9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A STUNNING SECOND EFFORT!, 17 Jun 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Hell's Horizon (City) (Paperback)
Blimey! I thought AYUAMARCA was a really good read, fresh and full of ideas, but it didn't prepare me for this, the second book of The City, which is one of the best reads I've enjoyed in a long time. It's not a sequel as such -- although many of the characters from AYUAMARCA return (most noticeably, The Cardinal and Paucar Wami), it's set at the same time as the story in the first book, and you don't need to have read that to follow and enjoy this. It centers on Al Jeery (a new character), happy working in the Troops until his girlfriend is found murdered in a hotel. The Cardinal sets him the task of finding out who killed her and why (for reasons far too complex to go into here), and he finds himself on a collision course with the dreaded serial killer Paucar Wami, the blind Incan priests known as the villacs, and many others. It isn't long before his world has been turned upside down, and as he struggles to make sense of it, the big questions are: who's out to destroy him? why? and who dare he trust? The answers aren't predictable, and even though sharp readers might guess the identity of the main bad guy ahead of the revelation, I can't see anyone figuring out his motives before they're explained. O'Shaughnessy's debut was exciting and intriguing; this is much, much better. Tighter, more mainstream, less fantasy, a real killer of a plot. I only found out about the novel's release when I read a Mark Morris review of it in SFX. He hadn't read AYUAMARCA going in, didn't think he'd enjoy HELL'S HORIZON, but came away impressed (he gave it four stars). I had read AYUAMARCA, was ready to be disappointed (second books are often let-downs), but came away even more impressed than Mr Morris. Hence the full five star treatment. HELL'S HORIZON is wonderful stuff -- miss it at your peril!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unbelievable., 21 May 2005
This review is from: Hell's Horizon (City) (Paperback)
What can I say? This book is amazing. I cannot express how much you should buy this book. But before you do, be sure to strap on your seatbelt because theres amazing twists and turns everywhere. Everything seems to be just fine and then BAM! Something else happens, and never out of place. This book is told so well, and I tried talking about it in class as a review but I couldn't put it into words. Im not sure which is better, Ayuamarca or Hell's Horizon. Or his newer Saga. Who cares? He's an amazing novelist. BUY ALL HIS BOOKS........I HAVE!
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