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I've read a few books by the author previously, but The Soul Eater is a new read for me. I see from the 1981 publication date that this is one of his early works, but his distinctive style is already there. The major characters are larger than life, if not particularly relatable - more representatives of a type than human (or alien) beings with foibles and quirks. Consequently, the plot has the feel of a fable, or... almost a thought experiment, with a sense of inevitability. This isn't a negative criticism, and it's all very readable.

I didn't feel concerned about Nicobar Lane during his increasingly obsessive pursuit of the Dreamwish Beast, but I was definitely curious as to how far his obsession would take him, and what kind of person he would be when he got there.

Overall, an enjoyable short read, although I probably won't rush into re-reading it.

I had the pleasure of first reading this book as an early draft, and it’s been a privilege to follow its development over the years.

In this murder mystery in a weird/steampunk setting, we follow devout blacksmith Nette and irreverent charlatan Mary as they try to achieve their conflicting goals. While Nette strives to bring her parents’ killer to justice, Mary just aims to turn a profit and rid herself of some old familial debts.

The world feels very “frontier”, with dollops of magic and infrequent godly intervention (or maybe that should be interference). However, magic isn’t used casually, and so the characters have to be devious rather than handwaving their escapes after they get themselves (and each other) into trouble.

As you might imagine, Nette and Mary have distinct personalities, and they’re haunted by different issues. It was greatly satisfying to see how their disparate stories came together as the story progressed.

Highly recommended.

This book came to my attention as one of this year’s SPFBO finalists. It’s categorised as Christian fantasy, so (not being interested in religion, whether Christian or other) I was a bit dubious when I picked it up. However, I needn’t have worried. I’d say the Christianity features as part of the setting rather than the story being Christian-themed.

The prose was tidy and only tripped me up a couple of times (still scratching my head over the use of “Juste” in French. Maybe I’m missing some subtext cleverness). I didn’t like the footnotes. To me, if felt like they were trying too hard.

There will inevitably be many comparisons to Good Omens. I’d say the storyline here is much simpler—that’s just an observation, not a criticism at all. Despite the introduction of a Big Bad maybe halfway through, and characters having sad pasts or current circumstances, the stakes never felt really threatening. I found the final outcome a bit “happened to work out like this” rather than being able to appreciate the characters’ efforts.

I got very little sense of the environment/setting. I don’t remember if specific locations were mentioned, but all I took away was that we weren’t in America. Presumably this is a world where hardly anyone knows about the supernatural. The “regular people’s” lack of surprise (or alternatively, complete acceptance) regarding odd happenings felt contrived—not played up enough for humour/satire and not realistic enough to play it otherwise.

Overall, a pleasant and unchallenging read.