Waking Beauty

Rating:
Summary: Weak first effort
Review: According to the blurb (which, by the way, seems to have been written by someone who didn't read the book, since it focuses on a character who vanishes on page 84, only to return, briefly, in the last few pages) on the cover of this book, the author is compared to Clive Barker, among others. I beg to differ; "Waking Beauty" reminded me--to its detriment--of an early Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration titled "The Talisman," on three counts: First, Witcover seems incapable of creating a character about whom one gives a damn. One of the beauties of Clive Barker's fiction is his ability to create characters who are so realistic that they remain a part of your life forever. It's been years, for instance, since I read "Sacrament," yet I can still envision the protagonist, Will, very clearly in my mind's eye. Witcover, on the other hand, doesn't seem to like his characters very much. If an author doesn't like his own creations, why should I? Second, the story seems little more than a poorly considered attempt to cash in on the current popularity of adult-oriented fantasy fiction. If you really want to read fantasy that isn't cute and cuddly and aimed at adolescents, read Guy Gavriel Kay, Dave Duncan's "The Great Game" series, or read Clive Barker himself, rather than a pale clone. (Or, read Elizabeth Hand, to whom, oddly enough, Witcover dedicated his book. It's a shame it isn't a better book to do the dedication justice.) Finally, Witcover commits the same crime that, to me, has become so synonymous with Stephen King that I've stopped reading King's books to spare myself the disappointment. "Waking Beauty" doesn't end, it stops. There is precious little drama and no real resolution; it appears Witcover became bored with his own prose about 3/4 of the way through and decided to tack on an ending--any ending--just to get it over with. Ah, well. The next chapter in Kay's Sarantium series is due out soon. That's something to look forward to.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother to read the Blurb on the sleeve
Review: Because it's wrong. It makes it sound like some sort of dull love triangle when really the book is much more than that. It weaves this strange and fascinating topsy turvy world in a way that is rare in most books nowadays. It's delightfully sensual and has unique images.

Rating:
Summary: A note to potential readers . . .
Review: Dear reader:

If my book has caught your eye, and you are wondering whether it's something you might enjoy, I would ask that you do not decide on the basis of a single review but get a representative sample of what my other readers have thought.

Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: A "Vathek" for the 90s!
Review: Despite a silly dust jacket summary which has almost nothing to do with the plot of the book itself, "Waking Beauty" is an extraordinary first effort. Bizarre, fantastic, and sometimes grotesque (in the truest sense of the word)this book has a lot in common with gothic writers such as William Beckford, Lord Byron and Clark Ashton Smith. Witcover's rococco writing style is perfectly suited to his sumptuous exploration of the vectors of power, love and sacrifice, qualities which in his world are literally written upon the bodies of his characters. His characterizations are strong and sharp, and, unusual for his genre, the female protagonists take up most of the center stage. The action comes lickety-split, leaving the reader breathless by the novel's end--and hopeful there will be a sequel."Waking Beauty" is not a facile book. Underneath the glittering prose and byzantine plot, "Waking Beauty" is deeply concerned with the interplay of power and domination, greed and ambition, and perhaps most importantly, love in all its many guises. Witcover is more than up to the challenge of translating these abstract ideologies into an entertaining, imaginative ripping good read. "Waking Beauty" transcends the "fantasy" genre, and sets Witcover in a class with such "literary-fantasy" writers as A.S. Byatt, Angela Carter and C.S. Lewis. Though the action of this novel may be set in the fantastic, the underpinnings of Witcover's world is all too familiar. By far, one the best novels of the year.

