Great story.

I didn't really get on with the narrator, but the story was enjoyable. I have enjoyed this author's books.

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Thoroughly enjoyed it

Just my type of book, so much do in plan to search for other books by the same author. I listened in one day, much to my husband’s annoyance, but it was a rainy day so I had a nice time.

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Slow start but great

I went through phases with this book. Parts of it really bored me, particularly at the start, but there was always hints of a really interesting world underneath. And it does shine through in the end! Then there was another part where I almost lost it again and I didn’t really enjoy but then the ending was fun and I liked

Overall the performance was great. There was only one character (luckily not in it for super long) that I could not stand the voice for but I understand the limits the narrator has.

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1 person found this helpful

A Dark Bazaar of the Soul!

You definitely have to get your brain in gear for this one. Unlike many of these darkly absorbing stories, there is no subtle buildup, no creepy noises over a few chapters hinting at possible mischief. Sainsbury smashes you right around the chops and The Blurred Lands very quickly lets you know that things are going to get downright weird. This Fantasia starts with a very strong introduction to our main man, John, a talented house magician mourning the loss of his wife still from three years ago. Very quickly though things start to get incredibly strange and the book sets out its stall and sticks to its guns.

There are two main strands to the story. The prime one sees us drift almost ethereally through John's story his dreams, his memories, his otherworldly experiences, and most strongly his grief and love for his lost wife. It's this last part and his revisiting of some of his college memories that lead to some of the books most powerful and haunting scenes. Sainsbury succeeds in creating a human character of significant depth in amongst the swirling and shifting mists of his fairy tale plot. Magic is given a very strong treatment in its various forms and becomes increasingly prevalent as the story goes on. The second main strand of the story is a series of letters from John's mother to his granddaughter and while this is considerably drier it does flesh out a lot of the back story and the two strands come together very nicely at the end.

Peter Noble gives a very strong performance as the narrator, his slightly edgy version of John and dry, crackly rendition of his mother, the ageing matriarch is very convincing.

This is dark, it's absorbing and it contains some extremely compelling scenes especially where John's thoughts return to his college days. However, it is his feelings for his wife and the journey that he went through with her, particularly towards the climax of the book that will linger longest in my mind. Powerful, emotional stuff and a testament to Sainsbury's talent as a writer.

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20 people found this helpful

Highly Recommended

Great performance and story. Something a little bit different. Prepare to concentrate and keep your attention to ensure you don't miss anything or lose your way. Very close to a five star.

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2 people found this helpful

Another gem

I haven’t found an Ian W Sainsbury book that isn’t original, thought-provoking, captivating, and a wonderful take on the genre. Keen it up please.

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My first Ian W Sainsbury and won’t be my last

Having devoured all of Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman’s work, it’s great to find another author who pulls on horror themes that go that bit further. Creating new worlds and interesting beings that inhabit them, weaving in human experiences and likeable characters with relatable motivations. Not particularly original but highly enjoyable.

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A magical tale

I enjoyed this story of magic and fae and multiple realms. Beautifully narrated, great characters. A different take on the reasons for the folk tales that humans have created.

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7 people found this helpful

What an utter mess

All the elements are there for a wonderful fantasy but unfortunately there seems no real vision behind it, no consistency of style. As suddenly wonderful imagery followed by immensely boring repetitive passages… I gave up

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Slow and tedious in progress

Takes a very long time to get going, at a rather slow pace. Interesting concept but not put together in an engaging way. All in all rather frustrating.

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2 people found this helpful