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Jul 04, 2011

mark rated it:

top ten things i like that are at least tangentially associated with Glass Books of the Dream Eaters:

1. STEAMPUNK
is there a more ill-suited name for a subgenre? what exactly is punk rock about corsets or guns or victorian morals or dirigibles? gack! that was an onomatopoeia for the sound that just came out of my mouth when considering the word "steampunk". still, i love the genre despite its name.

2. GLASS
"Once I had a love and it was a gas
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10 comments like (29 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Alex rated it:

Note: The following covers both volumes of the book.

Before I go into some minutia about this book I should say straight out that overall it was a ripping good yarn. I'm a very happy I found it to curl up with on the dark and rainy weekend that culminated the summer that never was.

Now here are some pointed observations:

A) Seriously why is this being sold in two volumes? It's not two books, it's ONE book that they've simply chopped in half. The second volu More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Jun 26, 2008

Angela rated it:

Finally finished this book! Phew! After a very promising and intriguing first chapter, for me it unfortunately went downhill. Practically all the characters, with distracting unpronouncable names, are introduced in the second chapter making it impossible to remember who is who. (I ended up writing them down on a piece of paper!)
The book is bogged down with overly-detailed descriptions of buildings, places etc. which are unnecessary in many cases.
There are too many convenient coincide More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2007

Cristin rated it:

Set in Edwardian England, "Glass Books of the Dream Eaters" is one part adventure, one part fantasy and two parts completely demented (and I mean this as a compliment).

Apparently, many people are undecided about how to rate this book. From what I've observed, people either love it, hate it, or are filled with begrudging indifference.

Apart from all of the "scoffing" and the grossly superfluous use of the word "cabal" Dahlquist manages to writ More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

The first two hundred pages or so of this novel captivated me. The character of Celeste Temple was fun, albeit a somewhat stereotypical "plucky heroine". Cardinal Chang, as the hit man with a heart of gold, is also a click or two away from charicature. The third member of the triumvirate, Dr. Whatshisname, is less compelling. The story is told in chapters that alternate between those three points of view. Within a very few pages, Miss Temple finds herself in a situation that is bo More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2009

Ian rated it:

I'm generally a very patient reader and am likely to enjoy whatever story I read, regardless of literary merit. But this book just stretched my patience to its limit![return][return]The first quarter of the book was engaging enough. The pace was good and I was excited to find out more. But, as I entered into the 2nd quarter of the story, the plot just kept dragging more and more.[return][return]The characters became annoying and their adventures frustrating. [return][return]But I hung on, th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

AT 760 pages, The Glass Books Of The Dream Eaters is just 24 pages thinner than Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

And with its epic scope and decidedly English air -- despite the fact that it is set in a nameless country -- this tome seems at first blush to promise a fantasy-adventure which is just as riveting.

In a darker version of the predicaments that face Jane Austen's heroines, the protagonist Miss Temple (we later learn her first name is Celeste, but only a few i More...

6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2008

Wanrong rated it:

This is one of the (few) books that Zitch read first, and apparently really liked. But no thanks to my dismal memory, we were both surprised when I brought this home from the library. In any case, this is really more up Zitch's alley, being somewhat like a fantasy novel (which I do not read generally). The narration is quite interesting, with the story told from the perspective of three main characters (totally different from one another, linked together through a random occurrence). The chapte More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Linda rated it:

This story was certainly imaginative and full of action, however I never found myself fully engaged. Bits and pieces were thrilling to read, but overall it didn't capture my attention as much as I had hoped. The writing is superb and a bit reminiscent of Wilde. The story comes from the points of view of the three main characters, often allowing the story to backtrack in order to understand each character's involvement at certain points in the narrative. Miss Celeste Temple discovers her engageme More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Abby rated it:

i alternated between loving this book and HATING THIS BOOK.
i'm a firm believer in the idea that you haven't really read until you've held your breath for three full pages. in that regard, this book didn't disappoint. the action scenes were stunning--the author managed to make them fast-paced without sacrificing any of the beauty of the language or details. i found two of the three main characters intriguing, and can forgive the third because it was her heartbreak that set the whole esca More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Alana rated it:

My review for The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters spans both Volume One and Volume Two, because really, I figure if you're committing yourself to the first, you should probably accept the second... after all, the book was originally printed as one large hardcover, and it only split into two volumes in paperback.

