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The Dark Volume (Miss Temple, Doctor Svenson, and Cardinal Chang #2)

3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 · rating details · 883 ratings · 137 reviews

Awakening from a fevered delirium, Celeste Temple finds herself in a fishing village on the remote Iron Coast. She has no idea where her companions, Cardinal Chang and Doctor Svenson, might be—nor whether any of her enemies survived the dirigible crash that marked her last conscious moment. And while her body seems intact, she cannot say the same for her mind. For she must...more

Paperback, 516 pages

Published January 1st 2009 by Penguin Books (first published May 1st 2008)

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Jun 20, 2012 mark monday rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: foggy-nights

apropos of nothing at all, and because no one asked, here is a list of the small number of steampunk novels i've read, in order of preference.

1. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters... my favorite; pure pleasure from beginning to end
2. The Dark Volume
3. Leviathan... highly enjoyable - for teh children!
4. The List of Seven... fast-paced and atmospheric fun
5. and 6. Soulless and Changeless... amusing fluff. often eye-rolling and rather poorly written. i'm surprised by the accolades this series has...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Kat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk, 2012, historical-fiction, mystery-thriller, science-fiction

I am starting to feel that buying the final installment to a series in hardcover is basically signing its death warrant.

I wish that I had ended my adventures into 'The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters' after the first two AMAZING books of volume one. This second installment of the story earned two stars from me only because of my previous attachment to the incredible array of characters, lush and lavish settings, total debauchery, evil plotting, and indigo clay that was developed in volume one,...more I am starting to feel that buying the final installment to a series in hardcover is basically signing its death warrant.

I wish that I had ended my adventures into 'The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters' after the first two AMAZING books of volume one. This second installment of the story earned two stars from me only because of my previous attachment to the incredible array of characters, lush and lavish settings, total debauchery, evil plotting, and indigo clay that was developed in volume one, which I whole heartedly adored. For me, The Dark Volume held absolutely no merit of its own, and if book burning wasn't so taboo, I would toss this one into the fire.

If I learned anything from The Dark Volume though, said book would not perish in the flames of the fire, but would only be half destroyed, and much to my shock and dismay it would come crawling back out of the flames, stronger, and tainted with even more evil than before. Which in my state of shock I would not be able to fully comprehend.... and so instead of stabbing it with the fire poker I would just let it crawl out so that it could torment my life once more, but worse. THEN after another length of heinous plotting, pure evil, wrestling, and chasing (lots and lots of chasing) right in the exact moment where I hold the fate of the mega evil book in my clutches once more, my humanity would shine though (wait... is it my humanity, or am I actually secretly in love with said book?!) and I would forgive the half burned, completely tainted and wickedly evil book and join leagues with it... only to be THWARTED, to my eternal shame, once more!! OH man!!! THEN as the super evil book crawled off into the woods conveniently gushing ink and leaving a trail of crumbling letters and punctuation marks behind as a trail for me to follow, I would drag my weary self to my feet, not to be defeated, and stumble after it, sure of getting my revenge on it this time, and not only saving myself, but saving the whole entire world.

And so it goes......(less)

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Jul 12, 2009 Alana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009_07_july, reviewed

In finishing this book, Dorothy Parker came to mind... "This is not a novel to be tossed lightly aside. It should be thrown with great force."

The greatest joy that I experienced with this book came when I was finally finished and could set it aside. I disliked The Dark Volume so intensely that my opinion of the first book (in what is now clearly intended to be a series), The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, was actually tainted by association.

Gordon Dahlquist, what happened? Oh wait, I know. Th...more In finishing this book, Dorothy Parker came to mind... "This is not a novel to be tossed lightly aside. It should be thrown with great force."

The greatest joy that I experienced with this book came when I was finally finished and could set it aside. I disliked The Dark Volume so intensely that my opinion of the first book (in what is now clearly intended to be a series), The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, was actually tainted by association.

