If I had checked this out of the library I would never have finished it, but when I buy a book I usually finish it to try to find something worthwhile. I have several books on my shelves that I hated but kept because they had nice covers and/or spines and I decorate with books...this one I disliked so much that I got rid of it, and actually it was a rather attractive book, I just didn't want it near me anymore. It's been so long since I read it I can't offer a useful review (if I ever do) but I know I found it very tedious. I could have sworn I reviewed this book back when I read it, but maybe that was on the Virtual Bookshelf. I loved the Terror. I majored in English. Had high hopes for this. Sadly, for me, it was either poorly researched or poorly edited or poorly proofread, or all three. Early in the book, a description of an odiferous street that involved horses "vomiting" pretty much ended credibility for me, since horses can't vomit. That's why they die of colic. This glaring error, to me, called into question pretty much every detail of the setting - the same things I really loved learning in The Terror - and I never really got into the book thereafter.
Delicious! Wilkie Collins (author of The Woman and White and The Moonstone) narrates this tale of what happens to his frenemy Charles Dickens after the Staplehurst accident (the train accident that Dickens and his mistress survived). Is the tale real, or mesmerism mixed with opium? The author weaves in biographical truth for Dickens and Collins, and surmised what Dickens' last book, "They Mystery of Edwin Drood" is really about. The audiobook was excellent - Very fun.
—senhorah
Fascinating! The book captures the imagination right off the bat, and most people will relish the chance to read something featuring one of the most famous writers of all times (Charles Dickens) and English nerds like me will like seeing Wilkie Collins featured. Unfortunately, Collins here is a largely unlikeable character. The author does a good job of providing many facts and rich details to enhance the fantasy elements of the work.
—naro
Loved Simmon's Hyperion books, but all his other books have been a fail for me.Including this one.
—Marta
Terrific premise. Flaccid and long winded execution.
—tkarmina28
