time. One the other hand, the writing for the "present" part of the book is not nearly as well done. Much of the dialogue is awkward, and the plot is rather thin. Ackroyd also has an annoying habit of making the parallelism between the two stories very very obvious. It seems that on every other page he seems to be screaming at you: "Remember these two stories are parallel!". O.K., I get it already! I was also amazed at how Ackroyd becomes so wrapped up in attempting to use pretentious writing, that he seems to lose his common sense. At one point, Ackroyd makes a comment that time passes like points on a balloon the is being blown up, his point being that all of the points on the balloon move away from each other at the same rate. The problem is that this is not true! The points on the neck of the balloon stay relatively close whereas points on the other end of the balloon move away from each other at a much faster rate.
However, my main disappointment with the book is the plot for the "present" part of the story. Not only is the plot thin, but the ending leaves one wondering if the last chapter of the book was truncated. I would have been much happier just reading the eighteenth century part of the book by itself.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not on my list,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Hawksmoor (Paperback)
I have read more than half of the books on David Pringle's list of the best 100 fantasy books (after working through most of his SciFi list). His suggestions include classics and hidden gems and, unfortunately, a few clunkers. Hawksmoor is one of the latter.
Slow but evocative, the book moves back and forth from a time when cathedrals are being built by an architect possessed by an evil force to more contemporary times, where we see the shadow of that force's effect. It is a good concept and well written but very slow going. It can be difficult to build a reader relationship with characters when the scene keeps shifting and Ackroyd fails to surmount that challenge here. This is not a terrible book but it is ponderous without being either enlightening or entertaining. There are better books of fantasy and historical fiction to read. If you are not possessed of unlimited reading time, I might give this one a miss.
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