Rating: 
Summary: It is not what you think. It is far more interesting.
Review: Charles Palliser's most recent novel, "The Unburied," is utterly fascinating for so many reasons, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to clearly articulate all of them. It is best, perhaps, to be clear about what this novel is not: it is not a Dickensian family drama on the order of his masterpiece, "The Quincunx." It is not a ghost story, Henry James-esque or otherwise. It is not a gothic adventure, a creepy page, turner, or just about anything else you might think. It is, in fact, one of the most clever and enjoyable works of post-modern deception that I have ever read.The novel is packaged as a Victorian ghost story, and I can't quite tell if that is part of the deceptive plan or if the publisher is merely looking to find a wider audience for this clever little gem. Indeed, the novel begins as though it is going to be a ghost story, and it also wanders recklessly into the murder mystery genre, but it is something beyond either of those kinds of tales. At its heart, Palliser is interested in writing about personal ghosts, and the kinds of narratives we tell our selves to keep from confronting those ghosts - and the kinds of narratives we seek out as a distraction. The protagonist in "The Unburied," is a scholar named Courtine who comes to a small cathedral down in England during the late 19th century to uncover a mystery that relates to his studies of the 9th century king, Alfred. Along the way he gets caught up in a murder mystery from the 17th century, and then a mysterious murder perpetrated during his visit. How do all of these things tie together? They don't. They are not suppose to. As he attempts to uncover these mysteries of the past and the present, Courtine must come face to face with the mysteries of his own past, and rather than discovering the motives of medieval historians or puritan plotters, he realizes he would be better off confronting his own motives. Unfortunately, this is a puzzle whose picture is only clear once you have completed it. Readers who curl up with their Earl Grey and scones to lose themselves in Victorian delights will soon find themselves befuddled by the details in which Courtine delights. Frankly, I hit a point at about page 150 where I almost threw the book away. I didn't care anymore about the 17th century murder, and we read so many different accounts, involving so many different characters, that the whole thing becomes a big muddle. But I forced myself over that page 150 hump, and it was well worth it. Reader, I finished it, and in the end it was well worth the efforts.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs Down
Review: Don't be fooled by the rapturous reviews on the back cover: It ain't all that. There IS a promising murder mystery here. But the plot is so convoluted that slogging your way through the mire is hardly worth it. The main characters, without exception, range from distasteful to downright despicable. There is no one to cheer for here. Last words: Too much work for too little reward.
Rating: 
Summary: A brillliant murder-mystery
Review: Dr Courtine is an investigative historian taking advantage of a little spare time before Christmas to study his favourite subject, Alfred the Great. Instead of a little quiet solitude, Dr. Courtine becomes involved in an investigation of a disappearance two hundred years ago, uncovers lies and deceit with regards to his manuscript and becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. Throw in the ghost and a shifty former best friend, and all Palliser's ingredients are in place. Written through accounts as opposed to narrative, along the same lines as Bram Stoker's "Dracula", The Unburied is a compelling piece of historical fiction that evokes the Victorian period vividly. The setting, characters and most of all the strong plot which maintains intrigue throughout, result in a fantastic read. This is the first Palliser novel I have read, I do not intend to stop there.
