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The Night Clock #1
The Night Clock
An incredible debut novel that will move and terrify you, as reality itself is threatened by a world just beyond our own.
And still the Night Clock ticks...
Phil Trevena's patients are dying and he needs answers. One of the disturbed men in his care tells him that he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But who is Daniel? Daniel was lost once, broken by the same force that has turned its hatred on Trevena. His destiny is greater than he could ever imagine.
Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time - the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
Paul Meloy's extraordinarily rich debut novel introduces us to a world just beyond our own, shattering our preconceptions about creativity and mental illness, presenting us with a novel like no other.Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time—the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
And still the Night Clock ticks...
Phil Trevena's patients are dying and he needs answers. One of the disturbed men in his care tells him that he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But who is Daniel? Daniel was lost once, broken by the same force that has turned its hatred on Trevena. His destiny is greater than he could ever imagine.
Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time - the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
Paul Meloy's extraordinarily rich debut novel introduces us to a world just beyond our own, shattering our preconceptions about creativity and mental illness, presenting us with a novel like no other.Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time—the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2015
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779 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 3, 2015
Rating: 3.5/5
This review can also be found at my book blog Dana and the Books.
From the moment I first read the description I had such high hopes for The Night Clock. It sounded like a crazy novel with a cerebral and intense plot.
After several of Phil Trevana’s patients die, he is informed by an insane man that he needs to seek out Daniel to find the answers.
“Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time – the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.” (Goodreads.com)
That sounds awesome, right? It was a fantastic idea, however, the novel kept switching between so many characters with so many flashbacks. I felt like this was Trevana’s journey, his discovery, his character arc, yet he appeared so little within the narrative.
No one was ‘leading’ the story so it was hard to form attachments to any of the characters or plot lines due to the overwhelming amount and the number of new ones kept who got introduced so late into the story. The amount of characters to keep track of flashbacks to experience made it difficult to fully immerse myself into Meloy’s world.
However, despite the overload of characters and their POVs, The Night Clock was wonderfully written. Meloy composes his sentences smoothly and with ease, but I believe he needed to refine his plot threads to really showcase his talent here.
Everything came together nicely at the conclusion so I finished this book on a satisfying note.
I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
This review can also be found at my book blog Dana and the Books.
From the moment I first read the description I had such high hopes for The Night Clock. It sounded like a crazy novel with a cerebral and intense plot.
After several of Phil Trevana’s patients die, he is informed by an insane man that he needs to seek out Daniel to find the answers.
“Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time – the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.” (Goodreads.com)
That sounds awesome, right? It was a fantastic idea, however, the novel kept switching between so many characters with so many flashbacks. I felt like this was Trevana’s journey, his discovery, his character arc, yet he appeared so little within the narrative.
No one was ‘leading’ the story so it was hard to form attachments to any of the characters or plot lines due to the overwhelming amount and the number of new ones kept who got introduced so late into the story. The amount of characters to keep track of flashbacks to experience made it difficult to fully immerse myself into Meloy’s world.
However, despite the overload of characters and their POVs, The Night Clock was wonderfully written. Meloy composes his sentences smoothly and with ease, but I believe he needed to refine his plot threads to really showcase his talent here.
Everything came together nicely at the conclusion so I finished this book on a satisfying note.
I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
December 6, 2015
I've been waiting to read a novel by Paul Meloy for a very long time.
His exquisite command of imagery and language is unparalleled and his ability to make you see things that aren't there, things that perhaps only he has witnessed, is nothing short of masterful.
The Night Clock chronicles the unceasing war that takes place within each of us, that constant clash of angels and demons that is, in fact, the unfolding of the self. And the question, as it is in all Meloy's fiction, is do we destroy ourselves or do we have the strength to face the darkness within and triumph?
The novel reads like a dream within a dream within a dream and my one grumble is that I wasn't smart enough to always be certain which dream I was in! Nevertheless, The Night Clock has been worth the wait and I hope it will be the first of many more novels from the unique and transcendent talent that is Paul Meloy.
His exquisite command of imagery and language is unparalleled and his ability to make you see things that aren't there, things that perhaps only he has witnessed, is nothing short of masterful.
The Night Clock chronicles the unceasing war that takes place within each of us, that constant clash of angels and demons that is, in fact, the unfolding of the self. And the question, as it is in all Meloy's fiction, is do we destroy ourselves or do we have the strength to face the darkness within and triumph?
The novel reads like a dream within a dream within a dream and my one grumble is that I wasn't smart enough to always be certain which dream I was in! Nevertheless, The Night Clock has been worth the wait and I hope it will be the first of many more novels from the unique and transcendent talent that is Paul Meloy.
October 29, 2015
I had this as an advanced reader’s copy through Net Galley, and I went into it knowing nothing of the author or the plot. I don’t know, however, that much prior information would have helped me with the first couple of chapters. Meloy dumps us into a netherworld where the planet Mars takes the place of the moon, and characters I sensed were the good guys kept to their side of the street while a pub across the way served as a passageway for very bad things to enter their world. The next chapter involved a farm house bothered by a zombiefied relative who ate hot stew with his bare hands, had to be led away on the tines of a pitchfork, and set on fire in a field.
It took me several pages into the next sequence to realize that Meloy was settling down to his plot. A housing estate somewhere in the UK, with its boarded up shops, council flats, graffiti-covered walls, and threats of violence suggested a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting, but no, this is just a miserable place to live. Meloy can really pack in the information. With the background of a mass shooting at a day care center, he introduces us to a feckless estate patrolman, an alcoholic hanging onto some sense of dignity, and a social worker whose cases have begun to either kill themselves or others. And there are monsters, hideous creatures that can possess the weak and pursue those who might be a threat to them.
Meloy has worked as a psychiatric nurse, and this section grounded in the world of the housing estate, with his hero Phil Travena dealing with suicidal and homicidal clients, a weaselly new boss brought in to “tighten the ship,” drunks and a growing sense that these monsters may not be hallucinations sets the action in both a very real and very creepy world. Once we are part of the pitched battle between good and evil, things take on the more predictable cast that such battles usually entail. But Meloy continues to create inventive situations, engaging characters, and grand set pieces. His monsters are spectacular creations that wear their debt to Lovecraft lightly. The talking animals are a problem, but that could be my inherent resistance to talking animals.
Much of the plot involves the impending birth of Chloe, a child whose existence is crucial to victory over the dark forces. In one of Meloy’s most successful narrative devices, we get to know Chloe as an adult character, stranded in a dangerous world as she waits to be born. There are also a man and his son who start as characters in a children’s book who become major players in the battle.
At times I felt that Meloy’s story needed a larger canvas that he provides, but when I weighed that against his ability to wrap things up as quickly as he did, I decided he made the right choice. He ties things up well. That illogical zombie scene from the first pages even makes sense by the time the story is over. And although he doesn’t end with cliffhangers, Meloy could easily return to this world for further novels.
It took me several pages into the next sequence to realize that Meloy was settling down to his plot. A housing estate somewhere in the UK, with its boarded up shops, council flats, graffiti-covered walls, and threats of violence suggested a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting, but no, this is just a miserable place to live. Meloy can really pack in the information. With the background of a mass shooting at a day care center, he introduces us to a feckless estate patrolman, an alcoholic hanging onto some sense of dignity, and a social worker whose cases have begun to either kill themselves or others. And there are monsters, hideous creatures that can possess the weak and pursue those who might be a threat to them.
Meloy has worked as a psychiatric nurse, and this section grounded in the world of the housing estate, with his hero Phil Travena dealing with suicidal and homicidal clients, a weaselly new boss brought in to “tighten the ship,” drunks and a growing sense that these monsters may not be hallucinations sets the action in both a very real and very creepy world. Once we are part of the pitched battle between good and evil, things take on the more predictable cast that such battles usually entail. But Meloy continues to create inventive situations, engaging characters, and grand set pieces. His monsters are spectacular creations that wear their debt to Lovecraft lightly. The talking animals are a problem, but that could be my inherent resistance to talking animals.
Much of the plot involves the impending birth of Chloe, a child whose existence is crucial to victory over the dark forces. In one of Meloy’s most successful narrative devices, we get to know Chloe as an adult character, stranded in a dangerous world as she waits to be born. There are also a man and his son who start as characters in a children’s book who become major players in the battle.
