Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards. Book review
TALUS AND THE FROZEN KING by Graham Edwards, Solaris £7.99
Reviewed by Rex Sumner
Synopsis: This is a detective story with a difference. We have the world’s first detective, a story teller named Talus sometime in the Neolithic. He and his friend are travelling to the north to find where the northlight meets the ground, when they encounter a murdered king. At first suspicion falls on the travellers, but rapidly they become trusted to solve the mystery. And a cracking mystery it is too, with Talus observing everything along with his friend Bran, who gropes after him. Of course there is not just the one murder, but several, indeed a war erupts, while in the background there are two, no, four love stories, some very convoluted.
Characterisation: Excellent. Lots of different people, all distinct and interesting. Their foibles and mannerisms exposed beautifully.
Narrative: Most enjoyable, description perfectly fitting in with conversation, good pace, various interesting stone-age methods explained albeit briefly. Lots of extra stories!
Conversation: natural and flows perfectly. Nothing jars, everyone speaks as you would expect.
Overall, this is an excellent book. Very well written. The author says he is a story teller. I would agree, he will keep you glued to the page and reading on to find out whodunnit. I also liked that the book didn’t end on the twist, but closed nicely a chapter later after tying up the loose ends. Most of them.
Marks from me A+, I wouldn’t read it again but will happily read other books by this author.
Recommendation: read it. Great fun, well worth it I’m not particularly into detective/mystery stories, but this was extremely well done and very enjoyable. Putting Sherlock Holmes and Watson into the Stone Age worked for me!