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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
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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 littl...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...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 g...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 g...more
Wendy
rated it
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...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...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...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...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 ...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 ...more
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 ...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 ...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.
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.
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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 ...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 ...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.
I just finished Cameron Roger’s Music of Razors and while it didn’t hit me the same way a new book by Gaiman or Richard K. Morgan seems to, it really had an impact on my brain. It's the kind of book that will be in the back of my mind for a couple of weeks.
The story was unusual, the tone was just dark enough without being too over the top, and the writing was excellent. Music of Razors is Rogers’ first book, and I hope it’s followed by many more.
The story was unusual, the tone was just dark enough without being too over the top, and the writing was excellent. Music of Razors is Rogers’ first book, and I hope it’s followed by many more.
READ THIS BOOK
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.
Fun, fantastical, ferry ride through time. Right amount of darkness
Very nice surreal fantasy, defidently a recomended read.
An incredible book. It's eerie, tragic, and wonderful.
MB Taylor
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