Jonathan Barnes' "The Somnambulist" (The Somnambulist - Jonathan Barnes)

Member Name: jbsabbath

Product:	The Somnambulist - Jonathan Barnes
Date:	21/03/09 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A large range of interesting, if one-dimensional, characters; easy to read

Disadvantages: Silly, lacks any real depth or development

Roll up, roll up!

Come and meet the strange and marvellous Edward Moon, the famous stage magician and private detective, with his willing assisstant the Somnambulist as they tackle a series of unholy murders that lead them to the greatest threat the British Empire has ever faced.

It's turn of the century Victorian London and Edward Moon is fading into obscurity, his best cases solved and shelved years ago, his stage tricks having all been seen before, so slowly but surely his social standing is fading away, as is his enjoyment for life.

With his gigantic 7ft, silent, milk-drinking, seemingly indestructible Somnambulist friend, he resides under the theatre in a converted cellar, looked after by the nanny-like Mrs Grossmith.

But when there is a strange, foul murder without any suspects, baffling the police and Inspector Merryweather alike, Moon is called in to see if he can lend a hand, reinvigorating the enthusiasm he has for Holmes-esque logical deduction.

However, this goes much deeper than he could ever have predicted, because his investigations lead him to the strange albino Mr Skimpole and the secretive Directorate, the curious medium Madame Innocenti, the freakshow at the circus, an oddball fetish brothel, and an underground secret organisation known as Love, Love, Love and Love, who want to bring the city to its knees and install a new power.

Can Moon face up against the insurmountable odds?

But just who is Thomas Cribb and why does he seem to be experiencing time in the opposite direction?

And why are two schoolboys named Hawker and Boon running around killing everyone?

And why in God's name is the long-since dead poet Coleridge up and walking about?

All (or most) will be explained.

Now, as the opening paragraph suggests:

"Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and wilfully bizarre. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it."

And this very much sums up Jonathan Barnes' debut novel: a strange piece of fantasy fiction set in Victorian London, with the running theme of a circus freakshow.

Character-wise, most of the cast are pretty one-dimensional and don't offer up much interest.

More can be said of the principle character Edward Moon, of course, whose habits and mannerisms are well documented, but still he doesn't come off as quite a well-rounded individual, certainly a dubious hero out for his own gains, and hence remains fairly a mystery.

Of the Somnambulist, the title character, little can be said - his descriptions do create an imposing presence in the scenes he is in, but the mysteries surrounding his origin and the fact that he is practically indestructible are never actually explained.

And so goes for many other characters in the book - there's quite a medley of queer, supernatural creatures lurking about here, but none of them are given any real depth or reason for their existence.

The most interesting is possibly Thomas Cribb, the man who is living his life in reverse to everyone else, and while the technicalities of this are glossed over, the logical progression of his relationship with Edward Moon is well played - it's just a shame that too little is ever explained about him, especially after building him up to be so important.

The more annoying of characters is ultimately the narrator himself, who offers up his own opinions of events now and again and refuses to remain impartial to the proceedings.

While this might seem appropriate, it forces the novel to remain unexplained and perplexing, rather than having an omniscient author who can clarify all those little niggling questions readers will have.

As far as the plot goes, it's a little all over the place, unable to stay still and including many different things that don't really impact the central line of events until the final showdown.

The showdown itself, a battle in the streets of London that turns into a massacre, doesn't quite get the coverage it deserves, and it's mopping up is a bit too much of an easy way out, a bit of unneeded deus ex machina really.

On the whole, however, with its amazing variety of characters and situations, "The Somnambulist" is never boring, and while perhaps it is not written well it is still certainly easy to read.

For the curious only, this one - it might well appeal to someone who wants to try something different.

[The paperback edition can be purchased from play.com for £5.99 (at time of writing), including postage and packing]

Summary: A fairly standard Victorian fantasy set up with a freakshow of parading characters