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The Ninth Circle
by
Alex Bell
A man comesa battle not just for the future of the world but for the minds and souls of everyone in it.
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
June 1st 2009
by Gollancz
(first published April 17th 2008)
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H.I. Al-Muhairi
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crime-mystery,
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supernatural,
ya,
2010,
horror,
favorites,
death-and-pain,
realistic-fiction
I loved this book! I think everybody knows what happens when you love a book, it's really hard to put the feelings into words in a review. So hang in there!
Looking back, the summary on the back on the book was very vague and didn't give away anything so I'm not going to add anything else to it because it's more exciting~
Gabriel wakes up in a shabby flat to find blood on the floor where his head used to be. A horrible gash is in his head and a bag full of Hungarian florin...more
Looking back, the summary on the back on the book was very vague and didn't give away anything so I'm not going to add anything else to it because it's more exciting~
Gabriel wakes up in a shabby flat to find blood on the floor where his head used to be. A horrible gash is in his head and a bag full of Hungarian florin...more
This is The Bourne Identity . . . as if Neil Gaiman had written it . . . A man comes round on the floor of a shabby flat in the middle of Budapest. His head is glued to the floorboards with his own blood. There's a fortune in cash on the kitchen table. And he has no idea where, or who, he is. He can do extraordinary things - speak any number of languages fluently, go three days without food or sleep, and fight with extraordinary prowess. But without a name, without a past, he's isolated from the...more
I found this book intoxicating. A story that intrigued me with the concept and then compelled me with every new turn of the page.
I loved that this book was drenched in a layer of bizarre strangeness, and an air of darkness that surrounds Gabriel's story from the very beginning. So many times I found myself wondering if what was happening to him was a dream, a nightmare, or some sort of delusional episode brought on by the confusion he faces every single day.
As hard as I t...more
I loved that this book was drenched in a layer of bizarre strangeness, and an air of darkness that surrounds Gabriel's story from the very beginning. So many times I found myself wondering if what was happening to him was a dream, a nightmare, or some sort of delusional episode brought on by the confusion he faces every single day.
As hard as I t...more
E se num certo dia, acordássemos com a cara no chão de um qualquer apartamento, numa poça de sangue, desconhecendo quem somos, onde estamos ou, simplesmente, o que aconteceu?
É a partir desta ideia geral que o autor Alex Bell nos apresenta, o conceito de identidade e os parâmetros que o definem, aliado à luta incessante entre o bem e o mal que dura desde sempre, nesta história invulgar cheia de surpreendestes desenvolvimentos.
O conceito de identidade passa sem dúvida pelo reflexo das ...more
É a partir desta ideia geral que o autor Alex Bell nos apresenta, o conceito de identidade e os parâmetros que o definem, aliado à luta incessante entre o bem e o mal que dura desde sempre, nesta história invulgar cheia de surpreendestes desenvolvimentos.
O conceito de identidade passa sem dúvida pelo reflexo das ...more
It must have been my son who recommended this book to me as it is totally his type of story. The style of writing, with the extremely "present" voice of the narrator - and by that I mean that, though he is telling what has happened in the form of a diary, he writes not what happened in the past but how he is recalling in the present what happened - makes it very punchy.
We also have the battle between good and evil, and the massive blurring there is in the mythologies of Go...more
We also have the battle between good and evil, and the massive blurring there is in the mythologies of Go...more
Not bad at all. After reading the synopsis on the back, I thought this was going to be a ridiculously cliched book, with an easily spotted twist (I thought I'd spotted it before actually starting, solely from the information on the back), but it was actually much cleverer than I thought it would be. Indeed, the 'obvious' twist was largely created through red herrings, leading to an entirely different ending.
The book is well written, telling a fairly epic story concisely. It cuts a neat line bet...more
The book is well written, telling a fairly epic story concisely. It cuts a neat line bet...more
I really enjoyed this book! It blended reality and fantasy so well, and there were so many genuinely unpredictable twists (at least, unpredictable for me), which is typically rare for books (there's just so much literature out there, it's hard to come up with truly new plots). The book ended on a note that really didn't make anything clear at all, which I actually liked about it. It didn't end up being one of those "good triumphs over evil" stories... it was actually kind of morally am...more
This novel covers similar ground to Dan Brown's books: an age old battle between good and evil framed within a Christian cosmology, cryptic messages that need to be deciphered, angels and demons walking the streets. But it's a bit more left-field.