At times I felt that Meloy’s story needed a larger canvas that he provides, but when I weighed that against his ability to wrap things up as quickly as he did, I decided he made the right choice. He ties things up well. That illogical zombie scene from the first pages even makes sense by the time the story is over. And although he doesn’t end with cliffhangers, Meloy could easily return to this world for further novels.
November 10, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Paul Meloy's debut novel, The Night Clock, is a compelling and original blend of dark fantasy, science fiction and horror elements. It takes place in the same world as "Dogs with Their Eyes Shut", which was published in 2013. It's a richly written and multi-layered novel for readers who want to immerse themselves into a complex and gradually unfolding story that rewards its readers with beautiful prose and intriguing happenings.
I've been aware of Paul Meloy for a couple of years, but I haven't had an opportunity read anything by him until now. I'm glad I could review The Night Clock, because it's an impressive and well written debut novel (I was very impressed by it). It splendidly showcases the author's abilities to write original speculative fiction for adults, because it's a fascinating combination of different elements that together form an enjoyable story.
The Night Clock can be categorised as dark fantasy fiction, because the author combines fantasy, horror and slipstream elements in a successful way. Depending on the reader, it's also possible to categorise this novel as horror fiction, because the boundaries of horror fiction have been stretched quite a lot during the recent years and certain dark fantasy novels can be counted as horror fiction.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
The Night Clock is a fascinating and imaginative story about a psychiatric nurse, Phil Trevena, who finds himself in the middle of strange and threatening happenings. He tries to make sense of what's going on, because his psychiatric patients are dying. He hears from one of his disturbed patients that he must find a man called Daniel, because Daniel is the only person who can explain everything. When Trevena meets Daniel, he finds out that a dark elemental force is behind everything...
This is the beginning of a chain of events that leads Trevena and Daniel on a journey to save our reality.
The multi-layered and phantasmagorical story is told through different characters. The narrative shifts fluently from character to character, but the main characters are Phil Trevena and Daniel. It was interesting to read about both of the main characters and their lives, because characterisation is excellent.
Phil Trevena is a fascinating character, because he's a psychiatric nurse who takes care of mentally ill people. He gets into trouble at work when his patients start to die mysteriously. He begins to wonder what's going on and tries to find answers. His puzzlement about the happenings is handled well, because he slowly finds out what's happening around him and why his patients have died.
Daniel is a Firmament Surgeon and a hypnopomp who can control Dark Time. He has an ability to alter time. He fights against the Autoscopes who are Firmament Surgeons that have been corrupted by a dark force - the devil-in-dreams - that wants to bring an age of despair. The author writes fascinatingly about Daniel's past and the time he spent at the mental hospital.
I also enjoyed reading about the secondary characters, because they were fully fleshed characters with lives and feelings of their own. For example, the author explored Gollick's life in an excellent way and told what happened to him and his mother. It was also interesting to read about Chloe and how important a character she was, because she was part of the Night Clock.
The concept of the mysterious Night Clock is handled perfectly, because the author reveals bits and pieces about it as the story begins to unfold. I won't write what kind of a clock it is, because I might end up writing too many spoilers, but I think it's safe to mention that certain people are very important to its existence and functioning.
This novel contains intriguing sexual elements, because the author writes about the protagonist's sexual feelings towards the student nurse, Zoë. He knows that his feelings are inapproriate, but he can't help them and tries to hide his arousal. The author also writes well about the protagonist's dark dream that has a sexual nature to it. These sexual elements fit the dark story perfectly.
I've noticed that several novels have been written about mental illness and madness over the years, but this kind of creative and insightful novels are rare. Paul Meloy's approach to mental illness and madness feels fresh and creative. I honestly don't recall reading anything like this ever before, because the author ignores the conventional clichés associated with mental illness stories and boldly writes his own kind of fiction that stays true to medical facts, but is original and inventive. His approach to mental illness has a distinct edge of poetic artistry that sets him apart from other authors.
Paul Meloy writes fluently about mental illness and what's related to it. His descriptions of the the patients' symptoms, madness and behaviour are excellent and stunningly effective. I think that his personal experiences as a psychiatric nurse have affected his writing style, because he has gained lots of insight into mental illness and is aware of how patients behave in different conditions and under stress.
Paul Meloy writes well about Trevena's patients and how they're being looked after by nurses. I have to mention that it was interesting and unsettling for me to read about Les and his symptoms, because he had schizophrenia. He had animals, but when his illness worsened, he killed all of his animals, because he thought that they'd be better off dead if he couldn't look after them. In my opinion, his condition and symptoms were handled surprisingly well.
The author seems to have an excellent imagination, because he has come up with a story that is original and fresh. There's an exciting fractured-reality quality to his story that is reminiscent of slipstream stories. This is one of the reasons why I was deeply impressed by this novel.
Paul Meloy writes beautiful, descriptive and nuanced prose. He has his own unique voice and he uses it in a bold way. There's something in his sentences and expressions that reminds me a bit of Nina Allan, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Thompson.
The author has a good sense of humour, and he has an ability to add humorous elements to his story without making the happenings feel fluffy or trivial. His humour is wonderfully sharp and some of his comments about people and happenings are nuanced and observant. (I was pleasantly surprised to find humour in this novel, because this kind of novels seldom have any kind of humorous elements.)
I was impressed by the author's way of writing about dark fantasy and horror elements, because his writing style is fascinatingly dark. He wrote ominously about the strange creatures that attacked the characters and easily created a threatening atmosphere. His creatures were original and had a nightmarish quality to them.
I was surprised to find out that the author wrote about talking dogs and tigers, because I didn't expect to read about talking animals. I think it's good that he wrote about them, because by writing about them, he added a bit of fairy-tale-like lightness to his dark story.
I look forward to reading more stories and novels by Paul Meloy, because he seems to be a talented author who can write original and engaging stories that stimulate the reader's imagination. I intend to take a look at his previous stories as soon as possible.
I think it's fair to say that we need more novels like The Night Clock that expand the boundaries of speculative fiction into new directions and excite our imagination, because there are too many novels that offer little or no food at all for thoughts. I'm personally a big fan of this kind of fiction, because it's rewarding to read well written novels that boldly differ from what's become the norm for speculative fiction.
The Night Clock is an excellent novel for adult readers. It deserves to be read thoughtfully, because it contains many different elements and has layers of depth. It has been written for intelligent adults who want to read a complex and gradually opening story.
Paul Meloy's The Night Clock is not to be missed by fans of quality speculative fiction, because it's one of the most intriguing speculative fiction novels of the year. If you're fascinated by dark happenings and love the darker and stranger side of speculative fiction, you should take a look at this beautifully written novel, because it's genuinely worth reading.
Highly recommended!
Paul Meloy's debut novel, The Night Clock, is a compelling and original blend of dark fantasy, science fiction and horror elements. It takes place in the same world as "Dogs with Their Eyes Shut", which was published in 2013. It's a richly written and multi-layered novel for readers who want to immerse themselves into a complex and gradually unfolding story that rewards its readers with beautiful prose and intriguing happenings.
I've been aware of Paul Meloy for a couple of years, but I haven't had an opportunity read anything by him until now. I'm glad I could review The Night Clock, because it's an impressive and well written debut novel (I was very impressed by it). It splendidly showcases the author's abilities to write original speculative fiction for adults, because it's a fascinating combination of different elements that together form an enjoyable story.
The Night Clock can be categorised as dark fantasy fiction, because the author combines fantasy, horror and slipstream elements in a successful way. Depending on the reader, it's also possible to categorise this novel as horror fiction, because the boundaries of horror fiction have been stretched quite a lot during the recent years and certain dark fantasy novels can be counted as horror fiction.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
The Night Clock is a fascinating and imaginative story about a psychiatric nurse, Phil Trevena, who finds himself in the middle of strange and threatening happenings. He tries to make sense of what's going on, because his psychiatric patients are dying. He hears from one of his disturbed patients that he must find a man called Daniel, because Daniel is the only person who can explain everything. When Trevena meets Daniel, he finds out that a dark elemental force is behind everything...
This is the beginning of a chain of events that leads Trevena and Daniel on a journey to save our reality.