That said, my big issue was this. Generally, I think one can assume that the period of time in which it takes the events of a book to unfold will be greater than the time it More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Abigail rated it:

I was putting books away and came across volume 3 and it looked interesting. After bypassing the series for a few months on a whim I decided to pick up the first book to read on my day off.

I'm not a fan of victorian writing or writing styles so I was a bit put off on the first page or two as I had to adjust to the writing style but the character was intriguing enough for me to give it a shot. The next thing I knew I was 100 pages in. It's been a while since I was able to immerse More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Bob rated it:

This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. Dahlquist has created a total fantasy environment that resides somewhere in time around 1895, and thematically between Dickens, Robertson Davies, Philip Pullman, Robert Ludlum and, say, Serge Gainsbourg.

The story is about a cabal of court members, aristocrats, military leaders, and mad scientists who have developed a plan to control the world. To reveal the details of this plan would spoil the book. On the other side, we have a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Gordon Dahlquist's work as a playwright seems to have ill-prepared him for a career as a novelist. In his debut novel, he combines history, crime, and social commentary__with mixed results. While his characters are unusual and interesting, particularly the poetry-quoting assassin "Cardinal" Chang, he describes his Victorian setting in exhaustive and exhausting detail. Dahlquist's elaborate descriptions and meandering prose create a lengthy tome that may overwhelm many readers. The inte

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2011

Loren rated it:

This was an amazing ride. The bookseller who recommended it to me described it at a steampunk Perils of Pauline, with a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. She didn't tell me how much I would come to enjoy the company of the characters. The blossoming young lady who grew up on a plantation in the islands, the nearly blind assassin in his crimson coat, and the German doctor-spy were all fully drawn, completely believable, and great fun to be around. The ever-expanding conspiracy fascinat More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 03, 2011

Isabel rated it:

in case you had not noticed, Harschmort is a house of masks and mirrors and lies, of unscrupulous, brutal advantage. We cannot afford illusion - about ourselves least of all, for this is what our enemies exploit most of all. I have seen notorious things, I promise you, and notorious things have been done to me. [return][return]A steampunk adventure in which three disparate people (a hired killer, a jilted woman, and a doctor whose job is to keep a dissolute prince out of trouble) come together t More...

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Feb 21, 2011

Anne added it

A good yarn in need of severe editing : [...]I enjoyed reading it and like many on these pages became quite intoxicated by the slowly unfurling nature of the plot but it's hard to escape the fact that the book is horrendously overwritten . It should have been edited by 100-150 pages and could have been easily with no loss to the narrative or characterisation .
For instance there are over two pages in this novel completely given over to someone eating a cream tea. It's not even as interesting as More...

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Jun 25, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Probably my favourite steampunk novel - and I've only just read the first volume! Dahlquist creates a beautiful, intriguing world with plot reveals that actually surprise and good pacing. Not a conscious attempt to hit upon every steampunk trope and archetype the way so many modern fictions are. His use of language delights, especially the writing style, which emulates a Victorian mood without being dense and boring. I am excited to dive into Volume II and see how he brings everything to a concl More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 01, 2009

Alan rated it:

This is a hefty volume - over 750 pages in hardcover - whose elegant, fluid prose is of consistently high quality throughout: complex, bold and even witty. Frankly, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters would be a tremendous achievement even if it weren't also a ripping good yarn. This is Dahlquist's first published novel, and he writes with an assurance beyond his years and experience.

Dahlquist establishes a trio of disparate, unlikely but likeable protagonists for his story: diminuti More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Lizzy rated it:

The book starts out when our heroine, the spunky Celeste Temple, receives a curt missive from her fiance that their engagement is off. She sets off to do a bit of espionage to find out why he suddenly changed his mind (crucial information he neglected to include in his note), which lands her in a whole heap of trouble. She quickly discovers that her mild-mannered (but ambitious) Roger has become mixed up with a sinister group that has invented a technique for mind-control. The villains, collecti More...

