Michael Cox -The Meaning of Night

The Meaning of Night is the Victorian-era revenge thriller currently touted by UK bookshops - just read it, and wanted to say that if you're a fan of Victorian culture/minutiae you'll love it, but if you're reading it for the plot then give it a miss. 600 pages really should deliver more in the way of plot and character than this...

Hmmm...not sure which I fall into. It's on my TBR shelf vying with some pretty heavy competition...

Well, please let me know what you think! I thought it a bit far-fetched and coincidental, without enough "heart" to justify the absurdity at the core - but plenty of critics loved it, so if you did I would relish a conversation :)

I love weird stuff that is just outside the realm of plausible. It's fiction after all. The reviews on Amazon seemed positive and I absolutely love the premise; the whole mysterious manuscript unearthed and annotated by a scholarly dude. That's kind of fun. I just might move this to the top of my TBR pile. : )

Well, I can never get enough of Victorian pastiche so I gave the next Michael Cox, The Glass of Time, a try - it's all quite predictable (especially if you read his last book) but again delivered all the Victorian cultural insight and detail I love.

One of those books where I'd feel bad giving it a thumbs-down (I found it likeable) but can't really recommend to anyone who doesn't have a thing for the Victorian era.

Thanks for the head's up. I've been meaning to pick up the 2nd book, but haven't. Liked the first one well enough, but not a big Victorian fan so if the 2nd is lousy, I'll pass. Is G in it at all?

I have The Glass of Time on my shelf to read as well. I just recently read The Meaning of Night. I really enjoyed it, but I agree with the assessments above- that it was more atmospheric than plot-driven. But I think that's what most Victorian era novels are, in my opinion. And I think Cox got the period detail down pretty well. Not sure when I'll pick the sequel up. I hear there is a third book in the works?