Nine Planets

by Edward Riche

312 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Edward Riche is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and playwright. His previous novels include Rare Birds, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring William Hurt and Molly Parker, and a second novel, The Nine Planets, which won the Thomas Raddall Head Award. His writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and the Telegram. He is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio's "Talking Books." Edward Riche lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Reviews

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book - a clever, beautifully-written, ironic look at just about everyone in St. John's - except for the ending in which very little gets resolved. It starts well; the main character, a vice principle at a private school, is somewhat sympathetic; there is a vortex of events which make his life worse and worse and then ... that's it.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I abandoned this about 150 pages in...which always irks me to do...and, I’m even a Newfie!!!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a little harder to get into. It struck me a little bit like Seinfeld, that was a show about nothing this was a book that felt like it was about nothing in many places. If you're looking for something to unpack, find meaning in the words, and a bit of a dark reflection on life, this is your book.

[Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've actually read this book twice now, didn't mean to. I love Canadian writers - especially east coast topics, so when I realized about a quarter of the way in that I'd read it once I decided to read it again. There's something about this book that I really don't like - but it gets under my skin in a compelling way...

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very excited to read Ed Riche's The Nine Planets - After Rare Birds and The Great eastern, I had no doubt I'd be entertained. Ed is proof that Nfld punches way above its weight in the talent business. If only I didn't have so many deeply nutritious books i must read for work.

[Keith Osmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Ending kind of left a lot hanging.

[Sari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really hard to get into. It took me almost two months to get through it because I was not particularly engaged by the characters or the plot of the book. Meh.