The Music of Razors
by Cameron Rogers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cameron RogersEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-01
ISBN: 0345493192
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of The Music of Razors
Book Review: Fallen angels, closet monsters, and a clockwork ballerina
Summary: 5 Stars
In 19th-century Boston, a brilliant medical student falls in with a group of young spiritualists, only to see his hopes and plans go terribly awry as a result of their experimentations. A century and a half later, he walks the earth weary and immortal, wielding instruments made from the bones of a murdered angel, and seeking to discharge the task that he took upon himself at the height of his despair. Finally seeing a candidate worthy of becoming his successor, he enters the dreams of a boy named Walter. The young and frightened Walter learns that all he needs to do to banish his bad dreams is tell the monster in his closet to go away - only to learn too late that it was the monster who stood between him and a force banished from the universe at the beginning of time.
If the above summary sounds complicated, it doesn't even begin to represent the full depths of the mythology of The Music of Razors. This is a universe big enough for fallen angels, closet monsters, and a clockwork ballerina to coexist over several centuries and in the same 300 pages. The novel's pace and complexity are undeniably demanding, especially in the beginning chapters - Rogers does not patronize his reader's intelligence - but the reward is that every time the page is turned, you uncover a new secret of this strange mythology, and your mind constantly stretches to keep up with the narrative's wicked twists and hinted truths. All of these elements are satisfyingly and convincingly intertwined, and the ending of the novel delivers a volley of heavy emotional punches before leaving the reader with that perfect combination of feeling fulfilled, yet still wanting more.
Rogers' writing is briskly dark, his brief sentences filled with a subtle, glancing menace, capable of both brutality and a wistful, fairy-tale loveliness. He seems to write with a grim kind of exhilaration, as aware of the emotional and spiritual weight of the story and its characters as he is of the breathtaking leaps of imagination employed in fully animating it.
This is a novel that offers immediate, visceral pleasure and sorrow, as well as food for later thought - in particular, Rogers has fascinating things to say about the role of our fears in shaping our selves. The panoply of fantastical elements also means that there is something here for all tastes, from historical fantasy to horror. All in all, I could not recommend this novel more; this is the best and most memorable fantasy novel I have read in recent years, and I know that many of its denizens will be staying with me for the rest of my life.
Summary of The Music of Razors
In nineteenth-century Boston, a young doctor on the run from the law falls in with a British confidence artist. Together?and with dire consequences?they bring back to the light something meant to be forgotten.A world away in London, an absent father, haunted by the voice of a banished angel, presents his daughter with an impossible friend?a clockwork ballerina.
For two centuries, a bullet-removal specialist has wielded instruments of angel bone in service to a forgotten power . . . and now he vows to find someone else to shoulder the burden, someone with a conscience of their own, a strong mind, and a broken will. For a hundred years he has searched for the perfect contender, and now he has found two: a brother and a sister. Walter and Hope. Either will do.
Last night something stepped from little Walter?s closet and he never woke up. Now he travels the dark road between worlds, no longer entirely boy nor wholly beast, but with one goal in mind: to prevent his sister from suffering the same fate as he. Only the creature he has become can save Hope. But is it too late to save himself?
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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