Customer Reviews

King Solomon's Carpet

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This book is so far beyond an ordinary suspense novel that it seems in a class by itself. The many characters are fascinating, almost hypnotically so, and because this is Barbara Vine, you know that somehow, at the finish,no matter how different they are, how unrelated they may seem, they'll come together in an end you can't predict and yet, when it happens, has a horrible inevitability.

She lives up to her accolades as the best in her field, and this is one of her most ambitious and accomplished performances. A simply stunning novel. The use of multiple points of view reminds me of Stephen King's THE STAND, except, in its way, this is a far scarier story. It doesn't need the failure of the Disease Control Center in Atlanta for its aura of dread. It depends on something much more frightening: human nature.

In London there's a young man writing a history about all the subways of the world, who owns a rambling, old house -- appropriately situated by a subway line. All (but one of the characters -- an old woman) live in this house. They are: a young woman who has run away from her baby and husband to find a musical career in the big city; a young busker earning a meager living playing music in the Underground; a "free-love"-styled mother with two young children; a forlorn man whose only emotional attachment seems to be with his pet hawk; and, the world subways writer.

Of course there are entanglements, misunderstandings, lies, missed opportunities, near-misses -- this IS Barbara Vine, after all! But, for me, the most exciting parts were the joy rides in the London Underground taken by the young boy. The tension, fear, the thrill beckoning to dangerous adventure, then, the grand exhilaration when victorious, are so well realized, that I felt I was there. Sprinkled throughout this book are fascinating tidbits of information and anecdotes about this -- the world's oldest subway system. The most fascinating character was the dark, dangerous stranger -- a Byronic type found so often in Gothic literature. He goes around the Underground system trailing with him a grotesque-faced man covered head-to-foot in a bear costume. They perform very odd vignettes in the cars and on the platforms -- apparently not for money. Even though wealthy, he decides to go live in the crumbling old house.

Now more complications and questions enter the story -- who is this charismatic guy? -- who is the person in the bear costume? -- why do those two go into the subway system apparently not for money?

It was a Big Letdown when, at the end of this book, I didn't know the answers! I suspect that B.Vine didn't come to understand just who this character was -- deep down. That she created him, then didn't know what to do when she got to the part where she's supposed to reveal his motivations ... HIS SOUL. It's as if she "threw him under the bus", so to speak. I really resented the book ending without seeing this character unmasked at the end. This is something every good writer should do ... not leave it to the readers' imagination! Shame on you, Barbara Vine -- that's lazy (non)writing!

Ruth Rendell (Barbara Vine) is a wonderful writer who builds suspense better than almost any mystery writer from the latter half of the 20th Century. Although it was been highly praised, King Solomon's Carpet had too many odd characters doing far too little, for far too long for the tension to pay off at the end.

I picked this book up just to see what it was about and to review the first page before deciding it buy it.However once i started reading I couldn't stop and just had to abandon all the other novels I was reading.I haven't finished it yet but am finding it fasinating.In typical Vine fashion this novel is rich in detail and very atmospheric.There is a lot of history explained about the underground which I've found very interesting.Highly recommended!

THE BACKGROUND INFO ON THE LONDON UNDERGROUND SYSTEM IS INTERESTING ALTHOUGH NOT MUCH MYSTERY IN IT SO FAR & I AM UP TO CHAPTER 8.