Gordon Dahlquist, what happened? Oh wait, I know. The large amounts of studied creativity, character development and lavish scenery gave way to the deep need to keep things going in a serial format, and thus yielded a book where very little was described in valuable detail and a great deal happened, but almost none of it was of any consequence. I may have only spent nine days reading this (or rather, trying to read this, as I couldn't ever say that I got into it enough to the point where I experienced any pains in setting it down, even in the middle of a sentence), but it felt like the longest nine days that I've experienced in a great while. As a result, not only was I frustrated, but anyone who happened to be around me while I read this was incensed against the book, too. My significant other implored me to stop reading it, as he could hardly take my growls of annoyance and exasperated exclamations of, "Just die already!" (which were directed at multiple characters throughout the course of the novel).

And as far as trajectory, well, we seem to have ended up in the exact same damn place, only everyone is much dirtier. (Though admittedly, that clearly is the goal of the author, to expose the darker, corrosive side of what might seem an alluring power. Still, I was overjoyed when a character stopped to take a bath during this volume.) Confrontation between a large number of characters where the alliances are tenuous at best before everything shatters... I mean honestly, if it was going to lead to such a similar conclusion, what was even gained by the events of this book? At least the last time we saw this tableau, it was aboard a dirigible! (There may be a dirigible on the cover of this book, but there is not one in the book... unless you count references to the sunken one from the first book.) The Dark Volume failed to have anywhere near the same amount of creativity as its predecessor (not to mention that at least The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters took place in interesting locations, whereas we spend the whole of The Dark Volume in destroyed and crumbling buildings, inhaling smoke from explosions, and crawling through the woods while everyone bleeds and vomits). While I'm not necessarily an advocate for Dahlquist spending even more time describing things, perhaps the most crucial oversight was that he failed to explain exactly why we should even care about the events taking place! He relied entirely on our attachment to the characters on the basis of the first novel and made little attempt to endear any of them to us (except, perhaps, for Doctor Svenson who was tormented by his feelings for Mrs. Dujong, but it was hard to feel sympathy when I wanted to stab her repeatedly for being stupid and useless).

And by the end? We still suspect that the majority of the baddies are dead (though again, the only person we know who is still fully functional and at large is the Contessa), and the only difference is that we are led to believe that the majority of the goodies are dead, too... (or course, as with the last book, only a fool really believes it).

I won't bother to explain the plot, I will only suggest that if you have read and enjoyed The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, you should do yourself a favor and not bother to pick up its sequel. I rarely abandon a series, but I doubt that I could survive another installment of this... and besides, I made the arrangement with myself that all I needed to set these books aside with a clear conscience was for a kiss to take place between two particular characters. Having received that small satisfaction, I say farewell to Dahlquist and I curse the urge that drove me to purchase this terrible thing in hardcover.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Melinda Le Baron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, anti-social, assassins, battle-royale, beautiful-3d-characters, beautiful-dialogue, beautiful-plot, beautiful-sex, beautiful-transitions, beautifully-ended, beautifully-written, big-men-w-swords, black-humor, bondage-discipline, cadence, classic, compelling, crime, death, deep, dystopian-society, drugs, emotional, evil, fantasy, flashbacks, genius, gods-myths-and-legends, healing, high-society, high-tech-weapons, historical, historical-hotties, horror, imagery, imaginative, insane, kidnapping, love, men-with-weapons, military, moral, murder, mystery, police-agencies, political, psychotic, rape, religious, rescue, romance, serial-killer, society, spies, steampunk, subversive, surprise-ending, thriller, torture, tragedy, twisty-turny-plot, victoriana, violent, women-with-weapons

