Customer Reviews

Resurrection Man

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up this book on a reccomendation, and read it in one night, literally unable to put it down. The book is marvelous - full of unusual and vivid imagery and well drawn out characters that draw you into this alternate Earth. The author has a knack for tiny touches that add huge amounts of detail to the overall story. A fantastic book, in every sense of the word.

The first chapter of this book has to be one of the most incredible I've ever read anywhere. There's a lot that will shock and intrigue readers in this book, even with its modest number of pages; I thought the story was wonderfully packed and layered.

The downside is that this is going to be a tougher book to read and understand than most sf/fantasy/urban fantasy books--Sean Stewart has got a very different Earth here, and only reveals it piece by little piece. A lot is unexplained (this book is almost absent of all "info dumps" so conspicuous in sf/fantasy); most information about the world must be inferred, at the same time Dante is trying to understand the mysteries happening inside him and within his family.

The patient reader will be rewarded--this book is emotionally gripping, imaginative, funny and intelligent, and the quality and intensity never lets up. Once I reached the middle of the book, I lost hours of sleep trying to finish the rest of it in one night because I couldn't put it down. The puzzle pieces do fall into place in the last chapter. The whole book was a unique and incredible experience, unorthodox in a lot of places, which was really part of its strength.

This was the first book I've read by Mr. Stewart, and I'm looking forward to reading his other books.

The book starts slowly and requires some work on the reader's part, but the effort is well worth it. One of the joys of this books is the author's slow and subtle presentation of the world he creates -- at first it seems almost exactly like our world, then quite thoroughly different (sinister magic is a large part of it) and finally, not so different after all. The characters are all believable, given the oddity of their existence. The author also is extremely good with descriptions and the ordinariness of much of the phsycial surroundings only serves to heighting the eerie atmosphere. The book combines elements of fantasy and horror but doesn't easily fit into any category.

I was seduced into buying this book at a time when I was feeling particulary hungry for a good read. Resurrection Man did not disappoint. Sean Stewart has written a genre-bending tale about three siblings' reluctant journey towards self-knowledge that skillfully combines elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror with downright lyric prose. The language of this book is easily one of its greatest strengths. Stewart's style is at once fluid and precise, impressionistic and razor-fine. The characters are deftly drawn, with Dante and Jet, the two brothers at the story's center, standing out as particularly rich and true. Readers looking for a moving and original fantasy from a skilled storyteller will be well-served by Resurrection Man

It was Don Webb who first pointed me in Stewart's direction, but it took me quite a while before I finally picked up a novel of his. This of course was due to no active avoidance, but simply because I have way too many books to read as it is. Still, if I never got any recommendations, I would miss out on some amazing books, of which Resurrection Man is one of them.

I like fantasy based in the real world--something magical hidden under the surface. When young, I remember being fascinated by magicians, tarot cards, and voodoo. I liked science fiction, but ESP and telekinetics did not intrigue me as much as the rituals of fantasy. This was the difference between science and magic, even when both could accomplish the same effect. Later in life, this preoccupation with magic had me gravitating to magic realism in my reading, a subject which I still actively seek out.

Resurrection Man is not quite magic realism (at least in my definition of the term) because Stewart's world is not our own. It has many similarities, but the differences--angels working for the police, feng shui necessary for building placement--are striking. What makes Stewart seem like magic realism is for his style of writing about this alternate world, almost laconic, but seemingly realistic.

The plot is a strange mixture of mystery and secrets that also appealed to me, as the protagonist must deal with his own angelic nature (not as heavenly as you might think), the past of his aunt's husband, and a possible child, both born yet unborn. I liked Resurrection Man a lot, and I'm looking forward to reading another book by Stewart to see if he can capture my interests so completely once again.

Stewart has created what is without a doubt one of the most cutting edge fantasy novels I have ever read. Brilliantly combining elements of dark fantasy which border on plunging this narrative into the category of a horror and urban fantasy elements which bring the events depicted almost too close to home, the result is a novel which will both make your hair stand on end and force you to think about its implications long after you read it. The narrative style is tightly woven and highly engaging to those who are looking for a break from the traditional fantasy style. To describe the originality of Stewart's vision I would say that this novel borders on genius; to describe its appeal, well, it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. In point of fact this novel would probably appeal to a fairly small demographic of "fringe fantasy" fans. Let me simply say if you liked the X-files or the Outer Limits TV Shows or Movies like The Dark Crystal or The Last Unicorn this book will appeal to you. For the average Joe this book might be a little too dark for your taste; start with something lighter but still on the fringe like Gregory Mcguire's Wicked or, always a classic, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