The multi-layered and phantasmagorical story is told through different characters. The narrative shifts fluently from character to character, but the main characters are Phil Trevena and Daniel. It was interesting to read about both of the main characters and their lives, because characterisation is excellent.
Phil Trevena is a fascinating character, because he's a psychiatric nurse who takes care of mentally ill people. He gets into trouble at work when his patients start to die mysteriously. He begins to wonder what's going on and tries to find answers. His puzzlement about the happenings is handled well, because he slowly finds out what's happening around him and why his patients have died.
Daniel is a Firmament Surgeon and a hypnopomp who can control Dark Time. He has an ability to alter time. He fights against the Autoscopes who are Firmament Surgeons that have been corrupted by a dark force - the devil-in-dreams - that wants to bring an age of despair. The author writes fascinatingly about Daniel's past and the time he spent at the mental hospital.
I also enjoyed reading about the secondary characters, because they were fully fleshed characters with lives and feelings of their own. For example, the author explored Gollick's life in an excellent way and told what happened to him and his mother. It was also interesting to read about Chloe and how important a character she was, because she was part of the Night Clock.
The concept of the mysterious Night Clock is handled perfectly, because the author reveals bits and pieces about it as the story begins to unfold. I won't write what kind of a clock it is, because I might end up writing too many spoilers, but I think it's safe to mention that certain people are very important to its existence and functioning.
This novel contains intriguing sexual elements, because the author writes about the protagonist's sexual feelings towards the student nurse, Zoë. He knows that his feelings are inapproriate, but he can't help them and tries to hide his arousal. The author also writes well about the protagonist's dark dream that has a sexual nature to it. These sexual elements fit the dark story perfectly.
I've noticed that several novels have been written about mental illness and madness over the years, but this kind of creative and insightful novels are rare. Paul Meloy's approach to mental illness and madness feels fresh and creative. I honestly don't recall reading anything like this ever before, because the author ignores the conventional clichés associated with mental illness stories and boldly writes his own kind of fiction that stays true to medical facts, but is original and inventive. His approach to mental illness has a distinct edge of poetic artistry that sets him apart from other authors.
Paul Meloy writes fluently about mental illness and what's related to it. His descriptions of the the patients' symptoms, madness and behaviour are excellent and stunningly effective. I think that his personal experiences as a psychiatric nurse have affected his writing style, because he has gained lots of insight into mental illness and is aware of how patients behave in different conditions and under stress.
Paul Meloy writes well about Trevena's patients and how they're being looked after by nurses. I have to mention that it was interesting and unsettling for me to read about Les and his symptoms, because he had schizophrenia. He had animals, but when his illness worsened, he killed all of his animals, because he thought that they'd be better off dead if he couldn't look after them. In my opinion, his condition and symptoms were handled surprisingly well.
The author seems to have an excellent imagination, because he has come up with a story that is original and fresh. There's an exciting fractured-reality quality to his story that is reminiscent of slipstream stories. This is one of the reasons why I was deeply impressed by this novel.
Paul Meloy writes beautiful, descriptive and nuanced prose. He has his own unique voice and he uses it in a bold way. There's something in his sentences and expressions that reminds me a bit of Nina Allan, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Thompson.
The author has a good sense of humour, and he has an ability to add humorous elements to his story without making the happenings feel fluffy or trivial. His humour is wonderfully sharp and some of his comments about people and happenings are nuanced and observant. (I was pleasantly surprised to find humour in this novel, because this kind of novels seldom have any kind of humorous elements.)
I was impressed by the author's way of writing about dark fantasy and horror elements, because his writing style is fascinatingly dark. He wrote ominously about the strange creatures that attacked the characters and easily created a threatening atmosphere. His creatures were original and had a nightmarish quality to them.
I was surprised to find out that the author wrote about talking dogs and tigers, because I didn't expect to read about talking animals. I think it's good that he wrote about them, because by writing about them, he added a bit of fairy-tale-like lightness to his dark story.
I look forward to reading more stories and novels by Paul Meloy, because he seems to be a talented author who can write original and engaging stories that stimulate the reader's imagination. I intend to take a look at his previous stories as soon as possible.
I think it's fair to say that we need more novels like The Night Clock that expand the boundaries of speculative fiction into new directions and excite our imagination, because there are too many novels that offer little or no food at all for thoughts. I'm personally a big fan of this kind of fiction, because it's rewarding to read well written novels that boldly differ from what's become the norm for speculative fiction.
The Night Clock is an excellent novel for adult readers. It deserves to be read thoughtfully, because it contains many different elements and has layers of depth. It has been written for intelligent adults who want to read a complex and gradually opening story.
Paul Meloy's The Night Clock is not to be missed by fans of quality speculative fiction, because it's one of the most intriguing speculative fiction novels of the year. If you're fascinated by dark happenings and love the darker and stranger side of speculative fiction, you should take a look at this beautifully written novel, because it's genuinely worth reading.
Highly recommended!
November 5, 2015
Some of Meloy's writing is excellent. Some quite horrific sequences are rendered with both great attention to detail and dreamlike feeling, all at the same time. However, The Night Clock has too many ideas and too many characters with too-similar voices, leading to glaring structural problems and making it seem like multiple books all cobbled together.
This novel is at its best when it's a horror story about mental illness in an unforgiving urban landscape (even if that landscape's denizens sometimes think back on better times or escape to rural idylls in their minds). This makes sense, given Meloy's background as a psychiatric nurse. It's at its worst when it's a pretentious, overblown fantasy epic complete with large cast of characters and a complex but underdeveloped taxonomy ("Toyceivers", "Firmament Surgeons", "Autoscopes" etc.)
I enjoyed the first half alright, though the POV shifts were sometimes confusing because many characters' voices seemed the same and there was a weird undercurrent of phallocentrism. But around the midpoint, a TON of new characters were added and the whole thing kind of fell apart for me. I should mention, too, that some of the new characters were female, but they were either in minimal supporting roles or else infantalized -- quite literally: one major character is a girl "waiting to be born" while her extant consciousness is protected by a bunch of men operating in, essentially, an alternate dimension.
I learned only after reading it that the book is actually linked to a number of Meloy's previous writings -- all short stories. Should this, his first full novel, not be able stand on its own?
** I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley **
This novel is at its best when it's a horror story about mental illness in an unforgiving urban landscape (even if that landscape's denizens sometimes think back on better times or escape to rural idylls in their minds). This makes sense, given Meloy's background as a psychiatric nurse. It's at its worst when it's a pretentious, overblown fantasy epic complete with large cast of characters and a complex but underdeveloped taxonomy ("Toyceivers", "Firmament Surgeons", "Autoscopes" etc.)
I enjoyed the first half alright, though the POV shifts were sometimes confusing because many characters' voices seemed the same and there was a weird undercurrent of phallocentrism. But around the midpoint, a TON of new characters were added and the whole thing kind of fell apart for me. I should mention, too, that some of the new characters were female, but they were either in minimal supporting roles or else infantalized -- quite literally: one major character is a girl "waiting to be born" while her extant consciousness is protected by a bunch of men operating in, essentially, an alternate dimension.
I learned only after reading it that the book is actually linked to a number of Meloy's previous writings -- all short stories. Should this, his first full novel, not be able stand on its own?
** I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley **
April 8, 2016
I really wasn’t sure what to make of this book to start with, the beginning was quite confusing and I thought that maybe it just wasn’t for me. I persevered and I am so glad I did. Paul Meloy seemed to combine the shocking ‘gross out’ factor that Stephen King is so good at, along with the gathering menace Dean Koontz captures so well. However this book has so much more. His style, descriptions and use of words are quite amazing. Usually if I come across a word I am unfamiliar with I can guess it from the context- this book made me glad of the Paperwhite’s build in dictionary! At first I was thinking this was a three starred book but by the end I was in no doubt it deserved five stars.
Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC- it’s one I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise and I would have missed an unusual and brilliant book.
Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC- it’s one I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise and I would have missed an unusual and brilliant book.
November 6, 2015
The start of the book was a little hard to follow but keep with it because it all becomes clear the more you read. As the book progresses you realize that the real story is good versus evil and the rest is just the window dressing of the story. Good read if you enjoy fantasy. I would like to thank the publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
November 17, 2015
Review originally posted on The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange :)
I received this copy through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Let's go :D
Goodreads Blurb
An incredible debut novel that will move and terrify you, as reality itself is threatened by a world just beyond our own.