The original Glass Books of the Dream Eaters – the first book in the series, was initially published as a single volume – not the two volumes commonly seen and reviewed here - the first with a cliffhanger ending, which I hate so much. This was the doing of the second publisher, who split the novel, obviously thinking that a 768 page novel was too much for today's ADD type audiences. Too bad, they screwed that up. Now, with the Dark Volume, what is truly the second book in the series, Dahlquist's...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Brett rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Finished "The Dark Volume" by Gordon Dahlquist. I did not realize this was a sequel to another book! (Such is my curse, it seems.) Not having read the predecessor did not detract from this book much, though. I loved the world he created, and the "science" of the clay and glass. Mr. Dahlquist's prose describes a scene so efficiently that it sometimes takes a couple passes through to really understand all the nuances he has presented. Not to say it is bad - just that I couldn't keep up! He certain...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Don Rea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was distinctly disappointing. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as The Glass Books Of the Dream Eaters; one's first experience with a new author one likes is always the best. But The Dark Volume is a different sort of work altogether. While, in the first book, he left the door unlocked for a possible sequel (obviously), it stood entirely on its own as a finished piece. This does not. This absolutely requires The Glass Books before it, and it does not simply allow for sequels, it demands...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Clay rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sure, times are hard in the book publishing industry – but is it asking too much to make it as easy as possible for those who buy books to know what they’re in for when they pull out their debit cards?

This month’s example is “The Dark Volume” (Bantam, $26, 508 pages), which is the next installment in Gordon Dahlquist’s “The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters” series. But for that $26, readers don’t get any sort of resolution, and in fact, in the grand tradition of Robert Jordan, at the end of the 5...more Sure, times are hard in the book publishing industry – but is it asking too much to make it as easy as possible for those who buy books to know what they’re in for when they pull out their debit cards?

This month’s example is “The Dark Volume” (Bantam, $26, 508 pages), which is the next installment in Gordon Dahlquist’s “The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters” series. But for that $26, readers don’t get any sort of resolution, and in fact, in the grand tradition of Robert Jordan, at the end of the 508 turgid pages, not much has happened at all. Sure, some minor characters bit the dust, and Dahlquist delivered lots of sound and fury, but a reader who skipped this one entirely (after reading the first effort, which was one book in hardback and two in softcover) would be able to jump right into the next volume without need of a synopsis.

Even worse, there might not even be a next volume, as Bantam first told me “The Dark Volume” would be all there was to the series – a particularly galling bit of information, as basically nothing was revealed or resolved in this long series. Now, Dahlquist has reported he will write more, as well he should after getting a reported $2 million advance for what he’s written so far.

And what exactly has he written that any wary reader should avoid? The plot is basic: Some evildoers have stumbled across a miraculous substance (indigo clay) that can be used to a) record and steal the memories of people; b) stave off death temporarily; and c) transform people into glass, but with great mental powers. So three characters – a young woman and two men – jump in to thwart the nefarious plot to take over a loosely fictionalized version of Victorian England.

Reasonable enough so far, but the books quickly descend into softcore erotica that goes nowhere, constant hairbreadth escapes (recall Rambo avoiding repeated bursts of machine-gun fire while his shots are always on target), lots of talking with guns pointed at people’s heads, and ludicrous plot twists (the heroes are never killed even though the villains, who kill indiscriminately, have every opportunity). In short, these long books are poorly plotted, cannot stand up to any logical scrutiny, and go nowhere.

For this, Dahlquist got $2 million? Of course, it’s no secret that publishers routinely give out huge advances to authors, but given the parlous economic circumstances, couldn’t we count on them to have some sense of what a good book actually is?

Which leads me to another point: Wouldn’t it make sense to publicize those books that are good, or at least that reviewers like? I churn out a column a month, and I sometimes positively review the first book in a series – and yet, I too often don’t get sent the second one. Now wouldn’t it make sense for a publishing publicist to write a little note to herself, and make sure that a reviewer who liked book one in a series, or any book by an author, would get succeeding books?

I’m not claiming that book reviewers have a huge impact on sales, but given the limited means by which publishers can reach readers, it would seem to me that spending a couple minutes making sure the right books went to the right reviewers would make sense. But instead, I get sent loads of books about vampires (despite informing publicists I have no interest in blood-sucking immortals) and lots of horror (which is not now and has never been science fiction or fantasy).
(less)

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Aug 17, 2009 emily rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: folks with stomach flu, who will sympathize with the vomiting.

