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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Another fine review for A Fine Likeness!

My Civil War novel A Fine Likeness has received another four-star review. This time it's on Amazon UK. Reviewer G.R. Yeates writes:

"Sean McLachlan's novel of horror set during the civil war is a most assured work. The author draws upon his extensive knowledge of Missouri during the time period and includes genuine figures from history as part of the tale. His passion for the era and the people is evident and creates a thoroughly immersive atmosphere. There are points in the earlier sections of the novel where it is not entirely clear which direction the narrative is going to take and the supernatural aspects take their time in becoming established - normally I would criticise this but in this case, no, because McLachlan had me wanting to take my time, to walk around in the world he had brought to life and spend some more time with the characters before the business of pushing ahead with the story took full hold. There are not many books I have read that I can say that about.

"The contrasting characters of Jimmy Rawlins and Richard Addison are the lynchpins of the novel and as they grow and develop, it feels natural and organic, you identify with them very strongly, you understand and sympathise with two people who are essentially decent caught up in the nightmare of war, trying to do what's right in morally ambiguous times.

"McLachlan also displays a talent for portraying the supernatural as he fashions a demon and a cult about which we are told just enough for us to be unsettled and disturbed without giving too much away about their nature. However my one reservation with this novel does come down to the climax and resolution. A few threads are left hanging that I would have liked to have seen more surely resolved, which leaves me to say that this novel has a solid ending rather than an exemplary one.

"Overall, I would recommend this novel to horror readers as it has a setting not often seen in the genre and I strongly doubt that the American Civil War has ever been this effectively and thoroughly evoked before. What you will find here is a fine likeness of history with a disturbing undercurrent of evil and cosmic chaos"

Hmmm, does anyone else think there are too many loose ends? Hopefully the sequel will tie some of them up, and create new ones!

3 comments:

  1. Good stuff, Sean! Hey, just and excuse to write another book, right?

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  2. That's a great review! And so what about loose ends? My novels have them, too. You have to leave things to explore in the sequels; you can't just "tell" everything.
    Hope you get more supportive reviews like this one. :-)

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