or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
40 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Cradle Song
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Cradle Song (Paperback)

by Robert Edric (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, February 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
12 new from £2.41 28 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 13 used & new from £0.01

Frequently Bought Together

Cradle Song + Siren Song + Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3)
Total RRP: £22.97
Price For All Three: £21.37

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Siren Song

Siren Song

by Robert Edric
3.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £7.19
Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3)

Swan Song (Song Cycle Trilogy 3)

by Robert Edric
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £7.19
A Gathering Light

A Gathering Light

by Jennifer Donnelly
4.5 out of 5 stars (66)  £5.49
Reef

Reef

by Romesh Gunesekera
4.2 out of 5 stars (8)  £4.49
The Book of the Heathen

The Book of the Heathen

by Robert Edric
3.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.49
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 389 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (1 Jun 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552771422
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552771429
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 335,437 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Literary Review

'Robert Edric's novel - his first in the crime field - is something substantial and distinctive.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Sunday Telegraph

'Fine, skilfully written ... sensitive and disturbing.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cradle Song
63% buy the item featured on this page:
Cradle Song 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£6.99
In Zodiac Light
10% buy
In Zodiac Light 3.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.99
In Desolate Heaven
9% buy
In Desolate Heaven 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£6.29
The Book of the Heathen
9% buy
The Book of the Heathen 3.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Superior writing - superior crime novel, 5 July 2004
By Mr. Stephen Edwards "se1955" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
The standard of writing here is a cut above the standard detective novel, but Mr Edric doesn't overcomplicate an excellent PI/police procedural, set in Hull. Leo Rivers, the PI is a low key and realistic creation, not the stereotypical Marlowe figure transported to Yorkshire. The police and the criminals are subtly divided in character, not "white hats and black hats". Apparently this is the first of a series of three, I'm looking forward to the next one.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Watch out for the 15th round, 16 Aug 2008
By T. Hewtson LE ROUX - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
When you pick up "Cradle Song" (the first of Robert Edric's "Song Cycle Trilogy" which leads through "Siren Song" to "Swan Song"), you instantly know that you are walking through a land of deception.

The first few pages report the critics from almost every major UK newspaper and periodical telling you that here is a master of the sleight of hand, of the intricately woven plot, one of the best and most under-rated writers in the English language.

So you start reading, and there is an unnerving dissonance between the text and the plaudits. For the first four hundred pages, you are presented with an entertaining US TV-style crime procedural import, skilfully adapted to the climate of the North-East coast of England, driven by massed high voltage dialogue where people would rather swear at each other than greet each other, and with moments where the sun really breaks through as he describes abandoned individuals, such as the retired DCI Sullivan beached in his shadow disgrace, and the pathetic child pornographer, Martin Roper, recapturing his summer play among the flats of a bleak Spurn Point.

Then, after four hundred pages (perhaps a little long to wait), you are in the hands of the author who in "The Book of the Heathen" made Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" infinitely darker. The pace picks up, and the details hit you from rock-solid foundations in the culmination of a brutal, seedy tale.

This is why Robert Edric is considered a master. Like a Cistercian monk, he sees the world and he doesn't blink.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A great disappointment, 27 July 2008
By D. Maceoin "amantedofado" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Cradle Song (Hardcover)
This is the first of Edric's books I have read, and almost certainly the last. It came very well recommended, both by Amazon reviewers and by reviewers for major papers and journals. That may, in part, be why I was so disappointed by it in the end. It was, I believe, praised far out of its league and made to seem a literary masterpiece when it is not. There is some fine writing, though not, perhaps, enough. But for the most part it is a very tedious, slow read, with a plot that drags and drags and at times goes so far up its own nether regions as to seem entirely forced. There is no pace, not at the start, and not by the end. It is monotone. We know next to nothing about the narrator (the private detective). He lacks all emotion or has such repressed emotions that they do not serve. Much of the writing consists of overlong, stretched dialogue between characters who never seem to like anybody, not even themselves. The overall mood is, in consequence, sombre lit through with antagonism. The narrator is or should be the protagonist, but in truth he can't be because he remains subservient to the police (who use him) and some criminals (who use him). By choosing to write a first-person narrative, Edric makes it difficult to handle a plot that is spread over several characters and places. He ends up using telephone conversations and other awkward devices in order to keep the narrator connected to the plot. I came away not liking it. The author clearly has talent, but I wonder if he is well suited to the crime novel.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, dark and different
Had previously only read Edric's 'Book of the Heathen' and 'Gathering the Water', and clearly he is a high class literary act. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Michael Brown

4.0 out of 5 stars convincing and well worth reading
I turned to this after having read a few of Edric's other novels and his writing did not disappoint me on this occasion either, maybe surprise me with the apparent ease and... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2008 by maple tree

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject





















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.