Tales of Noreela 04: The Island
Read Tales of Noreela 04: The Island Online
Authors: Tim Lebbon
| Tales of Noreela 04: The Island | |
| Tales of Noreela Series [5] | |
| Tim Lebbon | |
| Random House, Inc. (2009) | |
| Rating: | **** |
The worst has come and one man must rise to lead the fight against it. . . .
*He thought he’d seen the worst . . .
*No one knew about the Strangers from beyond Noreela, and it was the Core’s job to make sure it stayed that way. Kel Boon was once an agent of the land’s most secret organization, tracking, observing, and eliminating the Strangers as part of an elite Core team. But then one horrifying encounter left his superior officer—and lover—dead, along with many innocents. And Kel has been running ever since.
*But the worst was still to come. . . .
*Forsaking magic, living as a simple wood-carver, Kel came to the fishing village of Pavmouth Breaks to hide. But when a mysterious island appears out to sea during a cataclysmic storm, sending tidal waves to smash the village, his Core training tells him to expect the worst. How can he warn the surviving villagers—especially the beautiful young witch Namior—that the visitors sailing in from the island may not be the peace-loving pilgrims they claim to be? That this might be the invasion the Core has feared all along . . . and that he, Kel Boon, may be Noreela’s last chance?
Praise for the Novels of Tim Lebbon“Tim Lebbon displays the sort of cool irony and uncanny mood-making that drive the best
Twilight Zone
stories.”—
New York Times Book Review“Tim Lebbon is a master of fantasy and horror, and his visions make for disturbing and compelling reading.”
—Douglas Clegg
“Tim Lebbon is an immense talent and he’s become a new favourite. He has a style and approach unique to the genre.”
—Joe R. Lansdale
“A firm and confident style, with elements of early Clive Barker.”—Phil Rickman “Tim Lebbon is an apocalyptic visionary—a prophet of blood and fear.”
—Mark Chadbourn
“One of the most powerful new voices to come along in the genre … Lebbon’s work is infused with the contemporary realism of Stephen King and the lyricism of Ray Bradbury.”
—
Fangoria“Beautifully written and mysterious… a real winner!”
—Richard Laymon
“Lebbon will reward the careful reader with insights as well as gooseflesh.”
—
Publishers Weekly“Lebbon is among the most inventive and original contemporary writers of the dark fantastic.”
—Ramsey Campbell
“Lebbon is quite simply the most exciting new name in horror for years.”
—
SFX“Tim Lebbon is one of the most exciting and original talents on the horror scene.”
—Graham Joyce
DUSK
Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel, 2006“Lebbon has a way of throwing staggering images at you which you almost have to pause and think about before you can fully grasp. This is fantasy for grown-ups—and the ending made my jaw drop. This is an excellent book, and I would not say that unless I meant it.”
—Paul Kearney
“Dusk
is a deliciously dark and daring fantasy novel, proof of a startling imagination at work. Lebbon’s writing is a twisted spiral of cunning, compassion, and cruelty.”—Christopher Golden
“An exquisitely written, unique world is revealed in this novel, a world inhabited by flesh-and-blood people rendered with often brutal honesty and clarity of vision. It’s rare indeed to witness the conventions of fantasy so thoroughly grabbed by the throat and shaken awake the way Tim Lebbon has done with
Dusk
. Even more enticing, this first novel in the series concludes with a jaw-dropping finale, and for what it’s worth, such a reaction from me is not a common occurrence.”—Steven Erikson
“A gripping and visceral dark fantasy of five fugitives in flight from terrifying pursuers through a decaying world brutalized by the Cataclysmic War. In
Dusk
, Tim Lebbon has etched a powerful new version/telling of the traditional magical quest whose tortured twists and turns will (alternately) disturb and electrify its readers.”—Sarah Ash
“Dusk
is dark, twisted, and visceral, with a
very
shocking sting in the tail—the perfect jolt for anyone jaded by the creaking shelves of cuddly, rent-an-elf fantasy. Tim Lebbon is an important new voice in the fantasy field. Bring on the night!”—Mark Chadbourn
“Tim Lebbon writes with a pen dipped in the dark stuff of nightmare. The world he creates is eerie, brutal, and complex, and the story abounds with action and menace.”
—K. J. Bishop
“Totally original. I’ve never read anything like it…. New wonders at every turn … One might subtitle it ‘A Riveting Work of Staggering Imagination.’”
