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The House of Dust (Quintilian Dalrymple Crime Novels)
 
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The House of Dust (Quintilian Dalrymple Crime Novels) (Paperback)

by Paul Johnston (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: New English Library Ltd; New edition edition (7 Feb 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340766131
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340766132
  • Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.6 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 391,923 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
'Hugely entertaining... engagingly imagined' The Times on Body Politic; 'First-rate crime fiction with an original twist' Sunday Telegraph on The Bone Yard; 'Johnston brings an intelligent perspective to the dark excitement of the thriller' Nicholas Blincoe, Observer on Water of Death; 'This futuristic series is still refreshingly original and entertaining' Sunday Telegraph on The Blood Tree

Sunday Telegraph on THE BONE YARD
'First-rate crime fiction with an original twist'

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best of Johnston's "Enightenment Edinburgh" series!, 21 Oct 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The House of Dust (Hardcover)
This is the fifth and, I believe, the best, of Paul Johnston's crime novel series set in a future Edinburgh founded on the political principles set forth of Plato's "Republic". (Following the argument advanced in Karl Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies", Johnston sees the realization of the "Republic" not as the wonderous utopia dreamed of by countless philosophers and classicists throughout the ages, but rather as a repressive and ultimately fascist state governed by ruthless and uncompromising leaders.) Johnston's vision of futuristic Edinburgh is bleak and depressing, his well drawn characters toughened by the dismal life in the "ideal state".

Like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer, Johnston's "detective", one "Quint" Dalrymple, is an idealist made cynical by a corrupt and sinister reality, a sturdy individual with a healthy contempt for incompetent authority, but, in the final analysis, a man who lives according to his own unspoken principles.

"The House of Dust" is an excellent work of fiction. It portrays Dalrymple's quest for the truth (in a rather gruesome multiple-murder investigation), which takes him as far as the enterprising , business oriented "New Oxford" and all its ghoulish secrets. (Johnston's depiction of "New Oxford" is both extremely entertaining and profoundly disturbing: here Johnston once again embarks on an adventure into the realm of scathing social satire.) As for the plot of the novel, Johnston once again demonstrates his considerable skills as a story teller of the highest order.

I don't want to give away anything that will spoil reading this work for any readers. Let it suffice to say that this is a first rate novel that gives new meaning to the notion of individuals being ground to dust by the world of academe.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an intelligent read, 25 Jan 2002
Having read the authors' other books, this one was the finest yet. Although in parts it did seem a little predictable (if you have read the other books), this was in no way detracts from from quite a few 'shocks' at the end of the book. A must read for all Quint Dalrymple fans, and I look forward to the next book. If the author reads this, 'Quint for public order guardian, perhaps'?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars More twists and turns than a Rollercoaster, 16 Jul 2001
This review is from: The House of Dust (Hardcover)
Paul Johnston has once again delivered an enjoyable and thrilling read on the possible future of the UK. Johnston's writing gives a real 'sense of feeling' to the whole story, in the sense that the locations seem accurately described. Readers are kept guessing as to the identity of the murder or murderers', and rest assured this is one of the few books that you don't work out 'whodunnit', right till the end. The death of the guardian, leaves a whole new realm of possiblities open for any future books. Long may Paul Johnston continue with this series.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Good but...
Enjoyable, but I'm a little disappointed that the series has gone so much for Gothic grand guignol, instead of character and drama. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2001

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