Rating: 
Summary: Fantasize about Magic, please
Review: I finished the book, which is something. I read it on the high recommendations I read on this site, but now having read the book, and re-reading the reviews, I realise that the pleasure if Magic enthusiasts at seeing their subject-matter in print probably eclisped the awfulness of the book! OK, it was entertaining enough (hence 2 stars) - the writer keeps you in suspense for half the book - bravo, good showmanship. But, the PRESTIGE of his book, the big revelation, was the biggest let-down, cop-out and what I consider more dangerous, abuse of Science and insult to the Art of Illusion. Its reads like a third rate "Beam me up Scotty" copy. It seems the author is one of those who fell for the illusion of magic and actually believes it CAN happen, like for real. My goodness! I can only hope it was poetic license, and even then, it is hard to excuse him.
Rating:
Summary: Bad technique mars good story.
Review: I have no fault with the author's imagination. The plot outline (a generations-long magicians' feud laced with hints of the fantastic) is compelling, and I also don't fault Mr. Priest for his development of the narrative. However, in reading the novel I couldn't overlook what I thought were serious defects in the technique that detracted from my enjoyment of the plot.Priest takes the risky step of using the supposed memoirs and diaries of the two principal magicians as the vehicle for the story development. This allows him to try his hand at two different voices with sometimes distorted perspectives. These "source materials" ostensibly date from the 1870's-1900's. Unfortunately, his execution of this device was, in my opinion, wretched. My main criticism is that Priest makes no attempt whatsoever (that I can discern) to bring ANY authenticity to his source materials. The memoir and diaries read like a 1990s author trying (but not very hard) to sound like a real, honest late-Victorian Briton. There are on average at least a dozen anachronisms in language, usage and historical material on every page. I'm sure Priest did a lot of research into the development of magic and illusionists, but he certainly didn't do any research into Victorian writing. I hope the next time he tries this technique, he buys a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary to lend some authenticity to his efforts. Otherwise, what's the point? In addition, the diaries, in particular, are almost laughably unlike any real person's diary--they contain long word-for-word extracts of conversations, almost always end with melodramatic climaxes, and never seem to allude to any mundane details of the diarist's life. I wouldn't be so critical of Priest's use of the historical first person devices if they didn't occupy 80% of the novel. Since they do, and since I couldn't overlook the fundamental problems in presentation, I can't award this book any points for execution. Just some points for excellence of plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Not science fiction, magic realism
Review: I have to take issue with the 'reader from Cambridge'. Whatever the ending of this story (a brilliant ending in my view) it is an irrelevance. Fiction is not about what is probable or improbable - it is about what moves. You can write anything so long as it Speaks Out to the reader. This does not merely speak - it sings in every nerve as you read it. The plot is almost secondary; the feeling generated for the two main protagonists is quite extraordinary, and is a conjuring trick in its own right. The book is also loaded with powerful symbolism, but I won't go into it here.
Rating:
Summary: The prestige of the book is brilliant
Review: I only wait this realm of magic to fade away in my mind, just to enjoy reviving it when I will read this masterpiece again. But this second time I will not fear that the end might spoil the perfection of the whole book. (I must stop reading reviews with less than 4 stars when a master like C. Priest is in question.) I've red 'Inverted World' from the same Priest long ago and have used that book to persuade non-SF friends-readers that the robots are gone from our SF-world and only dream-people are living in the dream-worlds of the master-writers. 'Prestige' is even better example of a genre-free piece of art. I'm not sure that anything in this book was SF, although some advanced gadgets were put to work -just to animate the prestige of the book. And with Tesla (real dream-man from our world) as an authentic creator, you can't be sure how far his discoveries went in bringing magic to our reality.
Rating: 
Summary: probably pleasing to the niche market
Review: I read this book in a group setting, a book club where I and about 7 of my friends all read the book and discussed it. Most of my friends were varying degrees of nonplussed by the book, and some downright disliked it. If you have been reading standard fantasy fare, and are looking for something just a little different, this book could certainly serve that purpose; however if you're thinking you might discover a hidden gem of literature, you might end up unimpressed. If you're a hobbyist in the realm of stage magic, or interested in that at all, I would definately pick this up; while fiction it still gives a really good feel of the atmosphere of magic as performance art. Since the heart of Priest's narrative is a somewhat cunning trick, there is not a particularly deep level of character development. Both of his main characters are unlikable fellows for the most part, although I should really leave that up to the reader. The settings and language do a good job of evoking the period that most of the book occupies. All in all, an interesting read if you need something light, and Priest seems a craftsman of a writer; his narrative flows easily. I attribute my overall rank of three to the fact that despite all its positive points, I still came away from the book with little enthusiasm. It doesn't reach out and grab me like a 5-star book would.
Rating:
Summary: A haunting read.
Review: I read this book over a year ago and it still haunts me. Priest's narrative quicky engaged this reader and has haunted me ever since. The story kept me guessing right up to the very surprising and satisfying ending. A highly recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for memorability
Review: I read this book several years ago and still can't get it out of my mind. In fact, I recommend it all the time to friends who are looking for a great read that's also totally unique. Besides being a riveting mystery story, it has several big "pluses" of information about the art and hard work of professional magicians as well as the early years of electricity. Truly memorable. I have to look for Priest's other books...
