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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Every now and then, a children's book publisher presents a new novel which surpasses the expectations of a good read for kids and pushes it into the realms of the grown-ups. The Eclipse of the Century is one of those books.
Written for older children with a fascination for the future, Jan Mark has produced an epic, intricate and timely novel which takes the world's two recent main obsessions--a total eclipse of the sun and our entry into a new millennium--and has turned them into a compelling read that will enthral as many adults as it will younger readers.
Keith, a young man taking a break from university, has a near death experience which leads him to take a journey to the mysterious Qantoum, a town no one has ever heard of in the deepest, emptiest heart of Asia. There he meets a cast of characters who befriend him and gently push him forward on his journey towards the new century.
Written with a stylish, dry, wit, Keith's adventure--unnerving and eerily dreamlike, yet at the same time uncannily linked with a reality that is at once terrifyingly complex and comfortably simple--takes the reader on a tour of a place which could well hold the key to the future, and perhaps is not as far away from the truth as we would like to believe.
A dream of a book for anyone with a love of good writing packed with imagination, humour and detail that can at times make the eyes water, The Eclipse of the Century is a must-have for anyone, whatever their age and beliefs, who wonders what the future may hold. (Ages 12 and over). --Susan Harrison
Product Description
Keith has a near death experience and finds himself at the end of a long tunnel. He thinks at first he must be in heaven, but he is greeted by strangers who tell him he is in Qantoum and they will meet him there again "under a black sun at the end of a thousand years". While recuperating, he discovers that Qantoum is a town that nobody has ever heard of, right in the emptiest heart of Asia. As anybody might who finds he has dreamed of a real place, he travels there. Join Keith as he journeys along the railway track to that intriguing town, Qantoum. The rest, as they say, is the future.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just re-read "Eclipse" after a gap or a couple of years and I am again bowled over by a totally superb novel - and novel indeed in every sense of the word. Yet it is overlooked by, well, practically everyone. Perhaps people see it as "out of date" - a millennium "tie-in", a book written to cash in on the 1999 eclipse. They could not be more wrong.
Some say it has a slow beginning - but that "slowness" is so necessary. Just like Keith - the central character - you are lured in to the life of this forgotten outpost in the depths of central Asia where things are indeed slow. Its at times whimsical, comical. Qantoum becomes a real place - so real you start looking at maps wondering where it is because the description is just so perfect. If towns like this do not exist in central Asia then they should!
Then - about half way in - you suddenly begin to get a little uneasy. This strange demi-paradise, this island surrounded by sand, does it have a dark side? Like Keith you could walk away at any time, but like Keith you are now hooked as like an snowball becomes an avalanche Keith's world starts to plummit out of control up to the tragic - but very open - ending.
It is another example, of course, of how "teenage" fiction surpasses anything the world of adult writing can produce. It is gripping. There are no answers. The people are real - not black and white hats, every hat is grey!
Don't hesitate - buy a copy of this today. And I'll see you "under a black sun at the end of 1,000 years"!
Some say it has a slow beginning - but that "slowness" is so necessary. Just like Keith - the central character - you are lured in to the life of this forgotten outpost in the depths of central Asia where things are indeed slow. Its at times whimsical, comical. Qantoum becomes a real place - so real you start looking at maps wondering where it is because the description is just so perfect. If towns like this do not exist in central Asia then they should!
Then - about half way in - you suddenly begin to get a little uneasy. This strange demi-paradise, this island surrounded by sand, does it have a dark side? Like Keith you could walk away at any time, but like Keith you are now hooked as like an snowball becomes an avalanche Keith's world starts to plummit out of control up to the tragic - but very open - ending.
It is another example, of course, of how "teenage" fiction surpasses anything the world of adult writing can produce. It is gripping. There are no answers. The people are real - not black and white hats, every hat is grey!
Don't hesitate - buy a copy of this today. And I'll see you "under a black sun at the end of 1,000 years"!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I recently re-read this book, having first read it very shortly after it was published. When I first read it, I expected it to win all the awards going and I am amazed it hasn't. It is an extraordinary book. The mystery at its heart draws you in slowly, as does the haunting description of a war-torn and forgotten central Asian city inhabited by an odd assortment of people. After a few chapters you find you can't put the book down....There are some VERY unusual animals in it - in fact it is a book with some wholly original ideas and characters throughout. I fell in love with Kije. A darkly humourous book - not whimsical like many children's books now. I suspect it falls somewhere between being a book for much older children and for those adults who read children's books for reasons other than comfort- probably why it is less well known than it should be.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jan Mark's book was something of a revelation to me - and it is also a book which deserves to cross over into adult readership. The author takes us on a surreal journey into a scaring and unsettled place - I've never travelled into the furthest reaches of the former Soviet Union - where Russia met Asia - but I was wholly convinced by the arid, semi-inhabited world of Qantoum. The events that unfold in this half-way place are apocalyptic and gripping. I'd give it to anyone over the age of 14 to read. Immediately.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Extremely poignant
I first read this book as a teenager and was astounded by the depth of emotion and the sense of place Jan Marks' sparse prose could evoke. Read more
Published on 17 July 2009 by Skye Blue
I had to give up
I'm afraid to say I couldn't complete this book. This has only hapeend to me once that I can remember, and that was with the wacky plot structure in an Iain M. Banks novel. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2001
Not bad
This is well written, with many strange twists that are completely unexpected and gradually expose layer after layer of deceit, murder and prophecy in the Asian town of Qantoum. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2001
A great book for teens and above
It's a wonderful book; the start is a bit tedious, but it soon draws you in, if only to think, 'what's going on here? Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2001
An excellent story, for adults and children.
This book is far too good to be classed simply as a children's book. I am 45 years old and enjoy both thrillers and Sci-fi/fantasy. This book was a wonderful combination of both. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2001
The publishers are missing an opportunity!
I found out about this book from a special section of the Guardian newspaper, sent to me by a friend in the U.K. who knows of my interest in books for young people. Read more
Published on 4 April 2001
Original and compelling
A seemingly straightforward story that twists and turns. I agree that you finish the book feeling that that you never really knew that characters but maybe that is the point. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2001
BREATHTAKING CANT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL
I HAD TO READ THE LAST TWO PAGES TWICE, I JUST COULDNT BELEVE WHAT HAPPENED . VERY EXCITING BUILD UP TO A VERY TRAGIC END.
Published on 6 Jan 2001 by ybur@globalnet.co.uk
an excelent book!!!!!!!!
I enjoyed this book so much i am reading it again and even though i know what happens i still love waiting to see what is going to happen. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2000
This book was sensational
I read this book within a week i could not put it down. I must admit this book would not be very enjoyable for all ages but my 14 year old daughter really enjoyed so it would... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2000
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