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The Music of Razors
In nineteenth-century Boston, a young doctor on the run from the law falls in with a British confidence artist. Together–and with dire consequences–they bring back to the light something meant to be forgotten.
A world away in London, an absent father, haunted by the voice of a banished angel, presents his daughter with an impossible friend–a clockwork ballerina.
For two cent...more
A world away in London, an absent father, haunted by the voice of a banished angel, presents his daughter with an impossible friend–a clockwork ballerina.
For two cent...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by Del Rey
(first published January 1st 2001)
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Okay, so I enjoyed reading this book. Kind of. The words and phrases and visuals are amazing, the story is interesting and extremely creative and I applaud the writer on his bravery in writing this novel as his first publication. All right, so here is the reason I gave it only three stars. Although I can appreciate writing in a overtly personal voice, as though the author were building a journal of thoughts that can only be traced together by himself, but to do this to an audience is a little li...more
A student of medicine meets a group of "exceptional" youths, intent on contacting a certain spirit through their seances; a doctor, running from the law, meets a mutilated man and a friend from his youth; a young boy, consumed by his own childhood monster, becomes his sister's monster to save her from a shadowed man that wants her to take his place, living an eternal life and wielding magical tools made from the bones of an angel. In this debut novel, Rogers unites these three stories into one...more
It is so rare that a book uses the fantasy genre to its full effect. Here Cameron Rogers actually uses "magical" events to say something profound about life and fears, and what fates are worse than death.
I adore this book and could hardly put it down. I knew it was a keeper when he had me crying by page 11.
The writing is heart-shatteringly simple, as well. I love the atmosphere of the book.
The thing I like most about the book is that, instead of giving us the usual "DID YOU GET IT?" narrative sp...more
I adore this book and could hardly put it down. I knew it was a keeper when he had me crying by page 11.
The writing is heart-shatteringly simple, as well. I love the atmosphere of the book.
The thing I like most about the book is that, instead of giving us the usual "DID YOU GET IT?" narrative sp...more
Jun 30, 2010
Wendy
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who get mad when you stare at them, all-things-are-a-metaphor-for-futility type people
Recommended to Wendy by:
It was on a shelf at the library ..
Not my usual reading fare, but I'll give it a try. Getting tired of young adult fare, expand my horizons a little.
**Update**
Hmmmmm....let's see....well.
Some reviews about this were about nice prose, beautiful descriptions. Well, look at me. I can string 7 beautiful words together: Lily pasture clouds descend fluffy pillow evergreen. Wow! I can write like Cameron Rogers!! Beautiful prose which makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!
Ah, the first 3/4 was a head scratcher. I can't say that I totally dislike s...more
**Update**
Hmmmmm....let's see....well.
Some reviews about this were about nice prose, beautiful descriptions. Well, look at me. I can string 7 beautiful words together: Lily pasture clouds descend fluffy pillow evergreen. Wow! I can write like Cameron Rogers!! Beautiful prose which makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!
Ah, the first 3/4 was a head scratcher. I can't say that I totally dislike s...more
It was just so very, very all over the place. The CONSTANTLY changing perspective was flat-out annoying; it meant that I'd spend a sentence or two of each and every new section with absolutely no idea what was going on. Hell, the perspective jumped between first, second, and third all within the same paragraph sometimes.
While some of the description was wonderfully illustrative, the majority of it was so convoluted and/or vague as to force me to re-read whole passages to try and garner even a se...more
While some of the description was wonderfully illustrative, the majority of it was so convoluted and/or vague as to force me to re-read whole passages to try and garner even a se...more
For the first hundred pages expect to have no idea what's going on. As soon as you begin to understand a storyline it seemingly gets dropped for something completely different (contemporary child's nightmare, medical students occult activities in the 19th century, an English ragamuffin's "imaginary" friend, a high school girls' battles at home and school). These all turn out to be one (semi)coherent story that gets ever more dark and fascinating as the book goes on. By the end I was hopelessly a...more
Now this book is a bit odd and dark. It starts out with a boy who is haunted by his "Closet Monster" When he confronts his parents about it they tell him its nothing leaving him to confront the creature on his own. He finally tells the creature to leave him alone. As the creature leaves the boy notices sadness in the monsters eyes and it leaves. Later that night he is visited by a man in a dark coat with shining stars in the inside! and thats just the first chapter the rest is for you to find ou...more
Been reading this with Kelmy (my 13-year-old). It's pretty dark so far and so he loves it. About halfway in I could take it or leave it.
Well those are hours of my life I'll never get back. A little too surreal for me. I thought it might end up being something like Vellum: The Book of All Hours but in the end it just really didn't go anywhere. It seemed to be about a very big struggle between angels and god and humans, but then it focused on a really small scale where nothing was resolved at the...more
Well those are hours of my life I'll never get back. A little too surreal for me. I thought it might end up being something like Vellum: The Book of All Hours but in the end it just really didn't go anywhere. It seemed to be about a very big struggle between angels and god and humans, but then it focused on a really small scale where nothing was resolved at the...more
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Picked up on a whim. See, it's the angel's wings on the book cover that did it. Then I realized - oh. Fallen angels. And then - oh, another Melbourne author, with a K.J. Bishop quote on the back.
There are certain aspects of the story I loved, namely centered around Henry, and I think there are some lovely aspects to the novel overall - but I can't help feeling as if incoherency replaced surrealism here and there. This leaves the same taste at the back of my mouth that the overrated Donnie Darko...more
There are certain aspects of the story I loved, namely centered around Henry, and I think there are some lovely aspects to the novel overall - but I can't help feeling as if incoherency replaced surrealism here and there. This leaves the same taste at the back of my mouth that the overrated Donnie Darko...more
I enjoyed this book. There were sometimes I didn't get what was happening and I had to reread. I think he had moments where he just wasn't clear enough for me. I had to reread portions to understand what was happening. Some interesting characters, especially Nimble and Tug. Some great visuals like Suni's room. I found Walter very interesting but I found the character Suni himself simply annoying. Overall a fast and enjoyable read.
