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Loading... The Ninth Circleby Alex Bell
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Nice little mix of fantasy and suspense that kept me turning the pages. I found The Ninth Circle to be smoothly written and vivid and it builds nicely to a satisfying, exciting conclusion. I found all the ( I'm assuming mostly factual) information about angels and demons, hell, etc. quite fascinating. This is Alex Bell's debut novel, and for sure this young author has talent. I'd seen this in the bookstore four years ago and finally got around to reading it. Eager to read more by Bell. ( ) The story opens with a man unconscious on the floor of a flat in Budapest, glued to the floor with his own blood, what follows is his quest for answers. And having read it I'm left with more questions than answers. This one falls almost into magic realism, where the appearance of angels and demons could be real or could be a product of the traumas of his past Having finished it I'm still not sure. The end left me somewhat unsatisfied but it was the right end for the story the author was telling. Readable and has made me think but not one of my favourites. I’d wanted to read this book for sometime and patiently waited till it came out in paperback. It was well worth the wait. The story tells of a man who wakes one day in a pool of blood with no recollection of who he is. The story moves from there written as a journal by the leading character. The story is cleverly plotted, twisting and turning leading to false avenues which cleverly suckered me in. But it is not just a transparent plot, going from A to B, its themes deal with identity and touch upon loneliness and isolation. It’s a tightly written story, well plotted and as a first novel, superbly written. The author’s writing style has a wonderful readable quality to it which makes it hard to put down. And its conclusion when it comes, reveals itself naturally and doesn’t feel rushed or drawn out. Thoroughly enjoyable, was a shame to finish it. no reviews | add a review
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This is The Bourne Identity . . . as if Neil Gaiman had written it . . . A man comes round on the floor of a shabby flat in the middle of Budapest. His head is glued to the floorboards with his own blood. There's a fortune in cash on the kitchen table. And he has no idea where, or who, he is. He can do extraordinary things - speak any number of languages fluently, go three days without food or sleep, and fight with extraordinary prowess. But without a name, without a past, he's isolated from the rest of the world; a stranger to everyone, including himself - until a chance encounter with a young scholar leads to his first friendship, and his first hint that someone out there knows more about him than he does. Someone is sending him clues about his past. Photographs hidden in books and crates of wine. Cryptic clues pointing towards a murdered woman. And clear warnings against Stephomi, his only friend. But that's not all; Gabriel Antaeus is seeing strange, impossible things: a burning man is stalking his dreams and haunting his mirrors, his dreams are filled with violence from the past, and his pregnant young neighbour is surrounded by an extraordinary golden aura. Something dark and violent in Gabriel's past is trying to resurface. And as he pieces the clues together, everything points towards an astounding war between angels and demons . . . and a battle not just for the future of the world, but for the minds and souls of everyone in it. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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