And still the Night Clock ticks...
Phil Trevena's patients are dying and he needs answers. One of the disturbed men in his care tells him that he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But who is Daniel? Daniel was lost once, broken by the same force that has turned its hatred on Trevena. His destiny is greater than he could ever imagine.
Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time - the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion while reading :)
I apologize for not bringing the story myself, but I wanted you guys to feel what I did. The Night Clock sounded to me like an amazing sci-fi/horror story and I make no secret how much I enjoy fictional books that discuss on their narratives the capacity of our minds. I was so excited when I started it that pains me to say that I wasn’t the right audience for this book. Without a doubt it has an amazing plot and the narrative style is interesting, but I was bored to my bones. It takes too much time for the reader to realize the connections that Meloy does between his characters and the character’s language also got me a bit. I can handle swearing and that I don’t mind, but I don’t like vulgar and there were too many vulgar characters to my taste. I finished the book yesterday night and my overall evaluation was of two stars, as Meloy has good moves during the story and had an amazing plot to work with. Now, let’s begin the real analysis.
As I said, the plot was amazing. A doctor that starts to see his patients dying out of nowhere? Plays with the mind? Awesome! But I got so confused during the reading… I discovered that I didn’t like or connect with neither Phil or Daniel, so it was hard to be involved in the story. I really think that Meloy had an awesome idea, but I wasn’t ready for it, it was beyond my tastes as a reader and I apologize for that. I feel very bad for talking like this, because I know how much love, thought and effort that takes to write and publish a book. Honestly, if you like sci-fi, give it a try, you may like it :D
The narrative had a strong point. The point of view of the characters was always changing, so you could have a big picture of what was happening during all the struggles and mysteries – but without realizing what was within The Night Clock. I was so anxious to know exactly what was The Night Clock that I made a dance when it was finally explained (it was part of the mystery of the book, so of course it takes time for us to be sure, haha!). I liked that no character was wasted for Meloy. If the person appeared, Meloy always had a way to tell the reader who that person was before their function on the book. I’m a very curious person, so I was very happy with this, haha!
Which takes me to the characters. I didn’t like or connect to anyone, but also didn’t have anyone. They were real people, don’t get me wrong. Just not my kind of people. I see book characters as someone you would like to be near and you measure how much you like them for the desire of closeness with them (we do this without realizing, trust me). I didn’t wish to be close to anyone in this book and you see, I have a soft spot for villains and bad guys. That’s why I said that I was the problem, that this book wasn’t for me. If you can’t connect with anything in the book, the problem is you, sorry, haha!
There’s something that I really wish to compliment: the looks of The Night Clock. I got a pdf for this review, but omg: it was BEAUTIFUL. The cover, the title page, the chapters… Seriously, I don’t regret owning this ebook at all and wish I could afford it on print. The art is breathtaking and deserves a space on my shellfish wardrobe <3
I won’t make this as long as it could because I see no point: I really admire Meloy’s creativity and his narrative skills, his talent for making a story of everything inside of The Night Clock and I wish him all the success in the world :)
That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading! <3
I received this copy through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Let's go :D
Goodreads Blurb
An incredible debut novel that will move and terrify you, as reality itself is threatened by a world just beyond our own.
And still the Night Clock ticks...
Phil Trevena's patients are dying and he needs answers. One of the disturbed men in his care tells him that he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But who is Daniel? Daniel was lost once, broken by the same force that has turned its hatred on Trevena. His destiny is greater than he could ever imagine.
Drawn together, Trevena and Daniel embark on an extraordinary journey of discovery, encountering The Firmament Surgeons in the Dark Time - the flux above our reality. Whoever controls Dark Time controls the minds of humanity. The Firmament Surgeons, aware of the approach of limitless hostility and darkness, are gathered to bring an end to the war with the Autoscopes, before they tear our reality apart.
The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion while reading :)
I apologize for not bringing the story myself, but I wanted you guys to feel what I did. The Night Clock sounded to me like an amazing sci-fi/horror story and I make no secret how much I enjoy fictional books that discuss on their narratives the capacity of our minds. I was so excited when I started it that pains me to say that I wasn’t the right audience for this book. Without a doubt it has an amazing plot and the narrative style is interesting, but I was bored to my bones. It takes too much time for the reader to realize the connections that Meloy does between his characters and the character’s language also got me a bit. I can handle swearing and that I don’t mind, but I don’t like vulgar and there were too many vulgar characters to my taste. I finished the book yesterday night and my overall evaluation was of two stars, as Meloy has good moves during the story and had an amazing plot to work with. Now, let’s begin the real analysis.
As I said, the plot was amazing. A doctor that starts to see his patients dying out of nowhere? Plays with the mind? Awesome! But I got so confused during the reading… I discovered that I didn’t like or connect with neither Phil or Daniel, so it was hard to be involved in the story. I really think that Meloy had an awesome idea, but I wasn’t ready for it, it was beyond my tastes as a reader and I apologize for that. I feel very bad for talking like this, because I know how much love, thought and effort that takes to write and publish a book. Honestly, if you like sci-fi, give it a try, you may like it :D
The narrative had a strong point. The point of view of the characters was always changing, so you could have a big picture of what was happening during all the struggles and mysteries – but without realizing what was within The Night Clock. I was so anxious to know exactly what was The Night Clock that I made a dance when it was finally explained (it was part of the mystery of the book, so of course it takes time for us to be sure, haha!). I liked that no character was wasted for Meloy. If the person appeared, Meloy always had a way to tell the reader who that person was before their function on the book. I’m a very curious person, so I was very happy with this, haha!
Which takes me to the characters. I didn’t like or connect to anyone, but also didn’t have anyone. They were real people, don’t get me wrong. Just not my kind of people. I see book characters as someone you would like to be near and you measure how much you like them for the desire of closeness with them (we do this without realizing, trust me). I didn’t wish to be close to anyone in this book and you see, I have a soft spot for villains and bad guys. That’s why I said that I was the problem, that this book wasn’t for me. If you can’t connect with anything in the book, the problem is you, sorry, haha!
There’s something that I really wish to compliment: the looks of The Night Clock. I got a pdf for this review, but omg: it was BEAUTIFUL. The cover, the title page, the chapters… Seriously, I don’t regret owning this ebook at all and wish I could afford it on print. The art is breathtaking and deserves a space on my shellfish wardrobe <3
I won’t make this as long as it could because I see no point: I really admire Meloy’s creativity and his narrative skills, his talent for making a story of everything inside of The Night Clock and I wish him all the success in the world :)
That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading! <3
January 2, 2016
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a disappointment for me. Read the blurb? It sounds great, right? And you just know that things are going to get a bit crazy. But it just didn't live up to what I had built it up to be in my head.
This is Trevana's story. After several patients under his care commit suicide, Phil Trevana is under review and given a vacation from his work. Before another one patient takes his life, he tells Trevana to seek out answers from a man named Daniel. When their paths finally cross, the two join forces to save the Night clock.
This book had me hooked for the first third of it. I was really interested in what was going on in this small town and I was extremely curious as to what was causing all these travesties. But as soon as Phil met Daniel, I just started losing interest fast. For a book that is potentially using Trevana as a main character, we really don't see all that much from him. There is a lot going on in his head in the beginning. Regrets from his life, marital issues as a divorcee. Yet his character never grows. Even in the end there isn't really any resolution or much to say that his life is changed for the better in any sort of way.
Most of the story is told from other various points of view. They weren't all that entertaining for me, and I struggled a bit to finish this book. Even the action sequences weren't much to go on about. I found myself quite confused as to what was going on in the middle. It came together, for the most part, but I was constantly asking questions as to "what the hell is going on here?", which you'd think would be a good thing and keep you intrigued, but I just wasn't invested in the story enough to care. So instead I just grew frustrated.
I was also frustrated because I felt like there was so much potential here!