Rating: 
Summary: Different and enjoyable
Review: I wasn't really sure what to expect coming into this book. The blurbs on the back are kind of vague, but the positive reviews got me to pick it up. Now I understand why the cover blurb is so vague: it is very difficult to describe the plot of this book. The most general way, without giving away too much, would be to explain that it is the story of two stage magicians in turn of the century (the last century, that is: 1900) England who end up in a feud that escalates in unexpected directions. At the heart of the novel is a mystery, one which the reader is not fully revealed until the last 50 pages of the book. This book won the World Fantasy Award, but I found that it leans more towards sci-fi rather than fantasy. It's sci-fi written in a style that is reminiscent of HG Wells which, considering the time period in which the majority of the book takes place, adds to the flavor of the story. What drives the book forward is its interesting characters. Throughout the book, the reader encounters four (possibly five, depending on how you look at it) narrators, all told in the first person, be it standard first person narration or from diary entries. On top of this, two of the narrators live in the late 19th century while the other two are from the present day, which serves to heighten the central mystery. Priest does an excellent job of giving each character their own voice and motivations. As the feud between the two characters living in the 1880s escalates, the reader feels directly involved in the rising tensions and the desparate race of each man to uncover the other's secrets. We also see how this affects the narrators in the present day who happen to be descendants of the earlier two. While the plot itself is carefully unfolded throughout the book, the payoff in the reveal of the secret suddenly jumps out at the reader as the book begins to wind down. Unfortunately, I got the impression that the book ended before the story of the two modern narrators was finished. I would have liked that story to be tied up a bit more neatly. Here we have this big reveal to the two descendants, but then not much is done with it. All in all, however, this is a very worthwhile book. I enjoyed the atmosphere that Priest created and was thoroughly engaged by the characters. If you're looking for something different than the standard fantasy fare on the shelves, this book will definitely sate you.
Rating:
Summary: Different and enjoyable
Review: I wasn't really sure what to expect coming into this book. The blurbs on the back are kind of vague, but the positive reviews got me to pick it up. Now I understand why the cover blurb is so vague: it is very difficult to describe the plot of this book. The most general way, without giving away too much, would be to explain that it is the story of two stage magicians in turn of the century (the last century, that is: 1900) England who end up in a feud that escalates in unexpected directions. At the heart of the novel is a mystery, one which the reader is not fully revealed until the last 50 pages of the book. This book won the World Fantasy Award, but I found that it leans more towards sci-fi rather than fantasy. It's sci-fi written in a style that is reminiscent of HG Wells which, considering the time period in which the majority of the book takes place, adds to the flavor of the story. What drives the book forward is its interesting characters. Throughout the book, the reader encounters four (possibly five, depending on how you look at it) narrators, all told in the first person, be it standard first person narration or from diary entries. On top of this, two of the narrators live in the late 19th century while the other two are from the present day, which serves to heighten the central mystery. Priest does an excellent job of giving each character their own voice and motivations. As the feud between the two characters living in the 1880s escalates, the reader feels directly involved in the rising tensions and the desparate race of each man to uncover the other's secrets. We also see how this affects the narrators in the present day who happen to be descendants of the earlier two. While the plot itself is carefully unfolded throughout the book, the payoff in the reveal of the secret suddenly jumps out at the reader as the book begins to wind down. Unfortunately, I got the impression that the book ended before the story of the two modern narrators was finished. I would have liked that story to be tied up a bit more neatly. Here we have this big reveal to the two descendants, but then not much is done with it. All in all, however, this is a very worthwhile book. I enjoyed the atmosphere that Priest created and was thoroughly engaged by the characters. If you're looking for something different than the standard fantasy fare on the shelves, this book will definitely sate you.
Rating:
Summary: A professional magician reviews "The Prestige"....
Review: If you have ever wondered what it would be like to mix sherlock Holmes, frankenstein and H.G. Wells on a British vaudeville stage, look no further. Christopher Priest has taken the impossible and made it look...well, improbable. Mystery, horror, science fiction/fantasy and good old-fashioned potboiler fiction all mix to create a literary novel that ought to have broad appeal - and would make a terrific film! As a professional magician and student of magic history, I found Mr. Priest's use of magical terms and his creation of the atmosphere of the turn-of-the-century British stage exceptionally accurate and well-researched. Thank you, Mr. Priest. You have done a service to our Art. As a fan of the literary traditions of Poe, Conan doyle and Mary Wollstonecraft, I found "The Prestige" eminently satisfying reading. It is a "page-turner" in the best sense of the term, and riveting. WARNING - don't start reading this at night - you won't get any sleep, either from staying up to finish it or from the amazing imagery. My one criticism is that Mr. Preist does indulge in a bit of showing-off. His tale is told entirely in the first person, from the perspective of four different narrators, each with a distinct voice. This quite flashy bit of writing technique occasionally intrudes by calling attention to itself, but it is hard to see how the novel could have been written more effectively. Highly recommended - if you like ANY of the genres mentioned above, this novel will expand your horizons.
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