Isabel Burning [Paperback]

Donna Lynch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2009

As a young woman raised in the soot-covered mediocrity of an English industrial town, Isabel has led a common and directionless life. Secretly she yearns to be the center of something, anything, that is momentous and vital. She dreams of making marks on the world.

Her new job as housekeeper at Grace mansion is hardly exciting but does surround her with the accouterments of aristocratic lineage while allowing her to observe the habits of the enigmatic Dr. Edward Grace. Captivated by his tales of travel to Africa, Isabel is inexorably drawn into a tumultuous relationship which eventually reveals the Grace family's dark heritage and lays bare every secret, even the ones she keeps from herself.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Lynch’s alternate/indie-rock music career serves her well in this lyrical first novel about some unsettling supernatural secrets that might be better left concealed. Isabel is a solitary young woman who burns with inner fires of intuition that guide her during life-altering decisions. One such fire urges her to accept a housekeeping position at a sprawling estate owned by the reclusive Dr. Grace. Since neither has a wealth of family or friends, a bond quickly forms between the two that blossoms into an intimate relationship and the inevitable discovery of each other’s darker nature. When Dr. Grace reveals his involvement in macabre African experiments focused on harnessing the soul’s energies, Isabel’s intuitive flame burns brighter than ever, warning her to flee his influence. Yet, once Isabel agrees to a bizarre experiment involving soul transfer, Dr. Grace’s spell becomes overpowering, and his hidden knowledge even more gruesome. An imaginative blend of dreams, fertility rites, and arcane magic gives Lynch’s story a deliciously gothic flavor that readers with a taste for more highbrow horror will find irresistible. --Carl Hays --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

An imaginative blend of dreams, fertility rites, and arcane magic gives Lynch's story a deliciously gothic flavor that readers with a taste for more highbrow horror will find irresistible. --Booklist, July, 2008 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press (January 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193329356X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933293561
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Isabel Burning is sordid in all the right ways, September 6, 2008

By 

Becca Carter (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isabel Burning (Hardcover)

Isabel Burning is one of the best new books I have read in years. A break from the influx of carbon copy novels to be released recently Isabel Burning is easy to read, the words are almost lyrical and flow in a way that will have you not wanting to put the book down. This book will leave you feeling intrigued, sickened and wanting more. The surprises laid throughtout the book are not thinly veild. You do not expect what is laid out before you, but once you know the secrets you can't imagine any other reality. Your sense of everything is challanged and you begin to imagine the world that Isabel calls home as your own. Its romance in its rawest form, combined with terror and uncertainty.

Fans of the book will also be able to enjoy Donnas lyrical mastery in her bands music. Order Of The Reptile

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Needed a better editor to keep the writer focused., May 4, 2010

By 

Ms. Byrd (Philadelphia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isabel Burning (Paperback)

I kind of feel bad giving this such a poor review, as I have a soft spot for new writers, but I really have to say something, as I spent money on this.

Where to start? It begins interesting enough. The doctor and Isabel performing experiments to remove the soul from the body and experience a true rebirth while retaining all one's memories and most of your consciousness. Then, they're morphine junkies living in monster house. Then it becomes Rosemary's Baby meets the Creature from the Black Lagoon. All thrown at you in a way completely lacking in style or intrigue. It was only my own compulsion to finish what I start that kept me reading, and evidently the same feeling kept Ms. Lynch writing. One gets the feeling she had no idea where the story was going until she finally decided to end it. I say end it rather than finish it, due to its rushed feeling as the story finally closes.

It was rambling, nonsensical, and hackneyed. By the time the "big secret" is thrown at you, the story has reached a blathering point that you really don't care anymore, removing any shock you might feel at the fact itself. What this story really needed was a good editor to help trim down all Ms Lynch's ideas into a coherent form, maybe stick to one or two of the several half-baked story lines she shoved into 232 pages.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Isabel Burning is a deliciously sick and sensual read, September 17, 2008

By 

Jessica Moon "lunascura" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isabel Burning (Hardcover)

I was originally introduced to Donna Lynch's artistry through the band Ego Likeness, for which she provides lyrics and vocals. Lynch's storytelling ability is stellar when she only has four minutes to deliver her message, so I anxiously anticipated just what kind of a story she could tell with an entire novel. I was not disappointed. Lynch's voice as a writer is just as soaring as I could have hoped. Isabel Burning is a slinky, shivering tale of madness and monsters that you can't help but love. Lynch's writing is intensely visual and cerebral. You just can't escape her imagery. It will start the things under your skin crawling in the most wonderful ways.