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Jonathan Barnes (2) (1979–)

Autor(a) de The Somnambulist

Para outros autores com o nome Jonathan Barnes, veja a página de desambiguação.

29+ Works 1,852 Membros 157 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Jonathan Barnes has a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Sussex. He has been writing since the age of 21 and under a pseudonym has published four novels. He cam across the Bates method in 1983 and, as a wearer of glasses himself, decided to investigate it from a biologist's mostrar mais viewpoint. He found it logical and consistent, and since practising it has been able to improve his eyesight and discard his glasses. (Bowker Author Biography) mostrar menos

Séries

Obras de Jonathan Barnes

The Somnambulist (2007) 1,330 cópias
The Domino Men (2008) 357 cópias
Cannonbridge (2015) 67 cópias
Persuasion (2013) — Autor — 16 cópias
Shadow of the Daleks 2 (2020) — Autor — 7 cópias
The Crown (2020) 4 cópias
Silver and Ice (2022) — Autor — 4 cópias
The First Doctor Adventures, Volume Four (2020) — Autor — 3 cópias
Dracula's Guests (2020) 2 cópias
Dracula's War: 3 (2020) 2 cópias
The Empire Man (2022) — Autor — 2 cópias
Fever island 1 exemplar(es)
Operation Hellfire 1 exemplar(es)

Associated Works

1001 Nights (2012) — Contribuinte — 20 cópias
Jago & Litefoot: Series Thirteen (2017) — Contribuinte — 5 cópias
Jago & Litefoot Forever (2018) — Contribuinte — 4 cópias

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1979
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
UK
Locais de residência
London, England, UK
Educação
Oxford University
Ocupação
novelist
Pequena biografia
Jonathan Barnes (2) graduated from Oxford University with a first in English literature. He reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and lives in London.

Membros

Resenhas

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really didn't like this book, which makes me feel bad, because I really wanted to. That, and I hate writing negative reviews. I am NOT happy about this, people. But that may be the subject of another post. Someday. Maybe. For now, I'll just go on being unhappy about this situation.

So, anyways, back to the book. I went in thinking it would be a mystery/thriller about a literary hoax. Here I was, expecting a fast-paced, exciting journey across England as our insightful academic searches for clues to uncover the secret of Matthew Cannonbridge and how he got to be England's most famous author. Great story, right? Well, not quite. Turns out, there's a whole lot of supernatural forces involved in the creation of Cannonbridge. Now, I don't usually have a problem with the presence of supernatural elements in a story. In fact, most of the time, I quite like it. But in order for that to happen, I have to understand what is happening. With this book, I just went from confused to more confused. I just could not make sense of what was happening, and that really frustrated me. Of course, that may just be me, and someone else reading it could actually make sense of the whole thing much better than I did.

The characters were also very unrelatable and generally unlikeable. The story jumped back and forth between the modern day, where Toby Judd starts his investigation into Cannonbridge, and the past, where Cannonbridge himself goes on to meet a wide variety of important authors, like Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. I was actually quite intrigued by this idea, of seeing the hoax take place while at the same time following the present-day investigation. That was back when I thought this story revolved around a hoax. As the story progressed, I started to doubt the usefulness of this device, and actually became very annoyed with it at one point. My excitement at the idea that we would see Cannonbridge influence the greats of English literature just vanished, as I felt these chapters to read more like an endless parade of big names with almost no very little weight on the story. The characters' motivations, and even most of their actions, made very little sense to me, and I had a very hard time seeing where they were coming from.

Even though this wasn't a long book (less than 300 pages), I found it extremely difficult to go through with it. I actually considered DNFing at several points, but just kept going hoping that it would get better later on, or that it would have a wonderful conclusion that would just blow my mind. It didn't. I was left just as disappointed at the ending as I had been throughout the whole read. I was really sorry about this, because this book had so much potential. But, for me, it failed. It failed as a thriller and it failed as a supernatural. I wasn't thrilled at all! I was just bored for the most part, and confused for the rest. Now, I'm glad I finished it, and I'm ready to move on.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
bookforthought | outras 10 resenhas | Nov 7, 2023 |
I liked the first book but I really liked this one. The book didn't seem to get away from him at the end (I thought the last one did). I really like the style, it feels like a modern gothic. I can't wait to see what he does next.
 