Maybe the story didn't interest me, but the writing itself from Meloy was really powerful and distinctive. You can tell from his words that this guy is intelligent, and what he writes is certainly thought provoking. Even the mundane. One of my favorite quotes had nothing to do with the story itself, but was clever:
"Once Rob had been the owner of a fistful of keys, the like of which any man should possess; house keys front and back, garage key, car keys, suitcase key, gun cabinet key, shed key, a whole bunch of small metal emblems giving access to things and spaces owned, collected and valued. The depletion of his key ring was still a tart reminder to Rob as to how far he had fallen every time he reached into his pocket and let himself into his grotty flat."
All in all, I probably wouldn't recommend this book. That being said, checking out more of Paul Meloy's other works might be a step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, this book was a bit of a disappointment for me. Read the blurb? It sounds great, right? And you just know that things are going to get a bit crazy. But it just didn't live up to what I had built it up to be in my head.
This is Trevana's story. After several patients under his care commit suicide, Phil Trevana is under review and given a vacation from his work. Before another one patient takes his life, he tells Trevana to seek out answers from a man named Daniel. When their paths finally cross, the two join forces to save the Night clock.
This book had me hooked for the first third of it. I was really interested in what was going on in this small town and I was extremely curious as to what was causing all these travesties. But as soon as Phil met Daniel, I just started losing interest fast. For a book that is potentially using Trevana as a main character, we really don't see all that much from him. There is a lot going on in his head in the beginning. Regrets from his life, marital issues as a divorcee. Yet his character never grows. Even in the end there isn't really any resolution or much to say that his life is changed for the better in any sort of way.
Most of the story is told from other various points of view. They weren't all that entertaining for me, and I struggled a bit to finish this book. Even the action sequences weren't much to go on about. I found myself quite confused as to what was going on in the middle. It came together, for the most part, but I was constantly asking questions as to "what the hell is going on here?", which you'd think would be a good thing and keep you intrigued, but I just wasn't invested in the story enough to care. So instead I just grew frustrated.
I was also frustrated because I felt like there was so much potential here!
Maybe the story didn't interest me, but the writing itself from Meloy was really powerful and distinctive. You can tell from his words that this guy is intelligent, and what he writes is certainly thought provoking. Even the mundane. One of my favorite quotes had nothing to do with the story itself, but was clever:
"Once Rob had been the owner of a fistful of keys, the like of which any man should possess; house keys front and back, garage key, car keys, suitcase key, gun cabinet key, shed key, a whole bunch of small metal emblems giving access to things and spaces owned, collected and valued. The depletion of his key ring was still a tart reminder to Rob as to how far he had fallen every time he reached into his pocket and let himself into his grotty flat."
All in all, I probably wouldn't recommend this book. That being said, checking out more of Paul Meloy's other works might be a step in the right direction.
April 8, 2016
A twisty sort of book, focusing on a battle between good and evil that takes place mostly in the dreamscape.
Like a dream, the action often jumps between people and places and times in a way that can be distracting. Although Meloy develops an interesting fantasy landscape and intriguing characters, the base concepts governing the players' powers eluded my understanding. For once, I could have used a proper info-dump to solidify things.
Despite these issues, Meloy's dry humor, his gory descriptions, his ability to make the mundane seem special kept the tension going. If future works made use of these skills in a better-defined magical environment, I'd certainly be willing to give him another try.
*ARC from Net Galley.
Like a dream, the action often jumps between people and places and times in a way that can be distracting. Although Meloy develops an interesting fantasy landscape and intriguing characters, the base concepts governing the players' powers eluded my understanding. For once, I could have used a proper info-dump to solidify things.
Despite these issues, Meloy's dry humor, his gory descriptions, his ability to make the mundane seem special kept the tension going. If future works made use of these skills in a better-defined magical environment, I'd certainly be willing to give him another try.
*ARC from Net Galley.
November 20, 2016
The beginning has an attractive SEAN OF THE DEAD kind of flavor, but darker and funnier, and Meloy's writing and language style is an absolute delight. But then the books pulls a David Mitchell and we're dumped into 2-D fantasyland and, like The Bone Clocks, it's all a really clever statement, but, like The Bone Clocks, it also feels like a slap in the face, and that gorgeous writing went "poof". I want to read more Meloy's work just to get another taste of that delightful writing style.
April 12, 2019
And it started out so well. Interesting characters, interesting set-up, gritty realism. And then monsters and talking dogs and talking tigers and dream worlds took over. It got confusing and a bit plodding. A pity. I quite like the way he writes.
May 22, 2016
With his début novel The Night Clocks Paul Meloy isn’t frightened to go full batshit cosmological as he introduces concepts such as Dark Time and Autoscopes and Firmament Surgeons and the Night Clock itself, a group of 12 men and women who stand against the darkness probing at our dreams. While the neologisms come thick and fast and there’s a hand wavy haziness to some of the concepts (it was never entirely clear to me why one of the characters was carrying around a fetus in a jar called Doctor Natus) overall the mythology on display is exciting and vibrant. We have locked off pocket Universes (called Quays) and an unborn baby named Chloë learning about the mysteries of the Universe and insectoid like horrors ripping their way through the fabric of our nightmares into reality.
I have a soft spot for this sort of cosmological craziness, even when it seems like the author is flinging insanity at the wall. I liked the fact that the novel never stood still, that the focus was always moving providing the narrative with a sense of urgency and foreboding and danger. Unfortunately, that frenetic aspect also proved to be the book’s major weakness. While the main character is ostensibly Phil Trevana, a psychologist whose patients have this tragic knack of committing suicide, he constantly gets pushed into the background as the stories of Daniel, a Firmament Surgeon, or Chloë, an unborn child living in pocket universe, or Alex a young man discovering the wonders and horror of Dark Time, take precedence depending on the needs of the plot. It meant that I didn’t really care much about anyone, or for that matter the growing threat posed by the Autoscopes. Or more to the point, once the novelty of Meloy’s mythology wore off, there’s not much – at least character wise – holding the book together.
I’m also uncomfortable with books that link mental illness with the supernatural. While Meloy isn’t so crass to blame depression and mental illness on the machinations of the Autoscopes, these creatures do take advantage of those who are ill. Meloy isn’t the first genre writer to make this link between cosmological horror and mental illness (hello Lovecraft) but like that eponymous monster who feeds on OUR FEAR, it’s a trope I could do without.
Yet I do like the ambition on display here. I like that The Night Clock does neat things with structure, like opening with a bizarre scene that only makes sense once you’ve read to the end and how its seamlessly transitions from balls to the wall horror to a storybook moment between a talking dog and an unborn child. And I know that critiquing the book for not being more focussed is contradictory. But I suppose I want to be excited by the ideas and still care about the characters.
I have a soft spot for this sort of cosmological craziness, even when it seems like the author is flinging insanity at the wall. I liked the fact that the novel never stood still, that the focus was always moving providing the narrative with a sense of urgency and foreboding and danger. Unfortunately, that frenetic aspect also proved to be the book’s major weakness. While the main character is ostensibly Phil Trevana, a psychologist whose patients have this tragic knack of committing suicide, he constantly gets pushed into the background as the stories of Daniel, a Firmament Surgeon, or Chloë, an unborn child living in pocket universe, or Alex a young man discovering the wonders and horror of Dark Time, take precedence depending on the needs of the plot. It meant that I didn’t really care much about anyone, or for that matter the growing threat posed by the Autoscopes. Or more to the point, once the novelty of Meloy’s mythology wore off, there’s not much – at least character wise – holding the book together.
I’m also uncomfortable with books that link mental illness with the supernatural. While Meloy isn’t so crass to blame depression and mental illness on the machinations of the Autoscopes, these creatures do take advantage of those who are ill. Meloy isn’t the first genre writer to make this link between cosmological horror and mental illness (hello Lovecraft) but like that eponymous monster who feeds on OUR FEAR, it’s a trope I could do without.
Yet I do like the ambition on display here. I like that The Night Clock does neat things with structure, like opening with a bizarre scene that only makes sense once you’ve read to the end and how its seamlessly transitions from balls to the wall horror to a storybook moment between a talking dog and an unborn child. And I know that critiquing the book for not being more focussed is contradictory. But I suppose I want to be excited by the ideas and still care about the characters.
