Stone's Fall E–book/E–pub

review µ eBook or Kindle ePUB Ï Iain Pears

Stone's Fall review Ð 103 N 1890 before concluding in Venice in 1867 the mystery of John Stone's life and loves begins to unravel The result is a spellbinding novel that is both a uest for the truth a love story that spans decades and a compelling murder myste. 45 stars I really enjoyed this book my first by Iain Pears I love his humor and that he writes with depth Don t plan to fly through this one It takes patience and I found myself having to reread parts or just wanting to reread to get a better flavor for the story or to laugh again at a funny line I love the way the author decided to tell this story He starts in the present after a mysterious death has occurred and then part two goes back in time after a change in narrator Part three goes back even further after yet another change in the narration It was a little confusing at times but I trusted my pilot at that point and held on to my armrests and kept going forward It was a little odd wanting to keep the pages flying while at the same time not wanting to miss a crucial clue Sometimes a couple of words can make the difference I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the sarcastic humor was a big plus for me Definitely something to chew on but not so much that it felt like assigned reading either I will say that it helps to have a financial or economics background but I don t think it s necessary at all Just be aware that there will be sections that reuire a little time and patience I thought he conveyed the setting so well As I said it shifts in terms of both time and place as you progress through the book but it all felt very real to me Venice which was the setting for part three even felt like another character to me he described it so vividly Audio performance was also terrific John Lee and Simon Vance are two of my favorite narrators and Roy Dotrice is also very very good I couldn t have asked for from the audio performance The book loses half a star because it was a little long in places I did think the payoff however was worthwhile as I didn t even come close to expecting the big twist at the end I think he did a great job creating doubt and confusion so that the reader imagines this is the answer no it s this and so on This book is going on my favorite authors shelf and I will happily read anything by Iain Pears British crimesuspense authors are tailor made for me and the historical fiction piece added in made this a very satisfying read Winning The Player result is a spellbinding novel that is both a uest for the truth a love story that spans decades and a compelling murder myste. 45 stars I Hell for the Company Brimstone #1 really enjoyed this book my first by Iain Pears I love his humor and that he writes with depth Don t plan to fly through this one It takes patience and I found myself having to A Year Down Yonder reread parts or just wanting to Getting Naked reread to get a better flavor for the story or to laugh again at a funny line I love the way the author decided to tell this story He starts in the present after a mysterious death has occurred and then part two goes back in time after a change in narrator Part three goes back even further after yet another change in the narration It was a little confusing at times but I trusted my pilot at that point and held on to my armrests and kept going forward It was a little odd wanting to keep the pages flying while at the same time not wanting to miss a crucial clue Sometimes a couple of words can make the difference I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the sarcastic humor was a big plus for me Definitely something to chew on but not so much that it felt like assigned Invisible Jim Crow reading either I will say that it helps to have a financial or economics background but I don t think it s necessary at all Just be aware that there will be sections that The Vault Guide to the Case Interview reuire a little time and patience I thought he conveyed the setting so well As I said it shifts in terms of both time and place as you progress through the book but it all felt very The Castle Diaries real to me Venice which was the setting for part three even felt like another character to me he described it so vividly Audio performance was also terrific John Lee and Simon Vance are two of my favorite narrators and Roy Dotrice is also very very good I couldn t have asked for from the audio performance The book loses half a star because it was a little long in places I did think the payoff however was worthwhile as I didn t even come close to expecting the big twist at the end I think he did a great job creating doubt and confusion so that the The Song of the Mockingbird reader imagines this is the answer no it s this and so on This book is going on my favorite authors shelf and I will happily Sir Halmanac and the Crimson Star read anything by Iain Pears British crimesuspense authors are tailor made for me and the historical fiction piece added in made this a very satisfying Souls in the Great Machine read

Stone's Fall review Ð 103 John Stone a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets industries and indeed whole countries and continents has been found dead in mysterious circumstances His beautiful young widow commis. This is a very long novel I d guess nearly 300000 words and as the official blurb says it is ingenious and intricately plotted But I think it could have been just as ingenious and intricate at about half the length I was hoping it would be as good as An Instance of the Fingerpost but I was disappointed Like that one it is divided into sections each with a different narrator but in this case the narrators all sound pretty much alike and none of them is particularly engaging In fact there are no characters with which I could either sympathize or identify Everything seems cold and calculated Central to the book is a mysterious and alluring woman but anyone who has read My Cousin Rachel will have seen mysterious and alluring done much convincingly Writing the novel backwards with each section narrating events that occurred before what we have already seen must have been excruciatingly difficult and it s amazing that Pears pulls it off so successfully At times the strain shows though as in a very late scene which is contrived to be tense major characters trapped in a basement with a madman tons of explosive and the madman about to light the fuse but we already know that three of the four characters will still be alive years from now In spite of it s overall organization the novel meanders and the thread of suspense is often lost in massive amounts of detail An excellent puzzle but once the puzzle is solved in the final pages you can set the book aside and forget it There are no memorable experiences here The Nuclear Platypus Biscuit Bible read My Cousin Rachel will have seen mysterious and alluring done much convincingly Writing the novel backwards with each section narrating events that occurred before what we have already seen must have been excruciatingly difficult and it s amazing that Pears pulls it off so successfully At times the strain shows though as in a very late scene which is contrived to be tense major characters trapped in a basement with a madman tons of explosive and the madman about to light the fuse but we already know that three of the four characters will still be alive years from now In spite of it s overall organization the novel meanders and the thread of suspense is often lost in massive amounts of detail An excellent puzzle but once the puzzle is solved in the final pages you can set the book aside and forget it There are no memorable experiences here

review µ eBook or Kindle ePUB Ï Iain Pears

Stone's Fall review Ð 103 Sions a journalist to carry out an unusual beuest in his will but as he begins his research he soon discovers a story far complex than he could have ever imaginedAs the story moves backwards through time from London in 1909 to Paris i. This novel got steadily better as I read it it s shaped like a Klein bottle The first section which takes place in London in 1910 is worth three stars A journalist is hired by a mysterious wealthy widow to help resolve the will of her husband John Stone who died by falling out a window The will gives a beuest to an unnamed child of Stone s who must be found before the estate can be settled The view into Stone s business empire he owned numerous companies involved in the manufacture of arms and ships is interesting but the journalist character is a bit thinThe second section picked up considerably for a fourth star Here we move backwards in time to Paris in the 1890s and another young man who works as a kind of freelance proto spy for Britain More is revealed about Stone and his widow and the protagonist of this section is much strongerThe third section is a wonderfully odd story about an Englishman in Venice in the 1860s Of course it does not do to give too much away about the end of the book But this section is as strong as the second and concludes with an avalanche of stunning plot surprises They may be a bit contrived but I was willing to play alongThere s a lot going on here but it all pays off and this the the kind of book that makes you want to flip right back to the beginning to rediscover all the hints planted earlier in the book