This is less a novel than a single extended chase scene with two main features: interchangeable characters and vomiting. There is so, so much vomiting. (Also headaches. And waxy skin. And splitting fingernails (ew). And "gummed" eyelids. What has to happen for an eyelid to become "gummed" anyway? It is clearly in some way related to decomposition, but I am insufficiently familiar with the nature of corpses to fully understand.)

I return to my point.

This is essentially an extended chase scene in w...more

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May 18, 2009 Alan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Patient converts

I really liked The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, so I was naturally excited to discover, quite by chance, that Dahlquist had written a sequel. It's hard to follow up a successful debut, though, and unfortunately in many ways The Dark Volume does not measure up to its predecessor.

Oh, The Dark Volume is by no means a bad book. Dahlquist retains his gift for description and love of refined language. Indeed, the new book seems at its most alive during the characters' various dialogues; would that...more I really liked The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, so I was naturally excited to discover, quite by chance, that Dahlquist had written a sequel. It's hard to follow up a successful debut, though, and unfortunately in many ways The Dark Volume does not measure up to its predecessor.

Oh, The Dark Volume is by no means a bad book. Dahlquist retains his gift for description and love of refined language. Indeed, the new book seems at its most alive during the characters' various dialogues; would that there had been more witty converse and less hectic motion!

Whereas Dream Eaters introduced us to new and interesting characters, and to a fascinating and detailed milieu, in which an unheard-of and unholy fusion of technology and alchemy was being used by a seemingly-unstoppable Cabal, The Dark Volume gives us very little more than one long and violent chase scene. No new characters of any significance or individuality appear, and little invention - only the working out of implications already at least intimated in the first book. The Cabal is in disarray, and the separation of protagonists that worked so well in Dream Eaters here serves mostly to dislocate the reader.

It seems evident now that The Dark Volume is intended as a bridge between Dream Eaters - which really did quite well as a stand-alone novel - and a successor yet to emerge. The current work begins very much in medias res and ends with much left unresolved; if it is a bridge, it is a rather insubstantial one. But perhaps it is also a necessary support as well, a utilitarian span bearing us up while we look forward to our destination.

I enjoyed this book, really I did - it's as full of explosions, dramatic confrontations and superhuman fistfights as any summer action film. Most of my disappointment is due to the sharp contrast with its predecessor, and to the relative lack of a satisfying conclusion. But I have not given up on Dahlquist just yet, and I suggest that, if you enjoyed his first book as much as I did, you do not give up either.(less)

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May 23, 2012 Dameon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book just continues where The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters left off. It is exciting and brings in some new characters. At times this book can get a little boring but is still action packed.
PROS: It is a continuing adventure with the characters and new characters are introduced. The characters are developed more and you get some more background on them
CONS: After reading the first two books this book just gets a little boring because it follows the same plot. The characters are together t...more

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Nov 10, 2010 Kira Fisher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: newfavorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 06, 2012 Wise_owl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As the 'second' book in a series it's hard to judge this work. It is true I didn't find it as rivoting as the first, and there are plenty of reasons for that. The Glass Books of the Dream-Eaters had a very ephemeral quality to it, a peering into the lives of three people and how the twisted convuleted schemes of a Cabal brought those three together in opposition as allies. This book follows the fall-out from those Allies success, or rather the Cabal's failure. It demonstrates how the mysteries o...more As the 'second' book in a series it's hard to judge this work. It is true I didn't find it as rivoting as the first, and there are plenty of reasons for that. The Glass Books of the Dream-Eaters had a very ephemeral quality to it, a peering into the lives of three people and how the twisted convuleted schemes of a Cabal brought those three together in opposition as allies. This book follows the fall-out from those Allies success, or rather the Cabal's failure. It demonstrates how the mysteries of the Blue Glass are truly terrible, and how they go beyond the initial goals.