Rating:
Summary: A "Vathek" for the 90s!
Review: Despite a silly dust jacket summary which has almost nothing to do with the plot of the book itself, "Waking Beauty" is an extraordinary first effort. Bizarre, fantastic, and sometimes grotesque (in the truest sense of the word)this book has a lot in common with gothic writers such as William Beckford, Lord Byron and Clark Ashton Smith. Witcover's rococco writing style is perfectly suited to his sumptuous exploration of the vectors of power, love and sacrifice, qualities which in his world are literally written upon the bodies of his characters. His characterizations are strong and sharp, and, unusual for his genre, the female protagonists take up most of the center stage. The action comes lickety-split, leaving the reader breathless by the novel's end--and hopeful there will be a sequel. "Waking Beauty" is not a facile book. Underneath the glittering prose and byzantine plot, "Waking Beauty" is deeply concerned with the interplay of power and domination, greed and ambition, and perhaps most importantly, love in all its many guises. Witcover is more than up to the challenge of translating these abstract ideologies into an entertaining, imaginative ripping good read. "Waking Beauty" transcends the "fantasy" genre, and sets Witcover in a class with such "literary-fantasy" writers as A.S. Byatt, Angela Carter and C.S. Lewis. Though the action of this novel may be set in the fantastic, the underpinnings of Witcover's world is all too familiar. By far, one the best novels of the year.

Rating:
Summary: A Feast for the Senses
Review: From the first page of this amazing first novel, I have been entranced, horrified, intrigued, sickened and uplifted. This book is not for the light reader looking for mindless entertainment; "Waking Beauty" was written for the sensualist, the sociologist, and those searching for their own "great passion". Please keep in mind that this twisted fable is intended for those readers honest enough to admit that they too rubberneck while passing a car crash, hoping and fearing to see a little blood. As human emotions go, you will run the full gamut in the pages of "Waking Beauty".

Rating:
Summary: A Feast for the Senses
Review: From the first page of this amazing first novel, I have been entranced, horrified, intrigued, sickened and uplifted. This book is not for the light reader looking for mindless entertainment; "Waking Beauty" was written for the sensualist, the sociologist, and those searching for their own "great passion". Please keep in mind that this twisted fable is intended for those readers honest enough to admit that they too rubberneck while passing a car crash, hoping and fearing to see a little blood. As human emotions go, you will run the full gamut in the pages of "Waking Beauty".

Rating:
Summary: Visit an exotic world filled with unusual dangers
Review: Hierarchate is a strange world where each social caste lives in its own city. Men are the rulers of each village, however women are their nightly protectors. Every evening, a dangerous and mesmerizing scent drifts out of Herwood Forest into each of the Hierarchate villages, luring men into certain death by the Maw if their women fail to keep them home, safe and sound. .....Cyrus Galingale seeks revenge towards the family that betrayed and destroyed his own family, once part of the highest rung in the hierarchy. Cyrus plans to marry Rose Rubra, an act that should protect Cy from the ravages of the forbidden scent of the Maws, hiding in the nearby Herwood forest. However, Rose fails to protect Cy, who succumbs to the siren's call on their wedding night. She is to be punished for her failure to protect her mate by being turned into a prostitute. However, other plans are being placed in motion that will keep Rose on the move throughout this weird world and Cy has another love, Rumer, thought lost to the mists of the forest. How all this eventually plays out on the world stage requires a trip to Hierarchate by the reader. .....WAKING BEAUTY is an eerie but beautiful fantasy novel that seems more of a parable of a decadent society (perhaps America?), rather than another Tolkien clone. This new world brings a freshness to Paul Witcover's debut novel that is rarely seen in the genre. This is must reading for anyone who enjoys a trek to a weird other world that will leave readers wanting more from newcomer Paul Witcover. ......Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype on this one.
Review: I bought this book because of recommendations posted on a couple of boards (turns out they were all posted by the same person) and was very disappointed. The writing is heavy-handed and hard to slog through and the plot fragmented. It is not particularly original despite the over-blown jacket copy (Rushdie? I don't think so.). I gave to my father-in-law to read and he couldn't get through it, saying it was what they used to call 'turgid prose'.

Rating:
Summary: Original in concept, but ponderous in execution.
Review: I can see why Witcover is compared to Clive Barker on the jacket text. The two rival each other for verbosity. 'Waking Beauty' is a gratuitously overwritten novel that took me quite a long time to get through. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, but each chapter was such a task to read that I could only do it in small doses. This is even more of a sore point when you realise that most of the set-up is thrown out towards the end of the book anyway. The story changes direction completely and all the politics and ceremony that was so painstakingly depicted are rendered virtually meaningless. All the characters are as in the dark as the reader until the last act - when the story finally picks up - and sadly, the revelations we are eventually shown are not quite worth the wait. If only the entire work was as strong as that final sequence.