Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Prose, Addictive Story
Review: The Horned Man is an extraordinary creation, the most memorable novel I have read in a very long while. Author James Lasdun writes with tremendous assurance and skill, but The Horned Man works on a much deeper, and unexpected, level. Think the intelligence of Henry James, the economy of Raymond Carver, and the storytelling of James M. Cain and you'll have an idea of how good (and original) this book is. When I finished The Horned Man I found myself picking it up the next day, re-reading from page one, an extremely rare occurence. I wanted to go back to the concentrated spell that Lasdun casts with his writing, but I also realized, on reflection, that there was more than one way to understand this unusual tale. The Horned Man is literature in the truest sense of the word.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Prose, Addictive Story
Review: The Horned Man is an extraordinary creation. Intelligent, surprsing, riveting, with a mastery of language and mood such as I have not encountered in a very long while. Think the intelligence of Henry James, the economy of Raymond Carver, and the storytelling of James M. Cain, and you'll have an idea of how good (and original) this novel is. I found myself re-reading the book the day after I had finished it, an extremely rare occurence. This is because author James Lasdun's tale can be understood in several ways. The Horned Man is a work of literature that is also thrilling to read.
Rating: 
Summary: An Auster, Please, but Hold the Heart
Review: The use of language and imagery is top-notch in this novel, which comes as no surprise, as Lasdun is also an excellent poet. This Lasdun novel reminds me of the works of Paul Auster - it's sharply written and has weird/wacky plot points that wake you up from the trance of the wonderful prose - but unlike the best works of Auster, this book doesn't have much heart. There's no doubt it's a smart work, but I just could never feel much of anything for the main character.Still, it's an interesting work. It did lose me a little as the novel got progressively stranger, but the first 3/4 is pretty mysterious stuff and worth checking out.
Rating: 
Summary: Far from your ordinary suspense thriller
Review: This book is a piece of literature masquerading as a thriller. The mystery surrounds Lawrence Miller and his connections to the disappearance of several women to whom he finds himself connected throughout the novel. To say that this is what the book is about would be to shortchange Lasdun's efforts here. The greater theme underlying the book is ambiguity and perception. All in all, if you're looking for a satisfying whodunnit where the villain unveils his scheme in the penultimate scene, then move right along. This book isn't for you. However, if you appreciate smart writing and character studies and the duplicity of perception, then chances are you'll appreciate this book.
Rating:
Summary: Far from your ordinary suspense thriller
Review: This book is a piece of literature masquerading as a thriller. The mystery surrounds Lawrence Miller and his connections to the disappearance of several women to whom he finds himself connected throughout the novel. To say that this is what the book is about would be to shortchange Lasdun's efforts here. The greater theme underlying the book is ambiguity and perception. All in all, if you're looking for a satisfying whodunnit where the villain unveils his scheme in the penultimate scene, then move right along. This book isn't for you. However, if you appreciate smart writing and character studies and the duplicity of perception, then chances are you'll appreciate this book.
Rating:
Summary: A mesmerizing study in duality
Review: Unfortunately, the person who recommended this book to me spilled the entire premise before I even cracked it open, so many suspicions I would have developed as I read the book I was already well aware of before I started reading. Still, I found THE HORNED MAN a haunting work of literature. It reminds me greatly of FRANKENSTEIN as a study of the Calvinistic nature of humans. Duplicity lurks everywhere in this bizarre tale. I won't say anything else or it might alter your reading experience. I will say that this book will stay with you; Lasdun's triggers will spring on you in moments of quiet reflection.
Rating:
Summary: Oedipus again
Review: When Anthony Burgess came to write his first novel long ago, he had the good sense to choose Vergil's Aeneid as his model. The old stories are still the best. Though critics seem not to have noticed Lasdun'influences, he has subtly modeled his story on Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The Horned Man tells the story of a man on a quest for a killer, though the audience knows all along that the guilty party is really the detective himself--always a sign that Oedipus lurks in the background. Lansdun has sprinkled the narrative with a number of clues pointing directly to Sophocles; mention of the Theban prophet Teiresias, the city of Corinth, pollution on the land, strange mythological creatures, etc. A very worthy first effort. I hope that Lasdsun turns out to be as prolific as Burgess.
Rating: 
Summary: great use of language, sub-par storyline
Review: When I first picked up the book and read the DJ summary, it seemed interesting and original. While Lasdun has great use of the English language, truelly poetic, the storyline is disappointing however. The mystery can be guessed from the first few pages. It starts off being complicated, and strengthens in complexity, until everything comes together at the end. Great, except the ending is NOT surprising at all. Plus, the story gets TOO complicated, and TOO thick with names, events and symbolism that the joy of reading Lasdun's beautiful writing is hampered. I think you should read this book purely for Lasdun's writing, not his story telling. I personally think he should stick to writing poetry, where he excels.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery Within a Mystery
Review: Whether like me, you are able to guess early on who the real perpetrator is in this engrossing, superbly written debut novel, this will in no way diminish your enjoyment of the book. Indeed the more intriguing mystery is not the string of unexplained murders that occur, but rather the underlying enigma of the persona, Professor Lawerence Miller. Throughout the story, we find ourselves trying to piece together the landscape before us as seen through Miller's eyes. As the professor's world becomes unglued, we watch transfixed the mind's masterful ability to cloak repression and delusion behind a veneer of seeming rationality. Although Professor Miller's shrink, Dr. Schrever, doesn't appear often in the book, we are haunted by her question in the first chapter, "Is that what you think happened?"...
Rating:
Summary: AT LEAST IT'S DIFFERENT
Review: With authors putting out the same garbage and using the same formula, it's refreshing to finally read a story that's a little bit off the wall. The "oddness" of the novel held my interest throughout and kept me wondering what was next. The descent into madness, by the main character, was very disturbing.
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