It starts off quite well - a man wakes up in an apartment in Budapest, his face glued to the floor by his own dried blood, a huge bundle of money on the kitchen table - but the plot never really goes anywhere. Yes, there are a series of rev...more
It starts off quite well - a man wakes up in an apartment in Budapest, his face glued to the floor by his own dried blood, a huge bundle of money on the kitchen table - but the plot never really goes anywhere. Yes, there are a series of rev...more
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This book starts out rather promisingly, with a dude name Gabriel waking up with no memory of who he is but with weird things happening all around him. The opening’s got a bit of a “Castiel with amnesia fic” vibe to it, which made me very excited for obvious, dorky reasons. Unfortunately, Gabriel, unlike Castiel, is an idiot—his efforts to find out who he is and what’s going on are pitiful; apparently he’d rather spent his time whining and moping. Thus the narrative swiftly becomes an exercise i...more
I saw this at a remainder store and remembered having seen it somewhere before and thinking it looked interesting. So I bought it.
And it was interesting.
It was a bit odd, a bit quirky and never took the direction I was expecting. Boy did I enjoy wondering what had really happened to make Gabriel lose his memory and wasn't I certainly surprised when we finally found out. Trust me when I say that you will not pick it.
Apparently this is a very Neil Gaiman-esque t...more
And it was interesting.
It was a bit odd, a bit quirky and never took the direction I was expecting. Boy did I enjoy wondering what had really happened to make Gabriel lose his memory and wasn't I certainly surprised when we finally found out. Trust me when I say that you will not pick it.
Apparently this is a very Neil Gaiman-esque t...more
This was a quick read, and one that I enjoyed - although for reasons obvious to those who have read it I have some theological issues with the plot being a Christian minister! The basic premise of a man waking up not knowing who he was and how he got there is not new, nor is the career that such an amnesia sufferer should have original, but the setting and plot surrounding it is not what you'd normally expect from this story. Difficult to say much more though without giving it away or spoiling i...more
This book is like a man, in by such it gets you really excited, anxious, and teases you and FINALLY....drops the ball! Flat and disappointed about the finale. Such a dud. Is there going to be a follow-up for this book? I mean the yes, the character finally had some development after rambling about damn fish food for like 5 flippin' chapters. Kudos for him. HOWEVER...was there any development to the storyline? I was left feeling more robbed than paying $12 for a movie ticket. 9th Circle indeed, i...more
At its start this book is captivating; the writing is quick yet descriptively beautiful, and though it seems to drag on a little towards the middle, the question of this man's identity always remains in the reader's mind. However, towards the end, the book takes a downwards turn and becomes a little too cliché for my tastes: I continued with this on the hope and premise that it didn't seem very generically angel-fic when it turned out to be that. The man's identity was something that didn't impr...more
Good and evil fight against each other, but sometimes it’s the middleman who is in the right.
The Ninth Circle is a remarkable book, and for the first time in ages my sky-high expectations were justified, ten-fold. Bell has written a novel that successfully takes a look at subjects that have been raised before, but applied them to her characters in a whole new way. The book is structured as a diary but unlike a lot of diary-structured books it’s easy to forget that it’s in the first per...more
The Ninth Circle is a remarkable book, and for the first time in ages my sky-high expectations were justified, ten-fold. Bell has written a novel that successfully takes a look at subjects that have been raised before, but applied them to her characters in a whole new way. The book is structured as a diary but unlike a lot of diary-structured books it’s easy to forget that it’s in the first per...more
In the city of Budapest a man wakes up in a kitchen, his face stuck to the floor with dried blood. He has no idea of who he is, only that he apparently fell and hit his head while putting up shelves and that on a nearby table there is a box filled with a large amount of cash. According to papers he finds in the apartment his name is Gabriel Antaeus but other than that he knows nothing about himself or how he came to be there.
