Puzzleman (Book)
Year : 2005
Country : USA
Other : Auteur/Author : Christopher Alan Broadstone
Country : USA
Other : Auteur/Author : Christopher Alan Broadstone
.: STORY
A sculptress, an ex History teacher, a legless man, a French vine grower, and a retired policeman have nothing in common... However, all those characters are linked in the plan of the mysterious Puzzleman, searching for eternal life. We follow them step by step not only on earth and in their complex memories, but also in the pipe world, the Puzzleman's shelter along with all his monsters..: REVIEW
The author of this massive novel likes to do a bit of everything: he's an author, a musician and a director. He made two of the shorts already reviewed here: "MY SKIN" and "SCREAM FOR ME".To begin with, this novel targets confirmed English readers. Indeed, the try to imitate the Texan accent (as the action takes place in Texas) tends to make the reading difficult sometimes. I've already hear Texans speaking better than that!
The story is quite interesting though complex. We don't only discover characters in their troubled present but we also learn about their past lives... And when things get really complicated is when you enter the historical passage. It is detailed and show a real research work done by the author. However, it's very (too?) long. It, indeed, expands on several chapters through the whole Antiquity and the Middle-Ages. It makes the story more believable but slows terribly the general rhythm which is otherwise fairly quick, going from one character to another and showing well the links between all of them.
About the horror, and I would even say the gore, the author isn't reluctant in putting a lot. In spite of the very psychological aspect all the book long, due to the heavy past of the protagonists, some passages are filled with blood, guts, cum etc... Everyone can find what they like in these two completely different aspects of the book.
As far as style is concerned, it is quite simple but efficient. The reading is fairly fluid when it's not dialogue scenes where, like I said earlier, things get tough due to the imitation of the Texan accent.
The story is original and shows the underground as the guts of the Earth where a population of monsters and people believed dead still live. It mostly deals with the questions of life and death, of immortality, of religious beliefs, of appearances... and many more...
To sum it up, in spite of slow passages, this novel is captivating and would even be read straight even though it's made of 410 pages. To be advised to good English readers! We're all looking forward to a translation!
Purgatory's rating : 8.5 on 10
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