- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; Export ed edition (21 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575082305
- ISBN-13: 978-0575082304
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 775,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Domino Men (GOLLANCZ S.F.)
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Product Description
Review
"Barnes's characters remain colourful and his plotting ingenious." (SFX Dave Golder )
"A compulsive read. Barnes twists his concepts to end up somewhere dark and inventive. The Domino Men is something of a ripping yarn." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
"Jonathan Barnes' latest madcap comedy is full of good ideas and good jokes. There is a tang of melancholy within this author's work which goes well with the general air of inventive fun." (Mat Coward MORNING STAR )
"A compulsive read. Barnes twists his concepts to end up somewhere dark and inventive. The Domino Men is something of a ripping yarn." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
"Jonathan Barnes' latest madcap comedy is full of good ideas and good jokes. There is a tang of melancholy within this author's work which goes well with the general air of inventive fun." (Mat Coward MORNING STAR )
Book Description
An extraordinary, grotesque and quirky tale - the stranges events of The Somnambulist echo down the eyars into present day London
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just read The Somnambulist (brilliant) and didn't realise there was a second book by Johnathan Barnes - deep joy!! The Prefects are back. I am
trying to read this book slowly, difficult though, as I know there'll not be another for a while - highly original plot and a delight to read. Buy it.
trying to read this book slowly, difficult though, as I know there'll not be another for a while - highly original plot and a delight to read. Buy it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jonathan Barnes made a pretty big stir with his debut novel, a steampunky mystery of deduction, horror and a threat to London.
But there's a far worse threat to England's capital in the sequel, "The Domino Men." Barnes switches over to the current day events (with a little strategic name-shuffling) in an increasingly creepy plot, full of monstrous interlopers, Faustian pacts, and an ordinary man caught in the middle of chaos.
When his grandfather has a stroke, Henry Lamb finds himself drafted into the Directorate in granddad's place -- a tiny, powerful group ruled by an ancient man in an amniotic tank.
They reveal that there has been a silent civil war in Great Britain since 1857, and that the key to winning that war (and saving London) is a mysterious woman named Estella. When his grandfather's house is firebombed (along with Estella's whereabouts), the Directorate takes drastic steps: they send Lamb to meet the Domino Men, a pair of gleefully psychotic twins with superhuman powers.
The war comes to a head as the Directorate's presence disrupts everything Henry knows and loves, and unleashes the Domino Men on London. But even that might not be enough to stop the horror that is coming -- and Henry Lamb may be made the unwilling sacrifice that can stop it.
And throughout the story, Lamb's frantic narrative is usurped by another presence, which tells the story of the spoiled, fusty Prince Arthur Windsor (read: Prince Charles, complete with a suitably glamorous "Laetitia"). A malevolent man named Streator tells him of the horrific pact Queen Victoria made with an otherworldly monstrosity named "Leviathan"... and Prince Arthur discovers just how terrifying it is.
Jonathan Barnes has a special talent for the unspeakably creepy -- Faustian pacts, a gilled relic in a tank on a ferris wheel, concentrated-essence pills, a trio of immortal lawyers, and a pair of unspeakably creepy, demonic men who take naughty-schoolboy pleasure in destruction.
And rather than the steampunk-tinged horror-mystery of his previous novel, this time he goes into a sort of spy thriller with a slow, creeping sense of dread. It almost devolves into silliness when "the secret" is revealed to be a war against the evil House of Windsor (which Henry refuses to divulge), but the slow revelation of the monstrous evil coming to London is even more effective.
It's a bit distracting that Barnes keeps veering off into Henry's rather pitiful love life and his longing for his sexy landlady. Fortunately these are only spots of sentimentality against a tide of the eerie and bizarre, which climaxes in an explosion of Lovecraftian horror.
I have to say, Lamb doesn't do much for me as a protagonist -- he seems somehow rather weak and shapeless, although that seems to be Barnes' intention. And Barnes pulls a few characters from his prior novel -- the aged Dedlock of the Directorate, and the ghastly twins who have no inhibitions about destroying everything and everyone for a chuckle.
