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Summary: A SUPERNATURAL TALE OF WITCHCRAFT AND REINCARNATION!!
Review: In Douglas Clegg's newest paperback novel, NAOMI, Jake Richmond has moved to Manhattan to escape the ugly memories of Carthage, Virginia. It was in Carthage that Jake fell in love with his childhood friend, Naomi Cross. When something bad happened to Naomi as a teenager...something that she couldn't even talk to Jake about, she eventually left and moved to New York City. It wasn't long before Jake followed her. Though Jake looked for his lost love, he never found her until it was too late. Instead, he started a career as a writer, got married, and had a wonderful child. When Jake's wife leaves him for another man, he once more begins his search for Naomi, only to find out that she committed suicide by jumping in front of a subway train a few months before. The body of Naomi may have been torn apart by the train, but not her spirit for she is destined to return to help destroy an evil that caused her death hundreds of years before when she was a young girl, living on a plantation in old New York. In order to win this battle, Naomi's spirit will need the help of Jake, as well as the help of a woman named Maddy (who owns an old brownstone in Manhattan where the bones of several murdered witches are found buried beneath the basement floor) and a homeless boy who calls himself Romeo and knows the subway tunnels like the back of his hand. All the players are gradually drawn together to finish their roles in a drama that was started in a previous lifetime, and only a few of them will survive the final confrontation between light and darkness. While not having the action and intensity of YOU COME WHEN I CALL, Mr. Clegg's newest book has great characters that drive the story forward and a premise that held my interest. The author is extremely skillful when writing about the ambiance of teenage life, especially where young love is concerned. He's able to capture the innocence, the hope, and the melancholy with stark clarity that brought back memories of my younger years. Mr. Clegg also knows how to weave the intricate details of a story, creating an atmosphere of suspense and dread that permeates each layer of narrative as it gradually unfolds. I found myself loving the characters of Jake and Naomi, wishing that they could have found each other as adults and fulfilled the possibilities that their long relationship seemed to promise. I also liked the details of Manhattan's subterranean caverns that house the old subway tunnels, and where hundreds, if not thousands, of homeless people live. I found the City of the Forbidden where the Serpent (evil incarnate) lives underneath Manhattan to be well-drawn and frightening in nature. I did think, however, the ending was a little too quick and that the novel could've used another twenty pages or so to wrap things up in greater detail. Anyway, I believe NAOMI is a wonderful weekend read and is recommended to those who enjoy a well-written tale of the supernatural. Though Mr. Clegg has yet to write his breakout novel (a novel that hits the top ten on the bestseller lists), I feel confident that it will soon happen. This author has a talent that keeps drawing me back to him. There's only one thing I would like to say to Mr. Clegg: please work something out with your previous publisher and have your out-of-print novels reprinted for your growing mass of fans. You have several that I would like to read. Perhaps Leisure Books could buy the publishing rights and print them under their logo. These would certainly add to your popularity as an author.
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Summary: complex, suspenseful, and exciting horror novel
Review: Jake and Naomi were both born in Carthage, Virginia, a place where evil stands side by side with the righteous. Neither one had a descent family to turn to for support so they clung to one another. At seventeen Naomi left town to attend school and a year later Jake followed her though they never stayed in touch with one another. Thus, Jake is shocked to elarn that his childhood sweetheart died by falling onto the tracks of a New York subway station. In a bizarre coincidence, Jake rents an apartment in Greenwich Village just across the hall where Naomi lived. When he goes into the subway to catch a train, he swears he has just seen Naomi walking on the tracks. When it happens again and other weird things occur, Jake wonders if Naomi is dead or is her restless spirit trying to communicate with him. Either way, Jake knows that he cannot ignore what his senses tell him for if he does he will go slowly insane. Douglas Clegg has written a complex, suspenseful, and exciting horror novel that contains several levels of understanding due to strong subplots that tie back to the prime theme. The story line includes several likable and not so likable characters, but the show belongs to Jake who must contend with the curious and crazy happenings that engulf him. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: A dull tale of a haunting.
Review: Naomi dies under the rails of a New York subway train. Or does she? Jake, Naomi's childhood friend and, apparently, her one, true love, goes to look for her. Something is dug up in yard of an old building being restored. What does this have to do with Naomi's death? Frankly I did not care enough to find out. Evidently Douglas Clegg's novel was an e-serial, which explains the fragmented and inconsistent narrative flow of the novel and how it seems more tease than actual terror. It's a literate piece of writing, just not scary enough for me.
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Summary: Read it in one day!
Review: Not too often I get so caught up in a novel that I read it in one day, but I did this one. It started a bit slow -- too much fancy writing and not enough story. But it picked up, and I was hooked. Douglas Clegg has the talent of Stephen King to keep you wondering, keep you turning the pages. Unlike King, this novel was not totally depressing and utterly gruesomely morbid, which is why I usually avoid King novels. The variety of characters was fascinating. For me in the Midwest, just the descriptions of New York City were interesting. Since I never intend to go there, it's nice to have a skilled writer show it to me through words. Clegg's skill in weaving the stories of all the characters together is remarkable. All in all, a very enjoyable read.
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Summary: Theme vs. Genre
Review: The ending of this book was bit confusing with the dreamlike state the characters are in, it seemed rushed. A good read up until then.
I liked the humanity of the book, particularly the look into New Yorks underworld. The whole books theme was about outcasts. The witches were outcasted from their town, Naomi and Jake were outcasts from their town, and the subway dwellers in New York were outcasted from the city. For me, a books theme is more important than conform to a particular genre. Clegg lets the human struggles take the foreground instead of horror cliches.
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Summary: Good tale of witchcraft
Review: This is not as good as other books by Clegg, but mysterious, dark, compelling with tragic characaters who must redeem their lives. Witchcraft plays a major role here. The book is very gothic and dark, but that's Clegg's style: he's better than anyone out bthere in creating such dark fiction in horror and human tragedy.
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Summary: Gripping Read cover to cover
Review: This is one of the most gripping books I have read in recent memory. What really makes this book special is that we read about three very different characters who are destined to follow the same path. Jake, Romeo and Maddy oh and we can't leave out Naomi, all take us on a journey that is both captifying as well as terrifying. All I can add without giving away anything is that I wish the book had continued and went on to follow the paths of a couple of characters to feel the real aftermath of their ordeal. For all of you who can't wait for the newest King, Koontz etc get this novel and discover an equally great writer. I already have his newest, The Infinite, on preorder as the bonus preview included with Naomi was great as well.
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Summary: Good fast-paced read
Review: This is the first Clegg book I have read and enjoyed it very much. He does an excellent job of weaving plot lines and keeping you reading until they all intersect. He has some very beautiful and elegantly black descriptions of the underground of New York City and the Serpent that is loose there. The only real problem I had was too much unuseful prose when the character Romeo was at the forefront and a rushed, vague ending. This was a very good story, but deserved better to wrap it all up.
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Summary: reads like a first draft
Review: This novel rambled on aimlessly and the writing was poor in spots. I had recently read his NIGHTMARE CHRONICLES, which I thought was very good, and I expected much more from this author. I only got about 90 pages into it before I gave up.
Rating:
Summary: reads like a first draft
Review: This novel rambled on aimlessly and the writing was poor in spots. I had recently read his NIGHTMARE CHRONICLES, which I thought was very good, and I expected much more from this author. I only got about 90 pages into it before I gave up.
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