The book was Dark, a fitting review for something called 'The Dark Volume', and dark it was. Dirty, beaten, bloody. All three of the Heroes contend not just with physical hardship, but emotional as well, dealing with the reality of what their lives are. Only Chang truly has any kind of life to go back to, but what is that life? Both Miss Temple and the Doctor have had their lives entirely uprooted and destroyed for the most part, the Doctor now a fugitive from his homeland. Miss Temple having to deal with the reality that though she could return to the life she had left; seeking a husband and so forth, that the experiences of the Blue Books have changed her in ways that make such a life now impossible. So while the Doctor's external landscape is now in ruins, for Miss Temple it is her internal landscape.

The ending of the book was riveting though, but it does bring me to my biggest criticism and why I couldn't give this book five stars. There were so many questions raised in the previous volume, and I feel like in many cases this one only added to them. Who is the Contessa? Who is the Comte? How did they get together? What are the true properties of the Blue Glass and how did the Comte go about discovering them? Hopefully these will be answered in the finale volume of the series, but for a second book I felt like this one spent most of it's time tying up a few loose ends, examining the fallout of group of back-stabbers, and setting up the narrative for the next work. Still, like it's predecessor I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I would recommend it to any who liked the first, and I shall be sure to read the third.(less)

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Jul 06, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dahlquist's 'The Dark Volume' really is a page-turner! I literally couldn't stop myself reading page by page by page until it was finished and I enjoyed all of it as much as the first in the series. As a Crime/Mystery Fiction novel, Dahlquist's novel really fits the bill, it's full of danger, corruption and dastardly plans to take over the world, one mind at a time. The characters are brutal and damaged but brilliantly portrayed with as much detail to their persona's as to make them real to life...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Maureen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first book in the series was five stars. The second was 4. This one is 3. Really, Mr. Dahlquist... you're trending in the wrong direction. I love the characters. I love the atmosphere. I love the rich and vivid detail. My only complaint - but it's a big one - is there is NO FRIGGIN' ENDING!! For crying out loud...

When I was in second grade the teacher tried to teach us how a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. The assignment was to tell the class a story using dolls and plastic toys...more

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Sep 19, 2010 Mason Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, I just finished this one last night. This continues the Victorian-style adventures of the trio of protagonists from the previous books, and sees the return of several of the evil Cabal members who were seemingly dispatched at the end of the last volume. I don't think it gives anything away to mention that a few of those presumed dead reappear through various nefarious means.

This is certainly not as strong as the previous books, let's just get that out of the way now. The mysteries uncovere...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Brendan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 06, 2013 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Not as good as the Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, the Dark Volume is still an absorbing read. Going over the same ground three times through the eyes of three different characters begins to get tiresome, however, and once again Dahlquist brings too many characters to the climax, but the reader can't escape the notion that the blue glass is a metaphor for computers and hand-held devices. And while Miss Temple, Dr. Swenson, and Cardinal Chang bring the cabal to its knees, they can't escape takin...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Hollowspine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book, not quite as much as the first, but still well enough that I was disappointed when I turned the final page and found myself left again at a cliff hanger! I thought that this book would be the end, but apparently I must wait for another book! Like the first book this one was suspenseful and full of intrigue. However, it was less of a mystery than the first book, but some interesting elements of the blue glass are revealed throughout the book.

Although I usually don't like brok...more

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Jan 26, 2010 Arachne8x rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: victoriana, steampunk

This is a sequel to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and don't let the beginning of the book convince you otherwise. The book starts where the last one left off, includes the same protagonists and most of the same antagonists as the original struggling over the same thing.

It's delicious in the same way the original was. It has wonderful descriptions. The story is still told from the 3rd person omniscient focused on one of the three protagonists in turn. And there continue to be some interesti...more

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May 15, 2009 Shelley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Shelley by: Lisa Gines

I enjoyed this book tremendously, as a continuation of one of my favorite books of all time. The pacing of the further adventures of Celeste, the Doctor and Cardinal Chang made it very hard to put down. Each section for each character had its own mini-cliffhanger to keep you wondering how they were ever going to reunite and prevail. And the big cliffhanger at the end ensures the adventure will continue! The author’s writing is extremely clever and the language he uses to describe situations and...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Abigail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