2 comments like

Feb 03, 2009

Holzi rated it:

Book was read in english, but review is in german. Sorry to those who cannot comprehend it... ;o)

Tja, wo sortiert man das Buch ein? Fantasy? Mystery? Science Fiction (wegen des Steampunk)? History? Krimi? Denn all das ist es. Nützt alles nichts, irgendwo muss es hin und am ehesten paßt aufgrund der Ära wohl „Historie“.
Ich mag Geschichten, die im viktorianischen Zeitalter spielen, wenn dazu noch Gothic- oder gar Steampunk-Elemente kommen, entsteht fast eine Lesepflicht, denn in More...

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Jan 27, 2009

Matt rated it:

This was really like the movie "Eyes Wide Shut" meets the TV show "Doctor Who," in other words an X-rated (in the American sense of the word) Doctor Who episode.

I had read a review somewhere that complained that even though this novel was set in Victorian London it had no real sense of setting, but I can't imagine how long this overwritten work would be if Dahlquist would have painted a detailed picture of London. And Dahlquist is a playwright, I guess he was jus More...

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Jul 12, 2007

Erik rated it:

For a book that I was really looking forward to pre-publication, this one just didn't do it for me. Dahlquist crafted something eloquent with compelling characters but the story as a whole couldn't keep my attention for any significant span of time. This was especially bothersome considering the length of the book.

This may be one of those books that merits returning to in a couple of years for a second look, I really felt like there was something there but it didn't nab me the first More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Milo rated it:

This is a book with a fascinating premise and great characters that spent far too much time on things I didn't care about and not nearly enough on the things that I did.

I found the first half of the book quite engaging. However, upon the trio's return to the manor, it becomes nothing but everyone running around inside a giant house whose floorplan I found impossible to grasp. I also had a horrible time, at this point, keeping track of all of the characters, although by the end I had More...

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Oct 27, 2011

Roberta rated it:

Sweet agony

Ambientato in epoca vittoriana La setta dei libri blu è un romanzo fantasy (steampunk) in cui tre personaggi (una gentil donzella, un dottore e un misterioso Cardinale Chang) incappano in un oscuro complotto che coinvolge dei libri di vetro blu. I tre hanno motivi personali e soggettivi per opporsi a questo complotto, decisione che li porterà a gravitare intorno ad alcuni luoghi nonchè personaggi chiave, fino allo scioglimento della tensione, se non del mistero, dato che ci More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Alex rated it:

It's a good book. I don't usually like such long novels and Glass Books could possibly do with a hundred less pages but even when at its most convoluted I was never in danger of putting it down - it is compulsive reading. Dahlquist's vague northern European setting is as well-drawn as his characters, the details given being select and sharp enough to create strong sensations or place or character, but leaving enough behind to inspire your own imagination. I found all three central characters ver More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Donna rated it:

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters were my first introduction to the genre of "Steampunk Fantasy", or maybe it's the first book of that genre as it is certainly unlike anything I've read before. Regardless of what other reviewers have written here, I myself could not put it down; talk about downright fun escapism! Written in the style of a gaslight era seriel novel it had everything: mystery and suspense, action, sex [with a healthy dose of fetishism], shockingly evil yet somehow st More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 25, 2010

Laurie rated it:

This massive (760 page) book weaves together the adventures of three people: Miss Celeste Temple, Dr. Abelard Svenson, and Cardinal Chang as they try and thwart the plans of a cabal which is working to take over England, a portion of Germany called Macklenburg, and eventually, I’m sure, the world. They have come into possession of some unique technology, which allows them to both suck the memories out of peoples brains and give them power over those people. Ultimately, it allows them to do much More...

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Sep 10, 2010

Brigid rated it:

This book is styled like a pulp, with a headlong rush into ever more Action! Excitement! Suspense! However, it is not entirely effective - often the action isn't all that exciting and there's a LOT of unnecessary and eventually tedious running around. Plus a certain stilted quality creeps in at times and it often feels like the author is just being self-indulgent. At the same time, for much of the book, especially the first volume (I actually read the two-part softcover edition), I really did wa More...

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Apr 19, 2010

Andy rated it:

I picked this up purely from the cover which was nicely and intriguingly designed (never judge a book...) and what sounded like a story right up my alley. It took me a whole week to plow my way through and a lot of the time I was having to try. The basic underlying story is interesting with a greatly bizarre and unique premise but the execution is lacking. Problems:

Huge numbers of characters with mostly unnecessarily unpronounceable names made it difficult to keep track of who w More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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