Lauren Owen's "The Quick" initially comes across as a slow-burning Gothic period piece, rich in poetic and atmospheric descriptions of a decaying country house, its unkempt gardens and the family which inhabits it. It suddenly flares up to become a fast-paced supernatural thriller, crowned with a bloody action-packed climax worthy of a Tarantino movie. Some readers have spoken of a "twist" in the plot. In actual fact, the novel provides many twists and turns as it meanders through the grimy, foggy streets of Victorian London. This is an assured, genre-bending début from a novelist to look out for. ( )

It had some good moments, but really fizzled out toward the end. I did not experience a big twist...did I miss something? Will collect my thoughts for a proper review. ( )

If Anne Rice had gone back in time to collaborate on a novel with William Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair, I think the result might have turned out something like this. The lush writing and creepy turns of the novel fascinated me from the beginning, and Owen's nuance with characterization, setting, and hints that offered just enough foreshadowing without going too far...all of it came together for me beautifully. It wasn't quite the book I expected (somehow), but it was kind of a wonderful journey. I will say that the pacing occasionally threw me off, but all told, I rather adored this strange historical horror novel, and I look forward to more of Owen's work. ( )

So, what can I say about this book? Three things really, a) it is a debut novel for this Author b) I really didn’t see that coming and c) Noooooo!!!

I found this book by chance on a rummage through my local lending library the other day, and was intrigued both by the cover and the synopsis, so home with me it came and I’m glad I took a chance on something so unknown to me. If other readers have already heard of this novel they may think I live under some rock and rarely venture out; that is not the case, I never read reviews on books and choose them purely on their own merit when out and about and this was the case with this one.

From a character point of view they are plentiful in this novel, and they are morose, they are arrogant; you may love them or you may hate them, but each of them will bring about a reaction in the reader of some description. In my opinion it was hard to pinpoint one main character in the whole of this novel, as so many come and take centre stage in a way that will impact all those around them; and once they step away from the limelight they do not fade out of the plotline entirely as many Authors have their lesser characters doing. Despite the time period in which this novel was set, there was one particular character I really connected with and I was rooting for her every time she appeared in the story; there were also others that no matter how hard I tried I could not find anything redeeming in their character and found myself chuckling when rough things happened to them.

Because of the way in which this book is written it is hard to write an in-depth review without giving away the plot. It is written from a multi-perspective point of view , as each character comes to the front and also includes journal entries; all the good stuff that combine together to make an exceptional Victorian gothic novel. It is very apparent from the way in which the Author addresses class issues and gender expectations that they have done an extensive amount of research into this period of history; the shock one woman expresses at seeing another wearing trousers is a good example. The location descriptions are the best I have read in a long time, and in this area put me in mind of Dickens and Conan-Doyle in the way the Author uses the surroundings to propel the storyline along. The grandeur of some buildings is, in the next paragraph startling contrasted against the poorer areas of London; along with smells and attire I could almost feel I was back in this time with the characters.

This is a moody, dark and gritty novel which really doesn’t show London at its best, but this is what adds to the novel. There is no sugar coating of the privations some suffered and the excesses others enjoyed. Because of its abrupt ending however, I am hoping that this may be the start of a series, one that I will definitely be following. If not, and the Author decided to leave the reader with a cliff-hanger, I don’t really mind as I will definitely be reading this Author again.

I would highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction, and those who enjoy a good gothic novel. Also those who enjoy Victorian crime fiction may find this to their liking.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/07/16/review-the-quick-lauren-owen/




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For a moment I really thought there was an occult wikipedia.Kind of disappointed lol


http://readthequick.com/