I can honestly say I can't bring myself to finish this book. It's not from lack of trying, but there's too much going on I can't bring myself to enjoy it. I really liked "Glass Books of Dream Eaters" but this one just seems to drag. It's like the convoluted plotlines from the first book get even more twisted and confusing and it's hard to follow what is exactly going on. There's too much explination / justification of why certain things are going on rather than plot moving foward so the reader c...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Sam Grove rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: would-die-without

To say I really enjoyed this is an understatement! From the instant I finished the first in the series (The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters), I was desperate to read the next one but a copy didn't come into my bookshop for ages! As soon as I ordered one and it arrived, I jumped right into it and immediately fell in love all over again. The trio of unlikely heroes are so well described and their character flaws are so uniquely human that I feel as if I know them. Which makes it all the more sadde...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Isabel rated it 3 of 5 stars

But Eloise cried out sharply, even as thin lines of tears broke forth down her cheeks. 'Who are you to know anything, Celeste Temple? You are a wilful thing who has been happily asleep these past cruel days - who has money and confident ease, who has been rescued from your brazen presumption again and again by these very men who may now be dead - or who knows where? Who I have watched over night after night, watched alone, only to have you abandon me at every adventuresome whim that pops into yo...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Catherine Guisinskaya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-writed

Вот часто говорят - первая книга серии была самой лучшей, не стоило автору дальше... ну и так далее. Частично это верно и для Гордона Далквиста. Потому что "Стеклянные книги пожирателей снов" гораздо эфектнее "Чёрной книги смерти". Нет, конечно же, интересно читать продолжение истории, но... где-то на середине у меня появилось стойкое ощущение, что я играю в "поиск предметов", вторая часть - возвращение куда-нибудь более крутых героев и более жутких злодеев. Ну и мисс Темпл продолжает бесить. По...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book isn't as good as the previous one, which is disappointing. It's a lot more confusing, for one - not as complicated but more...muddled. It very much feels like the middle book in a trilogy, which I'm pretty sure it is, even though I can't find any information about the final book, if it does indeed exist. I hope it does, because this one ends on a very bleak note, and I wanted it fixed! It seems almost all of the characters are dead, and I can't believe that could be true. Or perhaps I...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Kellyann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

I don't think it's ever possible for a sequel to live up to it's predecessor. The comfort of returning to characters that are old friends is a double-edged sword - knowing them as you do they can't possibly be as interesting as when you first met them. There's also the tedium of referring back to the original to jog your memory as to what happened and tie it to the current plot. Contrary to what all of this might imply, I really enjoyed this book, especially the final third when things really go...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Dorotea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I definitely liked the prequel better. It was equally difficult for me to read, but at least the plot was more interesting.

The reason it was difficult is that I hate descriptions and this book is filled with them. Descriptions make me lose track of what's happening and I gain nothing or very little from reading them. And another thing - the plot is too dissipated. At least that's the feeling I got. The book is written in A Game of Thrones style (with only three points of view, though), but still...more I definitely liked the prequel better. It was equally difficult for me to read, but at least the plot was more interesting.

The reason it was difficult is that I hate descriptions and this book is filled with them. Descriptions make me lose track of what's happening and I gain nothing or very little from reading them. And another thing - the plot is too dissipated. At least that's the feeling I got. The book is written in A Game of Thrones style (with only three points of view, though), but still I had a hard time following it. Maybe because of all the digressions (not only descriptions, but long internal monologues which I usually love and approve of, but here I sometimes found them distracting).

And ~~another~~ the third thing - on the beginning of the book it's written that this book has a prequel but it can be read as a separate story. PFFFT! So not true. If you hadn't read the The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, nothing will make sense. I've read it a couple of years ago and the sequel only came out in Croatia a couple of months ago and I had a hard time remembering who specific characters were and what they did and why other character hated them.

Moving on - the ending. (view spoiler) *exasperated sigh"

Lastly, there are a lot of fighting scenes. Like, "shounen manga/anime" lot of them.