May 17, 2016
You can think of the first several pages of Paul Meloy's The Night Clock as the winding of a cosmic timepiece. I'll admit-this one starts out confusing and disjointed and the British slang may be a nuisance, if, you know, you're not into that kind of thing. Once the story finds itself though, it's difficult to put the book down.
I really don't trust myself entirely to provide a complete synopsis, if that makes sense. I've read it...I even feel like I've processed what I've read. This is one of those convoluted tales though, best described using a vocabulary that is inseparable from the world Meloy creates.
There's a psychiatric nurse named Phil Trevena. He's good. A mostly unexciting chap too until the mysterious Daniel shows up on his doorstep. There are autoscopes and toyceivers. They're bad. There's a tiger that helps a child learn to read things that matter in the womb of a woman of great import. A talking dog too. A locomotive from a bygone age. An uncle whose identity as a paladin (or protector) is revealed to his nephew through the glass army he's crafted in his garage to take on the enemy forces. Stories coalesce like multiple streams of reality becoming a single flow. And at the center of it all there is the Night Clock, gathering the last of the Firmament Surgeons to its face.
The autoscopes are making more and more incursions, bringing their evil into the world through dreams, and those capable of putting a stop to it must come together if they are to constitute a meaningful resistance.
The Night Clock has a dreamlike feel to it. It seems to drift from one realm to another. And in the end, it works. The loose ends are tied up and it makes an eerie kind of sense. Getting there is the hard part, I suppose. The "winding" of the clock takes a little long, in my opinion.
There are plentiful references to alcohol, drugs, sex, and a smattering of other adult topics, so this may not be ideal for the youngest of readers. Meloy clearly has an adult audience in mind. I can see Neil Gaiman fans finding something to love in this one. It should also appeal to fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
This is one of those rare occasions where I'll recommend that you give it 50 or 60 pages to draw you in.The Night Clock starts slow, but once it gets going, it does not disappoint.
I really don't trust myself entirely to provide a complete synopsis, if that makes sense. I've read it...I even feel like I've processed what I've read. This is one of those convoluted tales though, best described using a vocabulary that is inseparable from the world Meloy creates.
There's a psychiatric nurse named Phil Trevena. He's good. A mostly unexciting chap too until the mysterious Daniel shows up on his doorstep. There are autoscopes and toyceivers. They're bad. There's a tiger that helps a child learn to read things that matter in the womb of a woman of great import. A talking dog too. A locomotive from a bygone age. An uncle whose identity as a paladin (or protector) is revealed to his nephew through the glass army he's crafted in his garage to take on the enemy forces. Stories coalesce like multiple streams of reality becoming a single flow. And at the center of it all there is the Night Clock, gathering the last of the Firmament Surgeons to its face.
The autoscopes are making more and more incursions, bringing their evil into the world through dreams, and those capable of putting a stop to it must come together if they are to constitute a meaningful resistance.
The Night Clock has a dreamlike feel to it. It seems to drift from one realm to another. And in the end, it works. The loose ends are tied up and it makes an eerie kind of sense. Getting there is the hard part, I suppose. The "winding" of the clock takes a little long, in my opinion.
There are plentiful references to alcohol, drugs, sex, and a smattering of other adult topics, so this may not be ideal for the youngest of readers. Meloy clearly has an adult audience in mind. I can see Neil Gaiman fans finding something to love in this one. It should also appeal to fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
This is one of those rare occasions where I'll recommend that you give it 50 or 60 pages to draw you in.The Night Clock starts slow, but once it gets going, it does not disappoint.
January 2, 2016
Phil Trevena is an outreach worker trying to help people with mental health issues. But suddenly his patients are dying and if he is not to be blamed for this, he needs to find out why.
Whilst his picking up some clothes for one of his hospitalised patients the man phones him and tells him he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But when he reaches the hospital to drop off the clothes, his patient is dead – he died half an hour before making that phone call to Phil …
Paul Meloy’s debut novel reimagines our world, introducing a parallel plane which threatens to overwhelm our own if not kept ticking by the Night Clock. Daniel turns out to be a time traveling hypnopomp (can’t help you, I have no idea what a hypnopomp is either and I’ve read the book!) and he and Phil have to team up with the Firmament Surgeons (good guys) to stop the Autoscopes (bad guys) invading our plane.
I read this through the kindness of the publishers Solaris who gifted me a review copy through NetGalley and I requested it because it promised to shatter “our preconceptions about creativity and mental illness”. Sadly I’m not sure it really does this. It basically suggests that those that suffer hallucinations are actually travelling to other planes, not an original idea if we’re completely honest …! It’s also one that is a little unsophisticated.
The story itself is good, I did enjoy it. But if I’m completely honest I had very little idea what was actually going on most of the time! There were too many characters and their voices weren’t distinct enough. Their connection to the story was confusing for quite a long time too.
But the main character is interesting, and there are some gritty issues involved so it’s not a book that shies away from a challenge.
NB This Review appeared first on The BookEaters Blog - http://www.thebookeaters.co.uk/the-ni...
Whilst his picking up some clothes for one of his hospitalised patients the man phones him and tells him he needs to find Daniel, that Daniel will be able to explain what is happening. But when he reaches the hospital to drop off the clothes, his patient is dead – he died half an hour before making that phone call to Phil …
Paul Meloy’s debut novel reimagines our world, introducing a parallel plane which threatens to overwhelm our own if not kept ticking by the Night Clock. Daniel turns out to be a time traveling hypnopomp (can’t help you, I have no idea what a hypnopomp is either and I’ve read the book!) and he and Phil have to team up with the Firmament Surgeons (good guys) to stop the Autoscopes (bad guys) invading our plane.
I read this through the kindness of the publishers Solaris who gifted me a review copy through NetGalley and I requested it because it promised to shatter “our preconceptions about creativity and mental illness”. Sadly I’m not sure it really does this. It basically suggests that those that suffer hallucinations are actually travelling to other planes, not an original idea if we’re completely honest …! It’s also one that is a little unsophisticated.
The story itself is good, I did enjoy it. But if I’m completely honest I had very little idea what was actually going on most of the time! There were too many characters and their voices weren’t distinct enough. Their connection to the story was confusing for quite a long time too.
But the main character is interesting, and there are some gritty issues involved so it’s not a book that shies away from a challenge.
NB This Review appeared first on The BookEaters Blog - http://www.thebookeaters.co.uk/the-ni...
August 13, 2019
The Night Clock is written in a poetic, intelligent but at times terribly inaccessible style that distracts from the plot.
First, the characters - Meloy jumps from character to character, and though at first he gets into the psyche of these characters and elaborates on their history, they get flatter as the book continues. The result is that some of the more important characters for the book's ending have no real substance to them. The main character, Travena, has limited exposure. A lot of potency was lost in this chaotic way of writing.
Second, the plot - the plot is compelling, but not in the way that it was put to page. The first half of the book is mostly about completely different people than the second half and serves as a build up where we know very little about what is going on - in the second half we receive information dump upon information dump and the actual plot takes place. The build up lacks power, the plot is crammed and things that needed to be clarified remain in the dark.
Third... Well, most of these characters are male and the writer seems to display some casual sexism. The one woman from whose perspective he writes has no real personality to her because well, she's technically a not-yet-born babe. Convenient. The male characters are often elaborate in their psyche, but tend to look at women as sex objects, or 'vague grandma's', unimportant additions to the story, or as someone just there to make the heroism of the man possible.
Overall the book Meloy tries too hard to combine a literary style with a horror tinged fantasy plot and tries to put way too much of that plot into way too few words, while wasting words on unrelated, unnecessary elaborations that mostly serve to show off his writing style. A lot of opportunity lost in this book.
Two stars for creativity.
First, the characters - Meloy jumps from character to character, and though at first he gets into the psyche of these characters and elaborates on their history, they get flatter as the book continues. The result is that some of the more important characters for the book's ending have no real substance to them. The main character, Travena, has limited exposure. A lot of potency was lost in this chaotic way of writing.
Second, the plot - the plot is compelling, but not in the way that it was put to page. The first half of the book is mostly about completely different people than the second half and serves as a build up where we know very little about what is going on - in the second half we receive information dump upon information dump and the actual plot takes place. The build up lacks power, the plot is crammed and things that needed to be clarified remain in the dark.