"The Domino Men" is a suitable horrific sequel to Jonathan Barnes' memorable debut, and leaves the door open for more stories about the Directorate. Eerie, ghastly and morbidly amusing.
But there's a far worse threat to England's capital in the sequel, "The Domino Men." Barnes switches over to the current day events (with a little strategic name-shuffling) in an increasingly creepy plot, full of monstrous interlopers, Faustian pacts, and an ordinary man caught in the middle of chaos.
When his grandfather has a stroke, Henry Lamb finds himself drafted into the Directorate in granddad's place -- a tiny, powerful group ruled by an ancient man in an amniotic tank.
They reveal that there has been a silent civil war in Great Britain since 1857, and that the key to winning that war (and saving London) is a mysterious woman named Estella. When his grandfather's house is firebombed (along with Estella's whereabouts), the Directorate takes drastic steps: they send Lamb to meet the Domino Men, a pair of gleefully psychotic twins with superhuman powers.
The war comes to a head as the Directorate's presence disrupts everything Henry knows and loves, and unleashes the Domino Men on London. But even that might not be enough to stop the horror that is coming -- and Henry Lamb may be made the unwilling sacrifice that can stop it.
And throughout the story, Lamb's frantic narrative is usurped by another presence, which tells the story of the spoiled, fusty Prince Arthur Windsor (read: Prince Charles, complete with a suitably glamorous "Laetitia"). A malevolent man named Streator tells him of the horrific pact Queen Victoria made with an otherworldly monstrosity named "Leviathan"... and Prince Arthur discovers just how terrifying it is.
Jonathan Barnes has a special talent for the unspeakably creepy -- Faustian pacts, a gilled relic in a tank on a ferris wheel, concentrated-essence pills, a trio of immortal lawyers, and a pair of unspeakably creepy, demonic men who take naughty-schoolboy pleasure in destruction.
And rather than the steampunk-tinged horror-mystery of his previous novel, this time he goes into a sort of spy thriller with a slow, creeping sense of dread. It almost devolves into silliness when "the secret" is revealed to be a war against the evil House of Windsor (which Henry refuses to divulge), but the slow revelation of the monstrous evil coming to London is even more effective.
It's a bit distracting that Barnes keeps veering off into Henry's rather pitiful love life and his longing for his sexy landlady. Fortunately these are only spots of sentimentality against a tide of the eerie and bizarre, which climaxes in an explosion of Lovecraftian horror.
I have to say, Lamb doesn't do much for me as a protagonist -- he seems somehow rather weak and shapeless, although that seems to be Barnes' intention. And Barnes pulls a few characters from his prior novel -- the aged Dedlock of the Directorate, and the ghastly twins who have no inhibitions about destroying everything and everyone for a chuckle.
"The Domino Men" is a suitable horrific sequel to Jonathan Barnes' memorable debut, and leaves the door open for more stories about the Directorate. Eerie, ghastly and morbidly amusing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The second instalment that carries on from where The Somnambulist leaves off using the two killers from the original instamment as a link to the second. Whilst they don't do much other than act as a link it's a good way to join the two stories and allow the reader a glimpse into the world in which the story is based. This time we follow the political struggles of a man thrown into the deep end where he has to contend with the gripes and grumbles of an unhappy drug fuelled prince whose wife despises him and whose mother refuses to relinquish the thrown.
Intrigue and double dealing accompany this tale as it wends it way through and gives the reader a sense of satisfaction at the conclusion. A masterpiece in the making.
Intrigue and double dealing accompany this tale as it wends it way through and gives the reader a sense of satisfaction at the conclusion. A masterpiece in the making.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not as good as The Somnabulist
Both this book and The Somnabulist are quite alternative reading and, perhaps, not for everyone. However, I much preferred The Somnabulist, I didn't like the new characters in this... Read more
Published on 10 May 2010 by pigsmayfly
Didn't finish it
I am glad I borrowed this from the library and did not spend money on it. I read the first third, skipped to the end and returned it. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by Robert
Weird stuff in London
I think there's a whole sub genre emerging (or has it long emerged and I've just missed it? So many books, so little time to read them) which I would call "weird stuff in modern... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2009 by D. Harris
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