—F. Paul Wilson
“A compelling, if harrowing, read. I was hooked straightaway. It is dark, nasty, and visceral and yet a real page-turner…. I found shades of Cook and Erikson here in the book’s violence, Miéville in its contemporary weirdness, and perhaps most strongly Paul Kearney here, in that combination of horror, decay, and squalor, though Lebbon is clearly his own voice. His proficiency as a writer means that in the end the style of the story wins through to create a book which is imaginative and memorable, and if you can handle it, definitely worth reading.”
“Well-drawn characters and a literate way with the grisly distinguish this first of a new fantasy series from Stoker winner Lebbon…. Many of the well-handled action scenes are from the bad guys’ point of view, an unusual perspective that helps round out the author’s fantasy world. The climactic battle, a variation on the classic raising of the dead, offers an ambiguous outcome that presumably will be resolved in the sequel.”
—
Publishers Weekly“Dark, gripping swords-and-sorcery noir… Lebbon’s medieval world is well-developed…. The bleak tone and setting, which includes drugs and whores aplenty, counterpoint with dark effectiveness those fantasies that focus on highborn royalty and knights in shining armor. If any armor shines here, it’s because it’s covered in blood. A promising departure for horror novelist Lebbon.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Bram Stoker Award–winning Lebbon begins a new series with a coming-of-age tale featuring a sharp-witted, youthful hero and a group of unlikely allies that includes a thief, a warrior, and a witch. Engaging storytelling and a solid backstory make this a good choice for most fantasy collections.”
—
Library Journal“Lebbon is an author so skilled he definitely belongs on auto-buy…. His prose is alternately poetic and flesh-slicingly real. His characters always strike a nerve and have the sort of heft that makes you feel as if you might have met them or the real people they were based upon—even if they were not in fact based on real people. And finally, for me the killer, Lebbon’s novels offer places you can go back and visit…. [
Dusk
] will cut deeply, without remorse.”—
Agony Column“Incredibly good … a masterful job
… Dusk
is a great read and another reason for me to point to Tim Lebbon as one of the most talented authors working today. Though it may be billed as a fantasy book, the trappings that come along with that label are all but naught here, and a world is created that I know I want to hear more from as soon as possible.”—The Horror Channel
“A riveting adult fantasy.”
—
Rocky Mountain News“The exhilarating story line paints a dark, gloomy Poe-like atmosphere throughout, especially when the adversaries take center stage. The key characters, in particular the teen and his champions, are unique individuals that make their realm seem even more nightmarishly real. Tim Lebbon paints the darkest
Dusk
that will have readers keeping the lights on until dawn breaks.”—
Midwest Book Review“I’ve come to admire Lebbon’s masterful blend of beauty with the horrific…. This stunningly visualized fantasy is beautiful, gripping, and delivers an unexpected emotional blow at the end … [a] wondrous and frightening tale of magic’s demise and the impenetrable human spirit.”
—
TalebonesDAWN
“A terrific horror fantasy… The story line is action-packed and filled with the usual creative war gadgetry that keeps Tim Lebbon tales fresh…. A superior tale.”
“This sequel to
Dusk
again demonstrates Bram Stoker Award winner Lebbon’s consummate talent for viscerally visual fantasy [with] strong and unusual characters and a plot of epic proportions.”—
Library Journal“The relentless imagination and evocative prose that made
Dusk
such a thrilling read are still in evidence…. Lebbon has shaken up high fantasy with his duology, and it was a pleasure to read.”FALLEN
“Stoker winner Lebbon successfully combines quest adventure and horror in this gripping and disturbing tale…. Lebbon creates vivid and convincing major and minor characters, places and creatures, blending wonder and nightmare in this dark and memorable novel.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)“The joy of reading one of Tim Lebbon’s Noreela tales is discovering what new surprises the author has conjured up.…The ending is just mind-blowing… shocking, tragic, and haunting
…. Fallen
is just another outstanding addition to the Noreela mythos, and every time I visit this terrifying yet fascinating world, the harder it becomes to tear myself away.”
ALSO BY TIM LEBBON
NOVELS
Bar None
Fallen
Dawn
Dusk
Hellboy: Unnatural Selection
Mesmer
The Nature of Balance
Hush
(with Gavin Williams)
Face
Until She Sleeps
Desolation
Berserk
30 Days of Night
Mind the Gap
(with Christopher Golden)
The Map of Moments
(with Christopher Golden)
The EverlastingNOVELLAS
White
Naming of Parts
Changing of Faces
Exorcising Angels
(with Simon Clark)
Dead Man’s Hand
Pieces of Hate
A Whisper of Southern Lights
The Reach of ChildrenCOLLECTIONS
Faith in the Flesh
As the Sun Goes Down
White and Other Tales of Ruin
Fears Unnamed
Last Exit for the Lost
After the War