Product Description

For Joe Lennox, successful young writer, Vienna provides a refuge from the tragedy of his brother's death, until he starts up a friendship with the eccentric India Tate and her magician husband Paul. Gradually Joe falls in love with India, but Paul finds out - before he suddenly drops dread. And now Joe has two deaths on his conscience and another voice calling from beyond the grave . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236339 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Jonathan Carroll was born in America but has lived most of his adult life in Vienna. His prizewinning novels have been translated into 17 languages.

Customer Reviews

Superbly Scary
The Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks series kicks off 2002 with Jonathan Carroll's follow-up novel to The Land of Laughs (Masterworks No.9). If your idea of fantasy reaches no further than a few goblins, elves and sword-wielding barbarians then you may be wondering why this contemporary novel of revenge from beyond the grave (or is it? Answers on a postcard please.) has been included in Gollancz's fine series. Fortunately for us, it would seem as if this publisher is aiming to ambrace as broad a range of classic fantasy as possible in this series of reprints, and that can only be a good thing. Essentially, if you thought that his first novel was a masterpiece (as I did), then you're going to be similarly blown away with this heady melange of jealousy, eroticism, adultery and hauntings. Also as in Land of Laughs, be prepared for the last couple of pages to give you a shocking jolt, leaving you with a tale which stays with you long after you've read the last of its 190 pages. Proof that novels don't always need to be 600 pages long to leave a lasting impression. If you're a fan of dark fantasy then buy it to treat yourself, and to encourage the people at Gollancz to continue with their sterling work

Coming of age
I only read this novel as it was in the Fantasy Masterworks series. As such, when I was halfway through, I was wondering why it was there. The novel itself was interesting - a well penned story of a man growing up after a childhood trauma in which he is involved in his older, bullying brothers death. This leads to his escaping from America and fleeing his past to start a new life in Vienna. There he meets a couple, and falls in love with the married woman.

Up to that point the story is fairly standard - though the characters are well drawn and the settings deftly described. Then the book twists and the supernatural begins to appear. Nothing gross or over the top - just a subtle infusion as our percetion is slowly skewed from the normal to the paranormal. As the novel continues, the supernatural plays a background role - more background than expected, but effective never the less, untilthe quite stunning climax.

A superbly crafted novel. Well written, characters well drawn and well crafted.

master storyteller at work
The world is divided into those that know JC's work and those that don't. He is a master story teller of the old school. You can imagine hearing his tales around an atmospheric midnight campfire in the woods. There's a real humanity to his characters, and his story lines always surprise and move. Voice of Our Shadow is one of the more evocative of his books right up there with Outside the Dog Museum, and After Silence. Read this, read them all!