I find it annoying to watch sometimes, let alone to read the description of each move. T_T

BUT! It's not all that bad. I can't deny that this book is beautifully written. I mean, I hated the descriptions and all, but it's only my personal preference. Anyway, I'd mark this as neorealism. The characters are interesting enough. They really are characters, thanks God, I'm tired of all the Mary-Sues and Gary-Stues that seem to be the main characteristic of contemporary literature. Sadly. (less)

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Aug 16, 2010 Korynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporarylit, sci-fifantasy

A fiend. The author does not suitably end this volume leaving it in a manner that leaves the reader seething for more information. Also, to my mind, it ends with several actions and events unfinished. So - this volume starts with new revelations regarding the extraordinary events of the last book and so throws our characters into their individual whirlpools of murder,intrigue and dubious alliances leading to yet another great confabulation of assorted motives and desires that does not end but be...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Elderberrywine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library

Steampunk Extreme. This is the second of three volumes, the first being The Glass Books of the Dream-Eaters. Yes, both books are long, somewhat repetitious, and very much one-note. But I had to track down the third, even to the extent of buying it, for the final fate of the three protagonists, Cardinal Chang (who is neither), Doctor Svenson (German (!) former attache to a corrupt princeling) and the redoubtable Miss Temple (a veritable bulldog of a young heiress), is something I would hate to mi...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy

On a good deal of reflection, and considering that this was the first book in the series I read (despite being the middle episode), I am floored by how good it was.

I picked it up at a secondhand book op-shop for $2, on the off chance that it was going to be enjoyable, knowing nothing about it, craving some good fantasy, and not even realising it was part of a series.

Later, reading the intro, Dahlquist assured me I could still enjoy it, despite not having read the first. In many ways, I wish I ha...more On a good deal of reflection, and considering that this was the first book in the series I read (despite being the middle episode), I am floored by how good it was.

I picked it up at a secondhand book op-shop for $2, on the off chance that it was going to be enjoyable, knowing nothing about it, craving some good fantasy, and not even realising it was part of a series.

Later, reading the intro, Dahlquist assured me I could still enjoy it, despite not having read the first. In many ways, I wish I had read The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters first, but in the end he was right. The whole story was laid bare before me, lacking of course the initial emotions of the characters who were recalling earlier events, so I wasn't unduly confused. I was just entirely absorbed.

This one begins exactly where the last one left off, with the mighty plans of the Cabal in shreds, along with their airship and many of their important adherents. Our heroes have split up, and make their agonisingly slow way from this cold, black Northern coastline back to the City (we do not know the name of this fictitious city in this fictitious country, which makes it all the better. This is not some 'alternate history' of the gallingly overused Victorian London, this is an entirely plausible science-fiction/"steampunk" story set in an unnamed, Northern European country with a language that draws from Dutch, English and Chinese, at least).

Their journeys, so divided, are told episodically, in the tradition of Dickensian weekly installments. Each chapter ends on an absolutely gutting cliffhanger, and in the next we are back with another character. It's enough to make you tear your hair out, if that would only help you find out what happens next. This technique was also employed in the first book, whose shine was dulled for me because I read this one first.

When I think of this book, three things come equally to mind - Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, the graphic novels The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, and noir novels (and films) like The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep and so on.
The scope is grand, the characters plentiful and scheming, the plots twisted and confusing and the motivations murky. I wrote more about this in my review of the final volume, The Chemickal Marriage.

After the dust from this trilogy has settled, however, this book, the difficult middle chapter, has clung on the hardest. It is definitely the darkest, its drastically different setting gave it a coldness and a singularity of purpose that the others do not have, and its final reveal - another cliffhanger! - is the most tension I have felt at a series since I was a teen and gasping for more Harry Potter.

You're an absolute fool if you don't pick this series up RIGHT NOW. Start at the beginning, unlike me - you'll get more out of it, and you'll have this gem of a second-part to look forward to.(less)

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The Dark Volume (Miss Temple, Doctor Svenson, and Cardinal Chang #2)

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