Marcado
cdaley | outras 23 resenhas | Nov 2, 2023 |
Something has gone wrong with history in this gripping novel about a lie planted among the greatest works of English fiction.

Flamboyant, charismatic Matthew Cannonbridge was touched by genius, the most influential creative mind of the 19th century, a prolific novelist, accomplished playwright, the poet of his generation. The only problem is, he should never have existed and beleaguered, provincial, recently-divorced 21st Century don Toby Judd is the only person to realise something has gone wrong with history.

All the world was Cannonbridge’s and he possessed, seemingly, the ability to be everywhere at once. Cannonbridge was there that night by Lake Geneva when conversation between Byron, Shelley and Mary Godwin turned to stories of horror and the supernatural. He was sole ally, confidante and friend to the young Dickens as Charles laboured without respite in the blacking factory. He was the only man of standing and renown to regularly visit Oscar Wilde in prison. Tennyson's drinking companion, Kipling's best friend, Robert Louis Stevenson's counsellor and guide - Cannonbridge's extraordinary life and career spanned a century, earning him a richly-deserved place in the English canon.

But as bibliophiles everywhere prepare to toast the bicentenary of the publication of Cannonbridge's most celebrated work, Judd's discovery will lead him on a breakneck chase across the English canon and countryside, to the realisation that the spectre of Matthew Cannonbridge, planted so seamlessly into the heart of the 19th Century, might not be so dead and buried after all...

From Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Matthew Cannonbridge appears to be at every significant moment, or interacting with every significant literary character in the 19th Century. He arrives in the Italian Villa on a dark and stormy night as Byron and the Shelleys are telling each other ghost stories. He meets Charles Dickens as a young child in the blacking factory. He is a suspect in the Ripper slayings. He talks to Marx whilst the latter is on holiday. Many years after their first meeting, he attempts to fund Charles Dickens' tours, only for Dickens to ask his friend Wilkie Collins to return the money. Each time we encounter Cannonbridge, we learn a little more, and each time is a little more disturbing. Cannonbridge has massive blackouts, has no idea when or where he is, and each encounter shows him to be a little more deranged and threatening.

All these touch points are interspersed with the "now" and Dr Toby Judd who is a middle ranking unexciting professor with some experience in Cannonbridge. However, at the start of the book he loses his wife to J.J. Salazar (the Cannonbridge scholar who ends up with the book, the publicity and the girl), and Judd is on a descent into hell. He believes that Cannonbridge is too neat a character, and must have been invented by a much later - and very talented - scholar. After a very public breakdown and a video of the lecture is loaded to youtube and goes viral - a policeman advises him to get away as he is in danger. Less than 24 hours later, the policeman is dead, and Judd is on the run.

Judd hooks up with a waitress - Gabrielle - who inexplicably believes him and she goes on the run with him. Unbeknownst to him, she is also ex-army, a fact that comes in useful when things (and killers) start catching up with the pair of them.

Judd's travels take him to a small island off Scotland, where he makes a disturbing discovery that underpins and ultimately proves his theories. Unfortunately he is found by his pursuers, and is returned to London in time for the bicentennial party on the banks of the Thames, the site of Cannonbridge's death by drowning. However things don't exactly go according to plan, and it comes down to a near broken Judd to face off against the nightmare that has been a long time coming (I am trying to avoid too many spoilers!).

As the narrative changed between timeperiods there was a change in writing style, with the earlier writings being much more Gothic, flowery and melodramatic. The modern period was written in a much crisper, shorter style. The significance of the island wasnt over-egged and the importance of Reynolds bank and the generational support was suitably threatening.