Third... Well, most of these characters are male and the writer seems to display some casual sexism. The one woman from whose perspective he writes has no real personality to her because well, she's technically a not-yet-born babe. Convenient. The male characters are often elaborate in their psyche, but tend to look at women as sex objects, or 'vague grandma's', unimportant additions to the story, or as someone just there to make the heroism of the man possible.
Overall the book Meloy tries too hard to combine a literary style with a horror tinged fantasy plot and tries to put way too much of that plot into way too few words, while wasting words on unrelated, unnecessary elaborations that mostly serve to show off his writing style. A lot of opportunity lost in this book.
Two stars for creativity.
January 17, 2016
Eight or nine years ago, I was sat in a coffee shop in Roppongi reading the latest Interzone on my lunch break. The next story up was called Islington Crocodiles, by a Paul Meloy. I figured I'd have time to squeeze it in before having to go back to work. It blew me away, and I had to reread it, slower and savouring, that evening when I got home, something I rarely do. Since then it's been a long wait for his debut novel, only partially alleviated by more short stories and novellas concerned with this world of Autoscopes and Firmament Surgeons (come on, you know those names alone are whetting your appetite) and their shocking irruptions into mundane reality.
His work has the same sense of magic being loose in the world as, say, Jonathan Carroll, but Meloy's mythology is far grimmer and wilder, with apocalypse forever looming. This novel is the story of how one small group of people come together to stave that apocalypse off, for a little while at least.
Well written, positively fecund with grotesque imagery, this is essential reading for anyone interested in dark fantasy and horror. My only grumble would be to wonder how much is readily understandable to people who haven't read the preceding shorts (there was a small press collection, also called Islington Crocodiles, but it is long out of print), as a huge amount of characters from them make appearances. Doubling the length of the book and working some of those shorts in as a fixed-up first half might not have been a bad idea? Even without that prior knowledge this is still a superior read that fires the imagination.
His work has the same sense of magic being loose in the world as, say, Jonathan Carroll, but Meloy's mythology is far grimmer and wilder, with apocalypse forever looming. This novel is the story of how one small group of people come together to stave that apocalypse off, for a little while at least.
Well written, positively fecund with grotesque imagery, this is essential reading for anyone interested in dark fantasy and horror. My only grumble would be to wonder how much is readily understandable to people who haven't read the preceding shorts (there was a small press collection, also called Islington Crocodiles, but it is long out of print), as a huge amount of characters from them make appearances. Doubling the length of the book and working some of those shorts in as a fixed-up first half might not have been a bad idea? Even without that prior knowledge this is still a superior read that fires the imagination.
November 6, 2015
The Night Clock by Paul Meloy is a so-so horror/fantasy set in London.
Phil Trevena is a mental health worker whose patients are killing themselves. This trend actually signals the start of the end of all reality unless he and a time traveling hypnopomp named Daniel can help the Firmament Surgeons stop the Autoscopes and keep the Night clock running.
The Night Clock is a dream/nightmare world that switches between characters points of view, settings, realities, and time. It took intense concentration to follow who was what and where and why as more and more characters and elements were added to the story. Opening in a world where Mars is the moon and then switching to a scene with a zombie attacking a farmhouse, I thought I had misunderstood the description and this was a collection of short stories, but after the two jarring opening scenes, the actual novel starts.
Meloy is a descriptive writer and packs a lot of information into his sentences and chapters. He also has a whole host of characters and incidents taking place. This may be the indicator of the underlying problem I had with The Night Clock. It was, simple put, difficult to engage with any of the characters and hard to follow the plot. This resulted in the feeling that Meloy needed a larger canvas for this story, perhaps a series set in this world rather than cramming everything into this one book.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Rebellion Publishing for review purposes.
Phil Trevena is a mental health worker whose patients are killing themselves. This trend actually signals the start of the end of all reality unless he and a time traveling hypnopomp named Daniel can help the Firmament Surgeons stop the Autoscopes and keep the Night clock running.
The Night Clock is a dream/nightmare world that switches between characters points of view, settings, realities, and time. It took intense concentration to follow who was what and where and why as more and more characters and elements were added to the story. Opening in a world where Mars is the moon and then switching to a scene with a zombie attacking a farmhouse, I thought I had misunderstood the description and this was a collection of short stories, but after the two jarring opening scenes, the actual novel starts.
Meloy is a descriptive writer and packs a lot of information into his sentences and chapters. He also has a whole host of characters and incidents taking place. This may be the indicator of the underlying problem I had with The Night Clock. It was, simple put, difficult to engage with any of the characters and hard to follow the plot. This resulted in the feeling that Meloy needed a larger canvas for this story, perhaps a series set in this world rather than cramming everything into this one book.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Rebellion Publishing for review purposes.
December 7, 2015
I owe The Night Clock an apology. It took me a little while for me to pluck you from the dust of the bedside table where larger, fatter, LOUDER books had beaten you out over the 4 weeks you'd been sat there. I'd glanced at the first page, put you down and picked up your neighbour. Twice. And they were good, yes, but they weren't you.
When I finally stepped between your pristine pages I was hung over to the nth degree and in need of serious diversion. My head hurt. I initially blamed your dense, swirling concepts. Then I did just what you recommended and stepped into that strange state of being where you are consciously dreaming and finally engaged. Slippers kicked off, feather pillows plumped, I let your pages sing to me.
What beautiful, surreal yet immensely human writing by someone who clearly understands mental illness. Once I stopped trying to understand the mechanisms and concepts behind the Night Clock and just let it flow over me it had a curious alchemy akin to falling in love. With a book. A short book at that. I'm not sure I've felt this way since I read Clive Barker's Imajica (and that was a scarily long time ago).
As I only put the book down an hour ago I'm still formulating the words to describe how wonderful it was. I'll come back to it at a later date. All reading is subjective and individual to the person; for me this book bordered on perfection. I am so so happy there will be a sequel.
When I finally stepped between your pristine pages I was hung over to the nth degree and in need of serious diversion. My head hurt. I initially blamed your dense, swirling concepts. Then I did just what you recommended and stepped into that strange state of being where you are consciously dreaming and finally engaged. Slippers kicked off, feather pillows plumped, I let your pages sing to me.
What beautiful, surreal yet immensely human writing by someone who clearly understands mental illness. Once I stopped trying to understand the mechanisms and concepts behind the Night Clock and just let it flow over me it had a curious alchemy akin to falling in love. With a book. A short book at that. I'm not sure I've felt this way since I read Clive Barker's Imajica (and that was a scarily long time ago).
As I only put the book down an hour ago I'm still formulating the words to describe how wonderful it was. I'll come back to it at a later date. All reading is subjective and individual to the person; for me this book bordered on perfection. I am so so happy there will be a sequel.
January 6, 2016
A very enjoyable read; truly terrifying in places, particularly at the beginning. It left me feeling confused though; especially the timeslips and location changes. I loved the sense of deja vu experienced by the characters (all of whom were interesting) although it was difficult to keep track of who knew whom in which world! The animals were adorable and real. The steampunk elements were well done and the sense of attachment to the machinery was nice. On the whole, it felt as though the author was trying to cram too much into too few pages. More proof reading/editing might have been useful (affect/effect- eek!) and a few sentences which weren't; but a compelling debut with some delightful (and truly horrific) touches.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2016
Well... It was... Creative, but not really a fun read. Interesting. Though I wouldn't really recommend it.
I enjoyed the world-building, but the narrative seemed very choppy because of the many different shifting perspectives. Also, it felt like too little information was presented until the very end when suddenly everything is explained all at once. As a result, it felt more like reading a series of mostly disconnected scenes.
That being said, I'd be excited to read this author's next book.
I enjoyed the world-building, but the narrative seemed very choppy because of the many different shifting perspectives. Also, it felt like too little information was presented until the very end when suddenly everything is explained all at once. As a result, it felt more like reading a series of mostly disconnected scenes.
That being said, I'd be excited to read this author's next book.
November 5, 2015
**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review**
I was left feeling horribly confused and I am not entirely sure what I read. I really liked the concept, but I think something was lost during the execution. For a more complete review check out my blog, Rachael Reads.
https://rachaelsbookshelf.wordpress.c...
