Daily Telegraph
'Quite exceptional…a taut, compelling story of love and torn loyalties'
The Times
'A remarkable first novel…Bradby handles the tension with skill to produce a gripping tale'
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Start reading Shadow Dancer on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
Try it free |
Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
|
| ||
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Description
Product details
Would you like to give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although not a bad book I am quite surprised at the amount of praise that has been heaped on it, both on the cover blurb and in the other reviews I've read. In my opinion it is quite ordinary and not that exceptional.
Where I feel the book lost its way is that firstly we don't know the definite period it is set in. Published in 1998 it has missed the worst periods of the Northern Ireland conflict and therefore comes over as a bit of a Johnny come lately. Although of course it could have been set in a time earlier than this we get no indication of that this is the fact. Secondly it doesn't quite know what sort of book it is, there is certainly a feel of a Gerald Seymour thriller about the style but it just doesn't have that level of bleakness and consequently can seem a little wishy-washy at times. On the other hand it does go in for some lengthy passages of romantic or relationship dialogue which just isn't that well written. The main characters themselves are guilty of a lot of the faults of the romantic elements as I just don't believe they would fall into any sort of relationship with each other. One final gripe is the use of real life personalities within the book, so we get Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein fame making an appearance which is just plain clumsy.
On the plus side the plot idea is fine and there are some minor characters which are well written and considering it is the author's debut offering perhaps we shouldn't be over critical. There are some great passages in the book; the shooting of Paddy for example is an extremely well written chapter. Certainly all in all it hasn't put me off trying another one of his books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Shadow Dancer' tells the tale of a woman forced to inform on her IRA involved family or lose her children. We also follow her handler, a man new to the job and perhaps too inexperienced to not become attached to the attractive snitch. Can the informer codenamed Shadow Dancer balance her loyalty to the IRA and her family whilst telling the British Government all she knows?
The central premise for 'Shadow Dancer' is pretty strong and it feels like a novel similar to 'Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy'. There is a lot of tension and intrigue throughout the book. However, Bradby has failed to actually write anything of interest and a large part of the book is spent on internal monologues of the main two characters rather than setting up any action. Some people may feel this adds to the tension, I found it mind numbingly boring and far too descriptive. Bradby needs to learn to balance action and emotion if his books are going to be interesting reads.
The central premise for 'Shadow Dancer' is pretty strong and it feels like a novel similar to 'Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy'. There is a lot of tension and intrigue throughout the book. However, Bradby has failed to actually write anything of interest and a large part of the book is spent on internal monologues of the main two characters rather than setting up any action. Some people may feel this adds to the tension, I found it mind numbingly boring and far too descriptive. Bradby needs to learn to balance action and emotion if his books are going to be interesting reads.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought the book for my Kindle and loved it so much, I had to buy the paperback for my husband to read (my Kindle is in constant use so he couldn't borrow it).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tom Bradby On Fire
This is the best Ulster troubles fiction thriller i have ever read, you can tell a mile away that Tom has worked in Ulster as his understanding of the way the British Army and the... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by Douglas george hall
A good story - badly written
Having just finished this book I must say that I found myself surprisinly disappointed that it was over. Read more
Published on 25 July 2001
Absolutely Fantastic
This is by far one of the best book I've ever read. It's gripping, nail-biting, nerve recking. What can I say? Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2000
A really good read
There are several books based on the conflict in Northern Ireland, and this is one of the best I've read. Realistic and gripping, you really feel for the characters. Read more
Published on 14 April 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
|
