James Bradley has researched his subject meticulously, one might even say with a certain macabre relish. His (very) anti-hero, Gabriel Swift, apprentices himself to Edwin Poll, the great anatomist, who depends on fresh corpses stolen from graves. Determined to ally himself with his friends, and keep their confidences, as the only way of retaining his feet in an amoral world, Gabriel finds himself at odds with his employer and other powerful influences that he inadvertently crosses.
Dismissed by his employer for this misjudgement, and lost in a careless world, deserted by friends similarly haunted by the ghosts of their trade, Gabriel sinks further into degradation. Life loses all meaning in a catastrophic manner. At the mercy of powers he neither understands nor can avoid, his only way out appears to be through death and an anonymous grave.
Yet every good story has a twist in the tale, and this one is not exemption. My only complaint is that this twist felt more like that of a gecko's tale at first - abandoned and not quite belonging. It took me a few pages to work out that what I thought was happening was, in fact, actually happening.
Still, recommended if you like tales of gothic horror written in a haunting, sinister, claustrophobic style.
No comments:
Post a Comment