April '06 Fantasy BOTM: Dusk by Tim Lebbon

[FicusFan]

I couldn't finish it myself. I got a little past the middle of the book. I just didn't care about the characters or the story and I have too much to read that I might actually enjoy.

I agree that Trey was the best defined of the characters (as far as I got). I also liked his underground world, but it seemed not to last long in the book.

 

[Eventine]

Well, considering I finished the book a few weeks back it's about time that I finally got around to posting on it. I mentioned in the Reading in July thread that Lebbon "comes off as a poor mans China Mieville, with the writing and characterisation not matching the scope of his imagination". I suppose I'd better back that up with some reasons for my opinion (I really appreciate when authors come here, but feel bad about being critical, especially when I haven't taken the effort to discuss why I'm being critical).
I felt that there were some very imaginative creations in this book, especially things like the tunblers and the hawks. Unfortunately I just never felt that the descriptions were strong enough to give me a vivid idea of what they were like, and I only ever had a sketchy idea of what they were.
Regarding characterisation, I just didn't get a feel for any of the characters - none were likeable and the way they behaved according to their motivations didn't ring true to me. More specifically, I didn't buy the Red Monks at all. The opening chapter with the monk slowly killing the viallagers despite the multitude of arrows was excellent, but then I felt was somewhat cheapened by having a POV from the Monks - they seemed way too rational and organised considering they are supposed to be insane to the point of being able to overcome nearly any wound - a bit more mystery would have went a long way here, as I didn't find their ability or their organisation at all believable.
I did like the idea ofthe decaying society, another thing I found interesting was the idea of "magic" having sentience and some input into its own destiny - this was a different takeon what we see elsewhere within the genre, and left me questioning it throughout the novel.

Onto some comments on the discussion so far:

Use of magic as deus ex machina - probably has a lot to do with my last point about the different use of magic. I wasn't particularly frustrated, as we have very little idea of how magic works within this world, and it's obviously something to be expanded upon in the follow up.

Use of drugs in a fantasy setting - I liked Trey's descent into addiction as the quality of his drug declines - it would have been interesting to see more of the impact the drug had onc ultures - it was obvious that Trey could use it to touch other minds, yet this seemed something he was reluctant to do - I would have expected it to be an important part of their underground culture.

What I'd really like is not the Clarke treatment, but the China Mieville treatment - like Katya above I couldn't get a clear picture of the hawks and tumblers. The bit where Trey and Alicia see the whirlpool in the rock struck me as showing potential - if Lebbon had just worked a bit more on painting a clearer picture of the world, I might have got a bit more caught up in it.

Totally agree. Same with this:

What I WOULD have liked to have seen is just a little more depth spent in one of two areas: Either in bringing it down to a more personal, horrific level OR just fleshing out the world A LITTLE. Without going all encyclopaedic on our rears, I would have liked to have seen more about tumblers and skull ravens and such in a way that incorporated them into the story

I'm not sure I'll read Dawn. It would only really be the completist in me that would drive me to.

Also, thanks for visiting Tim. Regarding your points around leaving it up to the readers imagination, I don't have a problem with this, I just feel that you picked the wrong things to go into too much detail with (i.e. long discussions of Red Monks insanity vs very brief description of tumblers).

 

[cervantor]

Hey all, hope you had a great Easter weekend! Just wanted to let you know that I posted a review of Tim Lebbon’s “Dusk/Dawn” duology HERE if you’re interested. In short, despite some flaws with the characters and overall plot, I really enjoyed the series. What I liked best was the world of Noreela itself, how it was brought to life and its eclectic cast of denizens. I think there’s a lot of unique concepts introduced with the books so it’s a worthwhile series to pick up if you’re looking for something different. Especially if you’re a fan of darker fantasy with horror elements. Also, Tim Lebbon is already at work on more stories in the Noreela universe, so I’m curious to see what he comes up with next. Thanks for reading!

Robert

 

[U-Borat]

Just finished Dusk...

Didn't like it one bit.

Had major problems with the writing, which I found was very unsophisticated...The plot was neither engaging nor suspensful...The characters were dull and boring.

I had to force myself to plod through the novel.

I'll read the 2nd book soon for the purpose of completing the series...but my hopes aren't high...

 

[geokaver22]

I don't remember which post it was but I vaguely remember someone implying the characters in Dusk and Dawn were dull or not adequately described. (maybe this is a conglomeration of a few posts.) Like they didn't fit into a neat package of what the person thought they should be like. I think this makes the world of Noreela so much more interesting and real. People do not react in a predictable manner all the time. We're messy and inconsistent. And yes, there did seem to be a few gaps in their histories but I thought this presented a great opportunity to speculate. Tim Lebbon does not hand us the whole story and its history or all of the whys and hows. We get bits and pieces of the story, exactly like we do in real life. We never get to see the whole huge picture of life. I feel like this adds to the anxiety in the books. We don't know much more than the characters themselves know. And in a sense we become just another (non-participatory) character. I love that.