I was left feeling horribly confused and I am not entirely sure what I read. I really liked the concept, but I think something was lost during the execution. For a more complete review check out my blog, Rachael Reads.
https://rachaelsbookshelf.wordpress.c...
November 9, 2015
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Disorganized and hard to follow, the first part of this book is difficult... Plot is very interesting, with Dr. Trevena's patients mysteriously dying ...but I found the characters difficult to connect with. Final analysis for me: jumbled and not my cup of tea. Beautiful cover though!
Disorganized and hard to follow, the first part of this book is difficult... Plot is very interesting, with Dr. Trevena's patients mysteriously dying ...but I found the characters difficult to connect with. Final analysis for me: jumbled and not my cup of tea. Beautiful cover though!
November 16, 2015
I got a copy of this novel through NetGalley.
The writing is very good, but the plot and characters are extremely hard to follow. There are a couple of genuinely good moments of horror, but I wouldn't characterize this as a horror novel. Kind of a fantasy/SF/horror hybrid. I just wish I could have kept better track of who is who.
The writing is very good, but the plot and characters are extremely hard to follow. There are a couple of genuinely good moments of horror, but I wouldn't characterize this as a horror novel. Kind of a fantasy/SF/horror hybrid. I just wish I could have kept better track of who is who.
March 16, 2016
When I have to ask myself over and over again, "who is this character?" It means the book was confusing and poorly edited.
October 2, 2019
*Major Spoilers Ahead*
See, author, how by killing Barry Cook, you have truly killed yourself.
This book suffers from two major problems: 1) A complete lack of focus, and 2) a disturbingly paedophilic kind of sexism. But given it has got the second, I'm quite glad it also has the first.
I could see past the fact that the plot goes all over the place, and that no single character is focused upon for more than a few chapters (meaning that I couldn't really care about any of them), or the incredible amounts of meaningless jargon which make up the majority of the second half of the book. But I can't see past the scene where a character describes how turned on the intern is by his knowledge and experience as an older man and expert at the job, in the most creepy way imaginable. I can't see past the scene where the main character, who is supposed to be sympathetic, has a dream sequence about having sex with his daughter which is clearly arousing him. Or the fact that Paul Meloy can't talk about female anatomy without using the 'c' word. Or the fact that all the female characters are either baby factories, or sex objects, or damsel in distress male fantasies (one of which turns out to be an actual literal foetus outside of the dreamscape where the latter half of the action takes place) or are just discarded without thought.
This might be the worst book I have ever managed to finish, not because it is poorly written - the writing style is fine apart from the occasional over use of the thesaurus, mixed with odd colloquialisms that are meaningless to people outside of a small region of the UK - but because there were so many scenes that were just so hard to read for all of the wrong reasons. I guess it was very pacey and quite short, so if all you want is action and the above doesn't bother you, then you might well enjoy this one. But I did not.
See, author, how by killing Barry Cook, you have truly killed yourself.
This book suffers from two major problems: 1) A complete lack of focus, and 2) a disturbingly paedophilic kind of sexism. But given it has got the second, I'm quite glad it also has the first.
I could see past the fact that the plot goes all over the place, and that no single character is focused upon for more than a few chapters (meaning that I couldn't really care about any of them), or the incredible amounts of meaningless jargon which make up the majority of the second half of the book. But I can't see past the scene where a character describes how turned on the intern is by his knowledge and experience as an older man and expert at the job, in the most creepy way imaginable. I can't see past the scene where the main character, who is supposed to be sympathetic, has a dream sequence about having sex with his daughter which is clearly arousing him. Or the fact that Paul Meloy can't talk about female anatomy without using the 'c' word. Or the fact that all the female characters are either baby factories, or sex objects, or damsel in distress male fantasies (one of which turns out to be an actual literal foetus outside of the dreamscape where the latter half of the action takes place) or are just discarded without thought.
This might be the worst book I have ever managed to finish, not because it is poorly written - the writing style is fine apart from the occasional over use of the thesaurus, mixed with odd colloquialisms that are meaningless to people outside of a small region of the UK - but because there were so many scenes that were just so hard to read for all of the wrong reasons. I guess it was very pacey and quite short, so if all you want is action and the above doesn't bother you, then you might well enjoy this one. But I did not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2018
First, I have to say I like this book. I need to say because it may not be obvious. Paul Meloy's imagination packs a punch. Unfortunately, the story is vastly superior than its execution. On a purely grammatical basis there are so many instances of 'it, was, and were' sentences to bog the story down and make it drag. I took way too long to finish this. The book suffers too much tell instead of show (too many instances of the type such as 'he was standing' required the simple improvement of 'stood'), and I'm unsure if the writer has any real concept of tenses or tried to be artistic in the use. I can see a few people complaining over the 'purple prose', though that doesn't always bother me if used well. There's a greater book here and some fantastic ideas that sadly do not gel in this length of novel. I wanted to know more of the characters and to care about them. The various threads read more like perplexing even unnecessary tangents though for the most part draw together, but left me feeling the narrative strove to be clever rather than engaging. Instead, the promised level of threat never quite manifests and I didn't much care whether anyone survived by the conclusion. Which is a pity as this visionary setting promised much and had me enthralled. I love the overlapping story threads and blending of genres. It's an interesting read. I'd consider reading more by the author.
September 15, 2017
You know when you pitch up at the fairground and want to go on the rides all at once? This is that sensation in a book.
Having previously read and enjoyed Meloy's short fiction I was concerned that extending his universe into a novel might be a difficult feat. No worries here. We have the Firmament Surgeons, the Autoscopes, the Toyceivers, we have talking animals, parallel worlds, Dark Time, we have the juxtaposition of the mundane with the fantastic, we have a scorpodile, we have a tiger called Bronze John.
Then there's the prose:
"...something was out there on the porch craning in at them. It had a thick grey neck and a tiny head, all teeth, like a cricket ball studded with fangs. It made a sound unlike anything Alex had ever heard before, like paper endlessly tearing. Outside came the sounds of growling and roaring, things slithering and purposeful. Something the size and shape of a marrow waddled across the yard carrying blades."
True, in some respects, this novel is all over the place, but I find that to be a strength not a weakness. It makes more sense that way. Everything needn't be explained. I really enjoyed this, and look forward to more from Meloy.
Having previously read and enjoyed Meloy's short fiction I was concerned that extending his universe into a novel might be a difficult feat. No worries here. We have the Firmament Surgeons, the Autoscopes, the Toyceivers, we have talking animals, parallel worlds, Dark Time, we have the juxtaposition of the mundane with the fantastic, we have a scorpodile, we have a tiger called Bronze John.
Then there's the prose:
"...something was out there on the porch craning in at them. It had a thick grey neck and a tiny head, all teeth, like a cricket ball studded with fangs. It made a sound unlike anything Alex had ever heard before, like paper endlessly tearing. Outside came the sounds of growling and roaring, things slithering and purposeful. Something the size and shape of a marrow waddled across the yard carrying blades."
True, in some respects, this novel is all over the place, but I find that to be a strength not a weakness. It makes more sense that way. Everything needn't be explained. I really enjoyed this, and look forward to more from Meloy.
January 24, 2021
This is no easy read with its eventually dysfunctional plot worthy of my aforementioned ‘dysfunction room’ of honourable literary traumas. One that started with an engagingly modernistic and stylish scenario that might easily have won a prize literary accolade (seriously) if it had carried on in that way.
As I said before, I can have no idea how this novel will affect someone completely new to Meloy fiction. All I know is that you can’t unstick yourself from the goo of its parts, from the bristling word-family of characters that started off real but tragically flawed.
The catharsis of madness BY a madness that remains.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
As I said before, I can have no idea how this novel will affect someone completely new to Meloy fiction. All I know is that you can’t unstick yourself from the goo of its parts, from the bristling word-family of characters that started off real but tragically flawed.
The catharsis of madness BY a madness that remains.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
October 5, 2017
This book is beautifully written. It has an interesting premise. So why did I give it only 3 stars? Because there is such a thing as embarrassment of riches: too many bright ideas, too many strange characters, too many shifts of the point of view...At the end, you just get tired of trying to figure out who does what and why. The author has enough ideas for a multi-volume fantasy epic and while normally I complain about the length of a novel, this is the first time I am unhappy about its brevity.
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