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Review title: Much Ado About Nothing
Product review: M.R. James does in 13 forever-haunting pages what it takes Kiernan 129 to do with far less success. And I was so irritated at how she avoided telling the story she sets up in 125 of those pages that I hurled the book across the room. They are called "obligatory scenes" for a reason. The reason being that the author never wants to write them, and the editor usually forces the writer to write them, and the book is always better for them being written. I'm aware that Kiernan may well think it is her own cleverness but she should see H.G. Wells' hundred year old, tale "Fear Itself" which did it better. I call this book a cop-out and/ or a failure of the imagination. Too bad, as the book is nicely written with interesting characters and a credible future set-up, and with real propulsive motion you can't buy with money. Of course, I saw the other "plot-turn" coming forty pages early, too. Whatever happened to Cocteau's dictum: "Astonish me!" ?
