A Density of Souls (Paperback)

We've seen this teen angst, coming of age storyline before, but congratulations to Christopher for handling it in the unique way he has. I thought it was very well laid out; who cares about the syntax or grammar, as I'm sure he will be more careful in future when writing or editing. I enjoyed the book very much, and look forward to reading 'The Snow Garden' which I have already bought.

For a first novel, I say 'Well done'. To those who have criticised it I say get over it, and enjoy the book for what it is. I view it as a way to help young people see what effects xenophobia and bullying, fear and friendship, secrets and lies can have on people. It may even convince the bullies of their stupidity. And, due to the sexuality of the central character, whether you believe him to develop or not, his story will ring true with many young gays and lesbians around the world.

Obviously, embellishments are needed to make it worth the read:-
So why complain about the religious fundamentalism?! It is a fact, and is predominantly true to any coming of age story with regards to gay teenagers.
So what about the so called 'biblical' weather?! It is New Orleans, Florida, Caribbean - it's the weather, it happens, it is a fact, and it helped set the storyline so the main characters could settle the scores of their childhoods in the place where it all started, their hometown.

I think Christopher's young fresh mind is much needed in literary fiction, and it brings gay fiction to the fore, whether intended or not, without the need for gratuitously graphic sex scenes fit for a topshelf mag, or graphic details of violence and murder normally associated with established horror writers.

Final thought: well done Christopher, I only wish I could contact you personally to tell you that.
Cheers Liam

This is an ambitous and sweeping novel about the loss of innocence, the need for acceptance and the destructive power of secrets.

On the plus side, the narrative is thoughtful and imaginative and the plot in the first half of the novel is well-paced enough to keep you interested. However, the reason I do not rate this book is that the narrative is completely unsuited to the ambitious plot, and it just doesn't work. The story is over-the-top - it is simply not plausible that so much tragedy could take place in one small area. The characters and their relationships are also totally unbelievable. I was left laughing at the end as the final revelations really were just ridiculous.

It's like a bad soap opera, which whilst it may be watchable and likeable, just doesn't evoke any emotion.

Rice would have had more success if he'd toned down the plot a bit, and relied less on sensationalism to capture his readers' interest.

The book starts off as promising, but it just doesn't deliver as it tries too hard to be exciting. What is clearly intended to be gut-wrenching stuff cannot really be taken seriously at all.