I was seduced into buying this book at a time when I was feeling particulary hungry for a good read. Resurrection Man did not disappoint. Sean Stewart has written a genre-bending tale about three siblings' reluctant journey towards self-knowledge that skillfully combines elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror with downright lyric prose. The language of this book is easily one of its greatest strengths. Stewart's style is at once fluid and precise, impressionistic and razor-fine. The characters are deftly drawn, with Dante and Jet, the two brothers at the story's center, standing out as particularly rich and true. Readers looking for a moving and original fantasy from a skilled storyteller will be well-served by Resurrection Man

I can't predict if anyone else will feel the same way I did about this novel. I certainly liked it, and will read a dozen or so other books before tackling another one by the same author, just to let things sink in some more.

I was drawn to the book by this quote of the author, from a LOCUST interview. Stewart here speaks of magic, but to me it is the magic of fiction to enchant, the magic of insight to enlighten, the ah ha! experience. If you like this quote, you may enjoy this book as much as I did:

"There are several different kinds of truth in the world: truths of one, truths of two, and truths of three or more.'

"Truths of three or more are what science is concerned about. They're external, and they're about the manipulation of the world that is shared by everyone.'

"Truths of two would be things like the love you have for someone else - very difficult to measure or quantify, but clear to that individual.'

"Truths of one are those things that seem intensely true and meaningful to you but are impossible to communicate, to measure and give to someone else in quite the same way you can give someone else a wave length or a hundred kilos of mass, or whatever.'

"And when you get magic like you have in a role-playing game, that is profoundly concerned with using theoretically magical things to manipulate the external world - like, 'With this spell, you can generate a fireball that will do this much damage to a physical structure' - that's like a truth of three or more. It seems to me, magic in its most important sense is about those truths of two and one. It has to have some transformative, powerful relationship to the people doing it. Science does not. The whole point about science or technology is that once it's engineered out, it doesn't matter if you turn on the light switch or I turn on the light switch. Magic shouldn't be like that. It isn't reproducible, isn't the same for everyone. It's intensely personal, and speaks to those more personal and subjective truths."

Not knowing who Sean Stewart was prior to reading "Resurrection Man," it was more than a pleasant surprise to find such a well written book with poignant themes. Hiding on the margins of literature, Stewart's third published novel tells the story of a Hungarian family living in the US and their attempts to come to terms with skeletons in the closet after WII, both personal and familial. But it is not the 1950's America you know from history; magic in the form of charms and strange occurrences is a natural part of everyday life. The protagonist Dante, finds himself staring down at his own dead body in the opening lines of the book, and thinking it an ill omen, sets about solving the riddle. But Dante is not alone in unraveling the mystery. His mysterious adopted brother Jet hangs on the periphery, offering the most spiritual of advice, while his sister, Sarah, fights personal problems of her own in her relationships with men and her mother.

Alliteration and fantasy have perhaps never been intertwined so well. More magic realism than pure fantasy, Stewart's gifted prose delivers the story on a cutting edge. Description clear, dialogue focused, and similes spot on and never overused, the line between fantasy and reality becomes an afterthought. My only complaint about the novel is that, despite the realistic portrayal, characterization seemed to take a back seat to the delicious plot devices and magic overtones. But Dante, his father, Jet, Sarah and the others are presented so realistically that the overall value of the book does not suffer. This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys psychological explorations, particularly with fantasy motifs.

This book requires some patience, to sort out what is going on and what the world of the setting is like. Characters, too, are slowly developed. It's hard to pinpoint the exact source of the emotional impact and beauty of the story, and yet it is undeniably there. There are scenes of loss, and confusion, and pain. Then there are scenes of family unity, of peace and contentment. Many of the most compelling passages are those told by Dante's brother, Jet. His love is photography. He describes some of his favorite photographs that he has taken. He describes the atmosphere at the time, his subject, and just why the photo affected him and stayed with him. The book is about the influence of magic on an alternate earth. It is loosely about Dante's mystery of who and what he is, and his journey of discovery. The book works without that plot, however, on the strength of the writing and the insightful moments. It is not a straightforward story. It's really all about the journeys of the characters, rather than their destinations.