The Ninth Circle begins with a setup that would do justice ...more
The Ninth Circle begins with a setup that would do justice ...more
I found the plot and direction of the story telegraphed from the outset. The twist provided by Gabriel’s amnesia was only mildly surprising. I found the writing to be adequate in most places, somewhat less than acceptable in a few others and a few startling gems scattered in there for good measure.
The story is easy to read although if you’re not after an alternative theology lesson or a brush up on bible class, then I’d give this tale a wide berth.
I agree with Chuck on th...more
The story is easy to read although if you’re not after an alternative theology lesson or a brush up on bible class, then I’d give this tale a wide berth.
I agree with Chuck on th...more
Reading THE NINTH CIRCLE was a weird experience and that's not just because the subject matter dipped into the supernatural very quickly.
THE NINTH CIRCLE is partly a mystery and partly fantasy. When Gabriel wakes up on his own floor he has no idea who he is, where he is, or where the money came from. He does have some memories of how to function, how to feed himself, how to go out and slowly discover the more intimate details of his life - it's like his own personal past has been kno...more
THE NINTH CIRCLE is partly a mystery and partly fantasy. When Gabriel wakes up on his own floor he has no idea who he is, where he is, or where the money came from. He does have some memories of how to function, how to feed himself, how to go out and slowly discover the more intimate details of his life - it's like his own personal past has been kno...more
The Ninth Circle is an interesting read – raising many thought-provoking questions about good and evil, angels and demons, insanity and morality. And the concept, the story, is a very good one. But the delivery is frustrating at times. The passivity of journal entries (how the story is told) casts everything in a somewhat detached, secondary light. Bell's writing style also contributes to this effect as it is a more passive and basic narrative rather than an engaging description of events. The b...more
I couldn't get into at first (this is probably me having readers block) but once I got stuck in I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a new perspective on angels and demons and it even got me interested enough to looked up some references to angels and demons online.
this book had an amazing plot and the fighting angels and demons just made it better. In addition it shows how people deal with loneliness and strike up strange friendships.
And the religous theme of the book made me almost believe.
And the religous theme of the book made me almost believe.
This was a very good book that I very much so enjoyed. It really sparked my interest in demons and the various circles of hell, which I'm looking forward to researching. (:
A great page turner, with some similarities to Dan Browns Angels & Demons. Cleverly makes you consider that good & evil, angel and demon are not as opposite extremes as we assume. There are a couple of occasions when the story doesn't flow or it feels as though Bell needs to back up detail in earlier chapters as the story comes to it's conclusion but its not enough to distract from what is a very thoughtful and clever debut novel.
I enjoyed the book - a fast read. I found the plot fairly predictable, with some twists. Probably a good read for In Nomine fans.
I loved this book. It's not something I'd normally go for, but I was hooked from page 1. My only criticism is it ended too soon!
Really good book. Was twistier than expected and I enjoyed that I didn't guess everything that was gonna happen.
fantastic book, highly recommended - very dark and brooding, great fantasy set in modern day Budapest
Firstly I have to say that I really did like this book. If I'm reading first person I always find it better if it is written as a journal.
I have to say though that it is a little heavy on the christian mythology, which if you haven't really delved into it is done really well, although if you do have a basic knowledge of fallen angels, archangels and demon heirachy you may find some bits a little tedeous. He has obviously been heavily influenced by Dante's Devine Comedy, which is no...more
I have to say though that it is a little heavy on the christian mythology, which if you haven't really delved into it is done really well, although if you do have a basic knowledge of fallen angels, archangels and demon heirachy you may find some bits a little tedeous. He has obviously been heavily influenced by Dante's Devine Comedy, which is no...more
Really liked this. Good mystery with mystic elements. Very enjoyable.
A bit weird; fantasy, angles and devils are not really my thing.
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Alex Bell was born in 1986. She always wanted to be a writer but had several different back-up plans to ensure she didn’t end up in the poor house first. For some years these ranged from dolphin trainer to animal shelter vet but then, at fifteen, she had an epiphany involving John and Robert Kennedy and decided to become a lawyer instead.
To that end she eagerly started a Law Degree on...more
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To that end she eagerly started a Law Degree on...more
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