The Novel's and Stories of Raymond Walker

Once upon a time I devoured great fantasy novels with a voracious hunger. Then many became similar and seemed reworkings of the the earlier novel or part in the series(David and Leigh Eddings,Terry Brooks etc.) and so I gave up on fantasy and moved my reading eyes to other literary wonders. My time elsewhere was fruitful but I yearned for my heartlands in Science fiction and Fantasy. I posted an article of this sort on Goodreads, a eulogy, I suppose, to the great fantasy reads of the past. 

Someone popped up recommending this book and foolish as I am and wishing to reclaim the desires and impetus of my youth, I bought it. The Recommend it turns out came from a wise and learned person as this is a great book. It is original and different and does not draw upon the great themes of fantasy (that I grew so bored with). I will not supply a summary as it is easily available but rather just recommend the book to readers of “grand” fantasy. I am sure that all will love it.

This Horror tale or (possibly) a psychological depiction of paranoid madness, I thought excellent. I will not give you a summary of the story as it can be viewed from two standpoints. That of the paranoid and delusional main character, whom, if you are to believe his thoughts, is caught in the middle of a grand conspiracy to prove him mad for the benefit of others or alternatively that of his psychiatrist who is either trying to help or destroy him (depending up your viewpoint). The complex story is built gradually through a series of hypnotic regressions, therapy notes and delusional episodes so it is not the easiest of reads (for those of faint heart) but it is certainly worth persevering. As the story reaches fullness it becomes littered with tiny clues to the truth. Like “Blatty’s "Legion” or “Redemption”, a couple of Stephen King novels, Dan Simmons “Drood”  and a few others, this novel stands up as one of the great “Horror” novels of our time. I would certainly recommend it.  

Over the years many of my own books have been compared to “The Snow child” by Eowyn Ivey and so I have always meant to read this book and I, eventually, have. I have written many Faerie Tales, where a creature of Faerie interacts with the lives of “normal” humans to change them for the better or worse much as this tales does but that is where all comparison between myself and Ms Ivey ends. I love this book, sure it tells the old faerie tale and so is not based upon an original thought but that is where all similarities with the faerie tale stop.

Firstly this is beautifully written and well told, Ms Ivey can let loose the fanciful and stylish allusions, delightful descriptions and language when she wishes but mostly the book is restrained and she only lets her literary-self loose on occasion. This restraint makes the book flow better, makes it easy to read leading to an “unputdownable” book so do not be surprised if you are still reading in “The wee sma hours”. I will not give you a summary of the book other than to say it is the old Russian faerie tale retold in 1920′s Alaska where an older couple that cannot have children build a girl of snow and she comes to life. The characters are believable, in parts the book made me recall “Miss Smilla’s feeling for Snow” and that is a high recommendation. 

I have taken time out to read some “Winter Tales” as it is now the height of summer here in Scotland and so I can face the “chill” for once. This was one of those tales where I found the writing of this novel “Odd” rather than bad or particularly good (as I noticed others have said) but rather, simply different. In places I loved the style, in others, unusually for me, I had to check back to make sure that I understood the sentence. Take that away for a second and there is a well told story hidden beneath that argument. 

In Northern Sweden in the early seventeen hundreds a family relocates from the coast to take over a farm. This tale centers around Maija, her eldest daughter Dorotea and a disemboweled corpse found in the forest. It is a tale of hardship, strict Christianity and old enmities slowly surfacing after a thaw. It is bleak at times but also wonderful in its own way (do not expect many laughs along the way) as it draws you into the lives of Maija and her children as well as her neighbors and the local priest. They have the mystery of the corpse to solve with no idea how to do so other than asking questions. 
 I really enjoyed this book and suspect that others also will.

A very Pleasant Surprise.

I picked this novel up in a hurry when I had no time to look for another, better, one. The cover is quite plain and Mr Holt is trying, rather obviously, to get into the Dan Brown market. And so he should be as apart from “Angels and demons” and “The DA Vinci code”, he has written a better book. Set in Venice much as “Inferno” was he has created a better story, still involving the history and ideal of Venice but in a much more engaging story. This book came a surprise to me, One I expected little from yet received much. I would highly recommend this novel to those that enjoy a detective novel, a “Dan Brown” type Mystery  but expect a little more. Good characters carried along by the story itself. A very good (and surprising) Three star recommendation by myself.

Well worth a read I say.

raynayday:

Another Glorious work of art from Mr Aycliffe. There are few in the world that can write a ghost story such as this man. I only aspire to write as well as he. In this tale he follows standard routes yet even then the tale is creepy, the setting wonderful and strange. A master of the art in my opinion.