Third victim: True Grit by Charles Portis
I enjoyed this book, although not to the degree that I liked Pigeon English. It's excellently written in very careful prose that makes the entire story very believable. I saw the movie before I read the book (bad Smoggy!) and I was surprised by the degree to which the movie followed the book. It's quintessentially American, and by those lines definitely requires a solid appreciation of the major facts of American history, particularly Native relations with the government and the civil war, but could probably be enjoyed by most people on this forum regardless.

Recommendation: This book, Henry!

Last edited by Smoggy_London_Air (July 3, 2012 7:13 pm)

Fifth Victim: The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Excellent, excellent book, unfortunately made less excellent by the fact that I saw the movie before I read it. Great, nonetheless, but if you haven't seen the movie, wait and read the book first. The way that the author sashays between different points of view while keeping the story easy (ish) to follow and making it entertaining and invigorating is nothing short of masterful. I'm looking forward to reading other books by this author. It takes place during the Victorian era in both England and the USA over the course of many years. For the two main narrators, both competing magicians in the international stage magic scene, the story begins at their childhoods in the 1850s and 60s and runs through the early 1900s. The book does plod in some places, but not intolerably. It deserves more than one read, for sure.

Recommendation: This book, Henry!

**SPOILERS**
YOU READ THE DIBDIN. I've been anguishing over that for the past 24 hours. I kept thinking "Oh God, Watson's got it wrong, there's a solution, there's a rational explanation..." but noooooooo. I thought it was excellent writing despite the ending. I'd been imagining a Cumberbatch-type Holmes up to that point and I just kind of snapped away from that as soon as...that scene...happened. It shows a very strong, resilient side to Watson's character, though, and I liked that even if it meant what it did. (You can always tell when I'm going through a phase of alienation from the character. I always call him "Holmes". He's "Sherlock" when he's been on my good side, if that makes any sense. XD)
**END SPOILERS**

I want to read Dust and Shadow, but I haven't been able to get my hands on it. I checked my library, and I'm headed off to check the Overdrive e-book collection right now because of your recommendation. Now that I've read the premise I might need it to make a full recovery from the Dibdin. *shudder*

Last edited by Smoggy_London_Air (July 10, 2012 4:17 am)

I think I'll buy it for my eReader. Seems worth it. (Also because I can't get a ride to the bookstore. Sad times.)

Edit: Yay! I bought it. I'm in the middle of it now.

Last edited by Smoggy_London_Air (July 13, 2012 6:12 pm)

Oh, I'm glad you liked Faye.

sherlockskitty wrote:

I  have The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin.  I found it long ago in a used book store.   I  could not believe what I read.   I've only read it twice. I don't know if I still have it.  When Sherlock (Ben C)  said that line about him being accused of murder now and then,  that book sprang to my mind.   you're right--it is worth reading.  But only for the not-faint-of-heart.

I tried to make a good photomanip of Sherlock (Benedict Sherlock, that is) superimposed over Victorian Whitechapel with the quote "do people usually assume you're the murderer?", but I'm rubbish at that kind of thing, so I scrapped it.

It was good, but I needed the Faye in order to fully recover from reading it. I still have it, but the library is ready to come after me for it. I've been getting rude emails for weeks.