Official Review: Daedalian Muse by Jamie Crothall
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jhollan2
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Official Review: Daedalian Muse by Jamie Crothall
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Daedalian Muse" by Jamie Crothall.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Jamie Crothall’s novel, Daedalian Muse, is the story of Tempus Fugit, a paranormal investigator who is out of time, in more ways than one. After the death of his father, he attempts to continue their work, using the scientific method to investigate hauntings and other phenomena across England. He is a skeptic, always able to debunk the superstition surrounding his cases and discover the rational explanation and logical solution to any problem. A classically educated man, Tempus is familiar with the works of Pythagoras, Galileo, and Kepler, but is baffled by the modern world of wonders like the laptop, the internet, and the digital camera.
Arriving in Greyfield with little money and fewer prospects, he soon discovers a mystery there and is put on the case by the Mayor’s Office. The Mews, an abandoned shell of a building that burned down long ago, are scheduled to be leveled and built over in the name of progress. As demolition gets underway, local superstitions once again blossom when accidents and ghost sightings disrupt the workers. It isn’t long before people start to die. Tempus stumbles upon much more than he bargained for in the Mews and what comes to light makes him question everything he thought he knew about the laws of time, human belief, and his own convictions.
Crothall has created a novel that will resonate with fans of British horror films like The Woman in Black and The Awakening. It is set in a small English town built on the remains of another village which burned to the ground, leaving no survivors. Greyfield is complete with its own haunted ruins and ghost stories, but the truth of the phenomena is stranger still. The surprising twist ending brought to mind the Gothic horror tales of Edgar Allen Poe, merging the supernatural with the detective story.
As a self-published free e-book, Daedalian Muse is slightly unpolished and has more than a few typos, but that is to be expected. The language is oddly archaic and stilted in the beginning, and it takes a while for the narrator’s voice to become fluid. From the word choices to the descriptions, any reader would assume that the book is taking place in the early 20th century at the latest, so the discovery that it is meant to be a modern day tale is a surprise.
Despite some flaws, I am giving Daedalian Muse a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It is a well written, intriguing story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Tempus is a brilliant but charmingly naive narrator who will take anyone looking for a quick, quirky read on a journey they will not soon forget.
******
Daedalian Muse
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4 out of 4 stars
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Jamie Crothall’s novel, Daedalian Muse, is the story of Tempus Fugit, a paranormal investigator who is out of time, in more ways than one. After the death of his father, he attempts to continue their work, using the scientific method to investigate hauntings and other phenomena across England. He is a skeptic, always able to debunk the superstition surrounding his cases and discover the rational explanation and logical solution to any problem. A classically educated man, Tempus is familiar with the works of Pythagoras, Galileo, and Kepler, but is baffled by the modern world of wonders like the laptop, the internet, and the digital camera.
Arriving in Greyfield with little money and fewer prospects, he soon discovers a mystery there and is put on the case by the Mayor’s Office. The Mews, an abandoned shell of a building that burned down long ago, are scheduled to be leveled and built over in the name of progress. As demolition gets underway, local superstitions once again blossom when accidents and ghost sightings disrupt the workers. It isn’t long before people start to die. Tempus stumbles upon much more than he bargained for in the Mews and what comes to light makes him question everything he thought he knew about the laws of time, human belief, and his own convictions.
Crothall has created a novel that will resonate with fans of British horror films like The Woman in Black and The Awakening. It is set in a small English town built on the remains of another village which burned to the ground, leaving no survivors. Greyfield is complete with its own haunted ruins and ghost stories, but the truth of the phenomena is stranger still. The surprising twist ending brought to mind the Gothic horror tales of Edgar Allen Poe, merging the supernatural with the detective story.
As a self-published free e-book, Daedalian Muse is slightly unpolished and has more than a few typos, but that is to be expected. The language is oddly archaic and stilted in the beginning, and it takes a while for the narrator’s voice to become fluid. From the word choices to the descriptions, any reader would assume that the book is taking place in the early 20th century at the latest, so the discovery that it is meant to be a modern day tale is a surprise.
Despite some flaws, I am giving Daedalian Muse a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It is a well written, intriguing story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Tempus is a brilliant but charmingly naive narrator who will take anyone looking for a quick, quirky read on a journey they will not soon forget.
******
Daedalian Muse
View: on Bookshelves
Like jhollan2's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: The Crystilleries of Echoland by Dew Pellucid
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JamieCrothall
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Thanks for the review and feedback! Much appreciated!
