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Nameless
by
Sam Starbuck (Goodreads Author)
Small-town bookseller Christopher Dusk is happy with his quiet life, until he meets a shy artist and sells him the wrong book. Lucas, a maskmaker and mystic, will challenge Christopher's prosaic view of the world -- but both men are lying, to themselves and to each other, and Lucas may be the one to pay the price in the end.
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
2009
by Extribulum Press
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When I bought this book, I confess, I didn't expect much. I had read some beautiful fanfictions by the author and I decided to give a go at his original writing. I wasn't prepared to love Nameless so much.
And it's not because of Christopher, the main character, that is a witty and nice young man who owns a book shop. Nor for Lucas, the new guy in town, who is so shy and insicure, but so creative in making beautiful masks. You will love them, of course, and enjoy their friendship forms and grows....more
And it's not because of Christopher, the main character, that is a witty and nice young man who owns a book shop. Nor for Lucas, the new guy in town, who is so shy and insicure, but so creative in making beautiful masks. You will love them, of course, and enjoy their friendship forms and grows....more
i came across this book by mistake, and thought that it's going to be just another book, one that i will probably not finish.
well, i was SO wrong.
this is a story about a small town, about a man who owns a bookstore and uses he's beautiful voice to tell us this story.
at the beginning i thought that it's going to be a story about love between two men. well, it is, in a way. but not in the predictable way. this is mostly about friendship, deep friendship. no love scenes, no sex.
the characters i...more
well, i was SO wrong.
this is a story about a small town, about a man who owns a bookstore and uses he's beautiful voice to tell us this story.
at the beginning i thought that it's going to be a story about love between two men. well, it is, in a way. but not in the predictable way. this is mostly about friendship, deep friendship. no love scenes, no sex.
the characters i...more
Well, I'm here for Sam's writing. Which is gorgeous as always. As for the work itself, it's not really my thing. With the mysticism. The romance is so understated as to be practically invisible, which is both beautiful and not very satisfying. The small-town USA setting seems to be kind of desperately repressing the Walmart effect by channeling British archetypes of quaintness and magic? I dunno.
This book was recommended to me by Adam and normally we do not have the same taste in most things but because he thought I would like it I decided to take a look at it.
The book itself is very interesting, It has very little to no plot at all and its basically all about character development. At first I thought a book with no plot would really bore me but soon I could not stop reading it because I wanted to see how certain characters and their relationships would pan out.
Sadly for me towards th...more
The book itself is very interesting, It has very little to no plot at all and its basically all about character development. At first I thought a book with no plot would really bore me but soon I could not stop reading it because I wanted to see how certain characters and their relationships would pan out.
Sadly for me towards th...more
This was a pretty good book, although slow to start and a little, hmm. It's a sort of magical realism thingy, except that the realism isn't quite real enough; the setting seems more like it ought to be an explicitly fantasy world, something Olde English-y Tolkien-y, because it doesn't quite ring true for a small town somewhere outside Chicago. I felt like it wanted to be a fairy tale, like it wanted to be, oh, like the town of Wall in Stardust. Halloween mythic rituals and traveling Gypsies (bec...more
A friend of mine is friends with the author, which is how I came to have this book recommended to me. My main criticism is that the author seemed determined that any conflict be resolved immediately -- everybody gets along with everybody else, nobody stays angry even when they have the right to hold a grudge, and any developments that might lead to real conflict or tension are quickly addressed and defused before they can threaten the permanent austerity of the story's Arcadian little town. It w...more
I enjoy the author's other work, so I was excited to read his first book. I was surprised to find it slow and boring.
A few years back, Christopher Dusk moved from Chicago to a little town named Low Ferry. He sets himself up with a bookshop and settles down to a quiet life. Then a shy young man named Lucas turns up, asking for a special book about masks--and nothing happens. Nothing ever, ever happens. The entire book is basically Christopher walking into the diner, everyone greets him, walking b...more
A few years back, Christopher Dusk moved from Chicago to a little town named Low Ferry. He sets himself up with a bookshop and settles down to a quiet life. Then a shy young man named Lucas turns up, asking for a special book about masks--and nothing happens. Nothing ever, ever happens. The entire book is basically Christopher walking into the diner, everyone greets him, walking b...more
This is easily one of the most beautiful and simplistic novels I have ever read. This story is about a deep friendship, a dog, and a rural town that brings them all together. Everything about this book is so raw, touching and the descriptions really carry you away into this very pastoral environment. The characters in this novel felt so real, and I can't say I've encountered such a story where everything just came together so gently. This is one of those books that sucks you simply because its a...more
I've liked this writer's style for some time, and I generally like all the characters he's created in this story. That said, however, what others have said is completely accurate - there is very little plot and nothing much really happens. Also, the book was marketed as dealing with gay characters, and it was possible to see how the two main characters could have gone down the romance direction, but...they didn't. There was a minor subplot dealing with a gay relationship, but it was background a...more
This was a work of genre fiction that couldn't decide which genre it belonged to. Part fantasy, part small-town tale, part romance, part friendship story...I'm not sure that it was consistent enough to do all (or any one) of those things really well. It's a first novel, though, and Sam's a generally good writer, so I would definitely read a second effort.
I thought the characters were interesting and the writing well done. Nonetheless, not a whole heck of a lot happens, and Christopher is just too perfect for his own good.
Also, those people didn't sound like they were from a small town in Illinois. More like Kent. Just saying.
Also, those people didn't sound like they were from a small town in Illinois. More like Kent. Just saying.
Just finished my first reread of Nameless since I read it initially after it's release. I'd forgotten, somehow, how powerfully moving and astounding it is, and I treasured this read more than words can express.
Everything in Nameless blows me away, from it's small world of lovingly textured characters, to its gentle but compelling pace through the narrator's discoveries, to the delicate, convincing touches of magic that have me looking a little too hard at masks I see. I feel like the world is a...more
Everything in Nameless blows me away, from it's small world of lovingly textured characters, to its gentle but compelling pace through the narrator's discoveries, to the delicate, convincing touches of magic that have me looking a little too hard at masks I see. I feel like the world is a...more
11 Vanyels - I actually like all the characters =)
10 Moonwinds - Beautiful story, great plot (and subplots!)
10 Stendels - If it's apparently permanent position as purse-book continues this may also reach 11
.75 LHMs - I always finish the book feeling happy and uplifted
0 Leareths - positive influence
10 Moonwinds - Beautiful story, great plot (and subplots!)
10 Stendels - If it's apparently permanent position as purse-book continues this may also reach 11
.75 LHMs - I always finish the book feeling happy and uplifted
0 Leareths - positive influence
May 18, 2013
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Sam is a corporate samurai, blogger, and former theatre punk who lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes literary fiction, magical realism in specific, as well as steampunk-oriented fantasy, the occasional satire (he can quit any time he likes) and sometimes even fanfic.
More about Sam Starbuck...
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes literary fiction, magical realism in specific, as well as steampunk-oriented fantasy, the occasional satire (he can quit any time he likes) and sometimes even fanfic.
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May 09, 2012 07:27pm