Teaser Tuesday - Galveston by Sean Stewart

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I've read one other novel by Sean Stewart. It was a book called Cloud's End that was both beautiful and frustrating, a slow-paced read that plunged you deep into the characters and had you feeling every heartache right along with them. I was so immersed in the characters that when one of them made a bad decision I was tempted to fling the book across the room in anger.

I'm excited to read another novel by Stewart. Cloud's End was lent to me by my good friend Tanya, and so was Galveston. It's a good thing that I have a friend like her to lend me books, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have discovered his writing. If the lyrical, poetic diction that was present in Cloud's End is his norm, then I think I'm in for a good read.

I have JUST started the book, and haven't had a chance to really sink my teeth into it, but so far it has a wholly different feel to it. Here's the synopsis from the back of the book:

Galveston had been baptized twice. Once by water in the fall of 1900. Again by magic during Mardi Gras, 2004. Creatures were born of survivors' joy and sufferers' pain: scorpions the size of dogs, the Crying Clown, the Widow who ate her victims. And the Island of Galveston would forever be divided-- between the real city and a city locked in a constant Carnival, and endless Mardi Gras...

Definitely an interesting premise. This is my favorite kind of novel, the kind the blends the normal world, our everyday lives, with the fantastic. I think the correct term for it is 'Urban Fantasy'. So if Stewart can pull off this blend of fantasy and realism, I'll be a fan for life. I'll let you know what I think when I've finished the book.

Teaser:
Gloria frowned into the Fords' massive refrigerator. It had been eleven years since the Flood of 2004 had ended the industrial world, and with no spare parts available, refrigerators were becoming more precious-- but of course the Fords had a giant two-door Frigidaire that would squirt out chilled water or ice cubes in two different shapes, regular cubes or the little half-moons Joshua liked better.


Tomorrow: Finally! A review of Prodigal Summer.