Smallish issue (but big enough to mention): Whilst the majority of the formatting was decent, there was "issues" at chapter and narrative breaks where the font suddenly changed, or the tExT weNT A bIt PeCuliar.

Author website

Jonathan Barnes is the author of two novels, The Somnambulist and The Domino Men. Cannonbridge is his third novel. He contributes regularly to the Times Literary Supplement and the Literary Review and is the author of several scripts for Big Finish Productions. He is currently writer-in-residence at Kingston University
… (mais)
 
Marcado
nordie | outras 10 resenhas | Oct 14, 2023 |
One day Toby Judd realize that something is wrong with history; Matthew Cannonbridge, the novelist should never have existed. Now he must find out the truth about Matthew Cannonbridge whilst being chased throughout the country.

After a bit of a slow start, the story in this book really took off. The mystery of whom or what Matthew Cannonbridge was really made this book exciting to read and made this book into a real page turner and the ending were interesting and peculiar (I think I have it figured out at least). Although the last couple of pages, when something was revealed wasn't really a surprise, I saw that coming. I liked the jump between the past and the present, it was interesting to follow Toby Judd in the present trying to figure out the truth about Matthew Cannonbridge, while in the past famous authors like Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde encounter Matthew Cannonbridge and often these famous authors sense that something is wrong with him. But what? Who is he? Read and find out...

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
… (mais)
 
Marcado
MaraBlaise | outras 10 resenhas | Jul 23, 2022 |

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Richard Sorabji Editor, Contributor
R. M. Hare Contributor
Porphyry Author
Richard Fletcher Contributor
R. J. Hankinson Contributor
Stephen Everson Contributor
C. C. W. Taylor Contributor
David Sedley Contributor
Michael Frede Contributor
D. S. Hutchinson Contributor
Robin Smith Contributor
Jacques Brunschwig Contributor
Brad Inwood Contributor
Ken Bentley Director
Julia Annas Contributor
A. A. Long Contributor
Mario Mignucci Contributor
Pierluigi Donini Contributor
David Furley Contributor
Elizabeth Asmis Contributor
Susanne Bobzien Contributor
Michael Erler Contributor
Giuseppe Cambiano Contributor
Tiziano Dorandi Contributor
Julian Barnes Foreword
Gisela Striker Contributor
Claude Imbert Contributor
Nicholas Briggs Performer, Narrator
D.P. Fowler Contributor
Elizabeth Rawson Contributor
Joe Meiners Composer
Tracey Childs Narrator
Gemma Whelan Narrator
David Sibley Narrator
P. A. Brunt Contributor
Paul Chahidi Narrator
I.G. Kidd Contributor
Keimpe Algra Contributor
Lisa Bowerman Director
Rowena Cooper Performer
Andrew Lintott Contributor
Thomas Tarver Contributor
Maddalena Bonelli Contributor
Fergus Millar Contributor
Benjamin Morison Contributor
Peter Davison Narrator
Simon Swain Contributor
Simon Holub Cover Design
Dervla Kirwan Narrator
Blair Mowat Composer
Anthony Lamb Cover artist
Lee Binding Cover Art
Thomas Bénatouïl Contributor
Richard Earl Performer
Suzanne Husson Contributor
Anthony A. Long Contributor
Paolo Crivelli Contributor
Clive Sweeting Contributor
Jemma Powell Performer
David Tennant Narrator
Tom Webster Cover Art
Howard Carter Composer
Albert Stepanyan Contributor
Sen Arevshatyan Contributor
Gohar Muradyan Contributor
Michael Papazian Contributor
Neve McIntosh Narrator
Aram Topchyan Contributor
Dan Starkey Narrator
David Bradley Performer
Jamie Glover Performer
Claudia Grant Performer
Philip Atkins Cover artist
Biggy Winter Translator
Erik Mohr; Cover artist

Estatísticas

Obras
29
Also by
6
Membros
1,852
Popularidade
#13,892
Avaliação
½ 3.3
Resenhas
157
ISBNs
198
Idiomas
13
Favorito
2

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