The Half Killed Quenby Olson 9780989446068 Books
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Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn back into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid.She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London. And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.
The Half Killed Quenby Olson 9780989446068 Books
Well, I might as well just come straight out with it – this is one of my favorite reads of the year, and in a year where I have read a lot of fantastically good books. I am something of a fan of Victorian and Regency era novels, so the Fantasy of Manners subgenre appeals to me quite a bit. But this book could have been written specifically to please me, so keep that in mind if I fangirl a little bit.The book opens with a scene some years prior to the story – our main character is shown as a young girl, prodded into helping to perform a séance by her rather well to-do family. Evidently young Thea is a genuinely gifted spiritualist in a sea of fakes, and so she reluctantly does as she’s asked. And something goes horribly, tragically wrong.
Suddenly we shift to the present, and Dorothea Hawes is an absolute wreck of a human being. Wracked with constant pain, the voices of the dead torment her and even sleep is no refuge. Something is horribly amiss in London, and when a former priest named Julian Chissick begs for her aid to investigate a murder, she begins to realize the enormity of the problem. What follows is a rising sense of unease and discomfort for both Thea and the reader as the plot unravels around her.
Now, obviously being FoM it’s not a book for people who want a lot of fight scenes, battles and badass wisecracking protagonists. This is a novel best suited to people who love the classics, who want something a little different, who love a good ghost story or a murder mystery. I think fans of Agatha Christie would find much to love.
The Half Killed is a beautifully written slow burn of a novel. The Victorian voice is well executed and thoroughly researched, with a host of wonderful little details about the era mixed in for flavor. Thea is a fabulous example of a strong female character who is not physically strong, and who has moments of extreme weakness. I loved her chemistry with Chissick, who takes on the role of her protector while treating her with utmost deference and respect. The prose is lovingly crafted and I found myself pausing just to admire various sentences throughout.
It’s almost as if Elizabeth Gaskell wrote fantasy at times, with a rather Dickensian host of colorful side characters and a deeply unromantic depiction of Victorian London. In the Half Killed we are shown that London’s underbelly is and always was a grimy, seedy place. I found myself gasping out loud with genuine horror when a favorite character was attacked, and the sinister tone kept me up far later than intended when I started reading. It’s an absolute page-turner with some nice twists and a satisfying conclusion. After I finished it I immediately purchased 3 copies to give to friends as Christmas gifts, and I can’t give it a higher endorsement than that. I love this book, and I want to share it with the people I love. It is well worth your time.
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Tags : The Half Killed [Quenby Olson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life,Quenby Olson,The Half Killed,World Tree Publishing,0989446069,Fantasy - Historical,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Historical,Fiction Gothic
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The Half Killed Quenby Olson 9780989446068 Books Reviews
Disclaimer I am acquainted with this author via social media, through mutual membership in a large online writing community. This in no way detracts from the honesty of my review.
When I was a child, I had recurring nightmares inspired from visions of a horror film my parents had for some reason allowed me to watch. The name of that film? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Oh, that’s not a horror film, you say? Well, it was to me. Because that’s how much of a scaredy cat I am. Just the thought of Violet Beauregarde swelling up into a bizarre blueberry-human hybrid and being rolled out the door in order to be SQUEEZED and JUICED was enough to fuel my nighttime terrors for years.
All this is to say that, despite the cover and the rather dark subject matter, The Half Killed is not a horror novel. If you are like me and hesitate to read anything that might be the least bit scary, you are most likely safe with this book. There are creepy scenes, so I don’t recommend reading this book, say, in a dark garage or empty house (ahem, not that I’d know anything about that . . .), but overall, it steers clear of the overly gory and graphic.
From my past experiences reading Quenby Olson’s work, both of which have been pleasant, I have fallen in love with her gift of description. It is within the pages of The Half Killed that this gift of hers shifts into overdrive.
In writing classes and online workshops, a maxim that is often repeated ad nauseum is “show, don’t tell.” The Half Killed is an excellent example of what that means. This is a very visual book. The prose is just lovely, and mirrors well the style and vocabulary of Victorian writers. Ms. Olson’s attention to detail and historical accuracy are apparent in the way she constructs the narrative, and I felt like I could see everything unfolding in my head, like a moving picture.
Oddly enough, this visual aspect of the novel is both what made me love it, and what made me a little disappointed when I reached the end. The descriptions of every physical event were rich with detail, but only the slimmest bits of backstory and explanation are offered. The reader leaves Dorothea and Julian with very little explicit confirmation about the nature and identity of their villain, their feelings about what they have just experienced, and even really the specifics about Dorothea’s gift. I also thought some of the Spiritualist practices could have been explained a little more thoroughly, for readers who were not as familiar with the movement. I had to read two or three articles to understand some aspects of what was going on. In the end, I was left wanting more . . . and not entirely in a good way.
That being said, I still rather enjoyed reading this book. Given the genre, it was out of my comfort zone, as I’m sure you can guess by perusing the rest of my reviews, but I am glad I made that leap. It is definitely a thought-provoking, entertaining piece that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Well, I might as well just come straight out with it – this is one of my favorite reads of the year, and in a year where I have read a lot of fantastically good books. I am something of a fan of Victorian and Regency era novels, so the Fantasy of Manners subgenre appeals to me quite a bit. But this book could have been written specifically to please me, so keep that in mind if I fangirl a little bit.
The book opens with a scene some years prior to the story – our main character is shown as a young girl, prodded into helping to perform a séance by her rather well to-do family. Evidently young Thea is a genuinely gifted spiritualist in a sea of fakes, and so she reluctantly does as she’s asked. And something goes horribly, tragically wrong.
Suddenly we shift to the present, and Dorothea Hawes is an absolute wreck of a human being. Wracked with constant pain, the voices of the dead torment her and even sleep is no refuge. Something is horribly amiss in London, and when a former priest named Julian Chissick begs for her aid to investigate a murder, she begins to realize the enormity of the problem. What follows is a rising sense of unease and discomfort for both Thea and the reader as the plot unravels around her.
Now, obviously being FoM it’s not a book for people who want a lot of fight scenes, battles and badass wisecracking protagonists. This is a novel best suited to people who love the classics, who want something a little different, who love a good ghost story or a murder mystery. I think fans of Agatha Christie would find much to love.
The Half Killed is a beautifully written slow burn of a novel. The Victorian voice is well executed and thoroughly researched, with a host of wonderful little details about the era mixed in for flavor. Thea is a fabulous example of a strong female character who is not physically strong, and who has moments of extreme weakness. I loved her chemistry with Chissick, who takes on the role of her protector while treating her with utmost deference and respect. The prose is lovingly crafted and I found myself pausing just to admire various sentences throughout.
It’s almost as if Elizabeth Gaskell wrote fantasy at times, with a rather Dickensian host of colorful side characters and a deeply unromantic depiction of Victorian London. In the Half Killed we are shown that London’s underbelly is and always was a grimy, seedy place. I found myself gasping out loud with genuine horror when a favorite character was attacked, and the sinister tone kept me up far later than intended when I started reading. It’s an absolute page-turner with some nice twists and a satisfying conclusion. After I finished it I immediately purchased 3 copies to give to friends as Christmas gifts, and I can’t give it a higher endorsement than that. I love this book, and I want to share it with the people I love. It is well worth your time.
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