David Charney

A really good attempt at an epic story. The plot, as the author must have laid it out for himself, is nothing short of brilliant, with a careful layout of characters, some thought into their psychology, and an Oedipean sense of fate in the way that the characters are drawn inevitably into their destinies.

So it's a pity that something went wrong. Did the author get bored with his story? Was he under a deadline? Were the kids always getting under his feet? Because, what's here simply didn't get finished. Too many scenes that could have been drawn out as dialog get nothing more than a simple narrative of what happened and what the characters thought about it. When there is dialog, the lines are expressionless and the character's emotions are explained in the narrative.

So it's a shame. But still worth reading, and I'll have to dig up some more by this author and see if he ever managed to combine his wonderful skill for plot with a set of well-executed scenes.… (altro)