Rating: 
Summary: Wilkie Collins rides again...on a winded horse
Review: Essentially a classic whodunit, "The Unburied" poses a less arduous challenge to Palliser's chameleonic style-shifting than his previous work. After a memorable exploit in Dickensian guise ("The Quincunx"), the bleak alienation of "The Sensationist", and the gleeful modern malice of "Betrayals", the author's polyhedric talent manifests through the borrowed, decently curbed pen of a Victorian sensation-novelist to bring us a gaslit murder-mystery of the 1880s, spiced by incidental academic nose-poking into earlier crimes of the Restoration period, all perpetrated in the claustrophobic gloominess of an ancient cathedral close. Two narrators, the staid historian Edward Courtine and a troubled boy named Philip, become unwilling and unwitting participants in the disagreeably sordid events of Christmas 1882; between them, they hold the key to an enigma which the reader can fully unravel only under the light shed by Philip's commentary, 37 years after the facts, on a sealed memoir left behind by the shaken Courtine. Those who have read, say, Iain Pears' "An Instance of the Fingerpost" will find Palliser's approach to the intellectual/historical thriller competent but unoriginal, and those familiar with "real" Victorian fiction will judge his reprise of the period adequate but uncompelling. These remarks should not be interpreted as damning with faint praise, however, but more as praising with faint damns; second-best from Palliser is not really to be disdained. The mystery itself is constructed intricately enough to satisfy average detective-story conventions, although most readers will solve it at least in general outline well before Philip adds the finishing touches, and all readers will be fascinated by Palliser's attentive characterization of the earnest Courtine, his insincerely-yours friend Austin Fickling, and the insidious librarian Robert Locard.
Rating:
Summary: profound....A must read!
Review: Few authors allow a reader to fully enjoy a character's flaws as does Charles Palliser. In " The Unburied," Palliser's cast of academics and canon fully unearth ambition, greed, betrayal and vengeance. It is easy to lose yourself In this world where learned men lie and murder like the lowest of scoundrels. I enjoyed the intricate plot and conflict in this book so much that I read it again just to make sure I hadn't missed anything!
Rating:
Summary: A book to appeal to the mind and not the heart
Review: Having read the other reviews of this book I feel a bit guilty that I cannot share the general enthusiasm. The book was extremely complex and its publicity warned about this, but I was not expecting it to be intellectual task that it was. I felt that in order to fully understand it I needed to take notes to which I had to refer back, in order not to lose the thread of the plot and to confuse the identities of the characters involved. I was left at the end feeling that I had certainly missed much of the book's meaning. I had previously read The Quincunx which is also complex, but, unlike "The Unburied" has an exciting narrative and strong characters, so that it is possible to read the book and greatly enjoy it without perhaps being able to bring together every strand of the story. As is obvious from the reviews, the book has its admirers and I can appreciate its complexity. However, unless you are looking for an intellectual excerise rather than an involving read I would advise you to give it a miss.
Rating:
Summary: A nice murder mystery
Review: Having read the Quincunx about ten years ago I was delighted to find this one on the shelf of my local book store. I started reading it that very evening and found that I had trouble putting the thing down. Although Palliser tends to be wordy, it's not to a fault. Instead the reader has a tendency to become more involved with the characters in the story as is the case with Quincunx. There are really several myteries in the book; two of them involve murders that take place 200 years apart. The mysteries surrounding the main characters is the thing that made the book so interesting to me. If you pick this one up you'll want a nice fire going with plenty of fire wood handy.
Rating:
Summary: Unless you are a devoted fan, probably not worth the time.
Review: I actually loved the first section of the book, when there was the promise of something significant going on. Unfortunately, nothing is... not really. There are a ton of books in this genre that top this effort, though I will say that Palliser's word-craft is far above the norm of "pulp fiction". That aside, the plot has alot of promise, which makes its eventual and questionable resolution all the more painful.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Nyquil
Review: I agree completely with the reviewer below. Antiseptic, lifeless, soggy. The mystery isn't as clever as the professional reviews would have you believe. The characters are far more dull than they would have you believe. Even more overrated than INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST, if that's possible.
Rating:
Summary: A Victorian Feast
Review: I discovered The Unburied in the sale table at my local bookstore and decided it looked interesting. I found it one of the most fascinating books that I have read this year. I do enjoy reading books that are set in the Victorian era and this was an exceptional example. I took my time reading it because I wanted to lose myself in the language and the wonderful characterization. Mr. Palliser knew whereof he wrote. I felt confident that I was getting a true picture of an English cathedral town of the period with all the petty conflicts between inhabitants. I am a fan of historical mysteries, but many of them do not pay a lot of attention to historical accuracy. Not so in this case. I could almost smell the scent of ancient buildings, old books and manuscripts and coal fires! I look forward to reading the Quincunx.
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