| Author | Message | ||
     Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.69.11.168 |
Sometimes books make me jealous. I'm not proud of that, but if it's any consolation it's a good sort of envy because it's the envy of recognising a piece of fiction beautifully written and wishing you yourself can attain the same standards with your own prose. Rain Dogs is a brilliantly assured debut novel. In fact it's a brilliantly assured novel debut or otherwise. Of course, I don't want to inflate Gary's ego in any way (not that I'm aware of any massive ego, having met the man many a time and now employing him to scribble for me), but Rain Dogs is genuinley a novel of which he can be proud. Like Gary says in his Afterword, this is a novel about family and he writes about fractured families and emotional anxities with an assuredness that is enviable in such a young writer. The relationships set up between the characters are convincing and sympathetically portrayed. Nowehere does this novel slip into melodrama, something quite easily done in horror. The most horrific scenes of Rain Dogs are almost breathtaking in their intensity; especially the scene where Guy's mother is killed by the entity. I'd never read anything quite like this and the death here is both savage and disturbingly intimate. Guy's reaction to events and his determination to control his destructive rages make him a sympathetic and dangerous character. Gary understands the fierce love and almost agressive loyalties that family bonds instill and when Guy swears to kill ANYONE who gets in the way of him rescuing his wife and child you truly believe it. Of course, let's not forget that this is a novel of the supernatural and the entities and forces in this book are both awe-inspiring and haunting. Gary absolutely nails the utter disregard the Rain Dogs hold for humanity. They aren't attacking humans because they hate humans, they're attacking humans because they are there. This isn't some revenge from beyond the grave. It's one world impinging on ours and literally flooding into it with all the amoral force and indiscrimate destruction of a natural disaster. Gary's prose flows beautifully. Each line is considered and carefully paced, without descending into purple prose or heavy metaphor. The plot unfolds organically and at a pace that is neither hurried nor cumbersome. I know that we've talked here about constructive criticism and not heaping on indiscriminate praise, but this praise is in no way indiscriminate. Rain Dogs really is a stunning piece of work and I'm proud to be one of the publishers putting out more work by this talented and exciting writer. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.145.36.243 |
Here's one I did earlier.  http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/rain_dogs_by_gary_mcmahon.htm | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Wow...Jon, thank you. I'm absolutely thrilled you liked the novel so much. Someone getting what I'm trying do makes all the struggle worthwhile. | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 99.225.104.255 |
Sorry, but I have to disagree. I found the novel a blatant rip-off, right down to the title, of the American 80's cartoon "ThunderCats" | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.87.217 |
:-) nearly spilled my Guinness Mr Strantzas! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Simon:  | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.39.177.173 |
This is mine - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3985765.Rain_Dogs. I thought it was a superb book. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Thank you again, chaps. Much appreciated. Copies still available for £10 plus postage, btw, from...erm, me. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.151.125.173 |
I have a 'How To Make Monsters' lined up for my holiday in Mexico! gcw | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.78.54.245 |
When is Mexico? Hope you and Soozie have a good time. Will we see you in September? It is getting to be our Ramsey Board reunion now. Wish all the others could make it too. Simon ...get on over from Canada... | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.151.125.173 |
Seven weeks to go Ally! Yes,me & Soozy will be at FCon 2009 gcw |