A beautiful but mind-numbing book that floods you with macabre images and leaves you with an odd feeling that something isn't quite making any sense. I am still unsure as to whether this is a good book or not and whether or not it means anything. Try reading it for yourself. It's certainly not like any other I've read.
I really enjoyed this book. It was such a refreshing read after some books that left me wanting more. This is definitely a book that has left me thinking of it even after I was finished. My only complaint with it is that the ending is left open and a bit all over the place.
Some nice modern-fantasy ideas and some very creepy and disturbing scenes. But the storytelling is self-consciously oblique and its disparate parts never gel into a cohesive narrative. I'm sure to some its lifelike shapelessness will be part of its charm. A lot to like here, but I prefer a little more structure.
This book was heartbreakingly beautiful. So much pain and sadness mixed with wonder, awe, jaw-dropping loyalty and stark, blinding true love. A novel written like it was entirely composed of prose and poetry, this is one of my favorite novels.
Read it.
Read it.
I found this on list of recommended steam-punk, a genre I'm exploring. The beginning was quite intriguing but by the time we got to the (shudder) evil creatures who stole dirty socks, I was ready for the book to end. I'm not sure if it really degenerated into incoherence, or if I was just turning pages too fast to catch the plot.
And what's with angel bones as a plot device, anyway? Recently read Danielle Trussoni's "Angelology" (as it has a Bulgaria hook) and there it was angel bones again as a...more
And what's with angel bones as a plot device, anyway? Recently read Danielle Trussoni's "Angelology" (as it has a Bulgaria hook) and there it was angel bones again as a...more
I really loved this book, and I don't know why it's taken me so long to read it. It's somewhere between horror and urban fantasy. The darkly beautiful imagery and descriptions made me think of Caitlin R Kiernan's writing and I was hooked all the way through. The story seemed a little convoluted in parts, I think maybe it was over-ambitious but it succeeded more than it failed. It's very accomplished for a debut, and it's a book I'll definitely have to read again to pick up on the things I missed...more
This one has a real Golden Compass vibe. Very dark fantasy that was weirdly and specifically triggery for me when I read it. Worth checking out if you're in the mood for something with a bit of an edge to it, har har.
The Music of Razors reminded me of Donnie Darko, The Gates, and The Book of Lost Things. If you liked any of those, I'd wager you're going to love this book.
It has a very disjointed, rambly feel. There is the quality of dreamy unreality and vagueness which sometimes irks my last nerve, but I think it works here.
There's something a little off about the work though that makes it not quite all-the-way "there" for me. Unfortunately I'm having trouble determining why I have that feeling. The writing...more
It has a very disjointed, rambly feel. There is the quality of dreamy unreality and vagueness which sometimes irks my last nerve, but I think it works here.
There's something a little off about the work though that makes it not quite all-the-way "there" for me. Unfortunately I'm having trouble determining why I have that feeling. The writing...more
An interesting fantasy tale that reminded me a bit of Neil Gaiman in places. The novel is about a fallen angel and has a lot of good writing in it. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Idea was interesting, some elements were really great.... but then he killed it about 3/4th in and all of it just became unforgivable.
READ THIS BOOK
Loved this book. The writing is elegant, sharp and fresh. The story is intriguing, albeit a tad confusing, as it completely changes from chapter to chapter to start with. A truly dedicated reader would have to stick with this book that holds a narrative that is not quite linear, but absorbing nonetheless. I was so reminded of Neil Gaiman's works as I read it. Edgier, though.
I read the Australian edition and freaking loved it. The characters are well-drawn, the story is engrossing, sometimes frightening, sometimes heartbreaking. Just a wonderful read. The American edition has some more background, and I'm looking forward to finding out what was added.
A bizarre and darkly interesting book. Unfortunately, it covered a lot of ground, which was nice in a ways but made it seem to unravel in the end. I wish that it had been a little more together and hadn't been so frenetic. It would have been a 4 or 5 star book.
Wow. I'm 96 pages in and I have next to no idea what this book is actually about.
Edit: Having finished it, I stand by my original assessment! This book makes no sense.
Edit: Having finished it, I stand by my original assessment! This book makes no sense.
I really enjoyed this, but am completely confused by the ending. Maybe I should have re-read the last two or three chapters when I was more fully awake.
I've kind of slacked off on reading this, but I need to give it another shot. It's quite creepy so far, so I'm kind of afraid to read it at night...
Really kind of great the way time works in this book. And place. Great movement always. A book of angels and dimensional halfway lands. Robot ballerinas.
This book was simultaneously tragic and horrifying. I loved it, though. It was very good.
Beautiful. Angels, monsters, love and longing. A wonderful dark fairytale-esque story.
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“To honour its first creation, no sound was permitted within the home of Muse for a full year, no sound save that of its Art: the slow, crisp, click of polished brass gears, the sensual hiss of pneumatic release, the insidious sibilance and decisive thud of a withdrawing and thrusting piston, and the soft groan of the boy held within the cube as each rod ran him through, over and over and over.
Powered by this action, the music box played.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down...
And another piston rammed home.
A mechanism of intricate complexity exchanging great pain for a little beauty. This, here, then, was Life.
Muse was fulfilled.”
—
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More quotes…
Powered by this action, the music box played.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down...
And another piston rammed home.
A mechanism of intricate complexity exchanging great pain for a little beauty. This, here, then, was Life.
Muse was fulfilled.”
