Review of The Quick by Lauren Owen

I was confused by the basic story in this novel. The beginning was well-written and interesting, and when the novel switched narration (for the first time) to James’s POV, I still found the story easy to follow and intriguing. A gay man in Victorian England, while probably not uncommon, isn’t often the central figure in a novel, but when the story’s POV changed again and the plot began to involve a secretive vampire cult, I began to lose interest. A gay, Victorian vampire? According to this novel, Queen Vicky’s London was lousy with them. While this is a unique idea, I became bored with the pacing and the overwhelming number of characters and changing POV. I normally enjoy an omniscient novel, but I had difficulty keeping up with all the side plots.
The writing style is in keeping with the time period, and the secrecy of the Aegolius Club was interesting; however, at times, the novel just lagged. The real action didn’t begin until around forty percent into the novel, and I had to force myself to keep going sometimes. Oddly enough, the story is both connected and disjointed.
2.5 Stars