书名:The Book Eaters
作者:[英] Sunyi Dean
标签:英语、都市奇幻、新书
小说是十几年前和现在的双线结构,同一个女主角Devon。十几年前,这个食书族共有六个家族,分别隐居在英国几个偏僻的角落;而现在,主角带着儿子隐居在都市里。因为他儿子患有一种食书族的罕见病,不能吃书,只能吃human mind,她一边寻找解药、一边引诱人上门喂儿子…… 虽是作者的首部长篇,但她把双线处理得相当专业,既不晦涩,也没有向闪回线剧透——现实线反而给闪回线增加了不少巧妙的悬念。
“The Book Eaters” is the debut fantasy novel by Sunyi, an accomplished SF&F short story writer in UK.
According to the extended preview prior to the release, the premise is intriguing with a hint of dark humor, not unlike the urban fantasy by Neil Gaiman. The heroine, Devon, is a fugitive from a rare species who feeds on books rather than regular food (thus the name). Nowadays only six manors remain of this Book Eater species in UK, all located in desolate areas. Devon opts to live secretly in an urban area, because her son is born with a rare illness rendering him unable to eat books but having to feast on human minds. Devon lures victims for his son while looking desperately for the antidote, a now-lost medicine called Redemption.
The fantasy unfolds in two storylines, alternating between the present time and a series of flashbacks of Devon’s early years. This structure is not exactly unheard of, but it requires a masterful handling to avoid either being overly obscure or the present time spoiling too much to the flashbacks. And Sunyi delivers the story just that professionally, the occasional present time revelations actually adding suspense into the flashbacks rather than spoiling the latter.
This mixture of urban fantasy, fairy tale and noir features princesses, knights, dragons and manors in a contemporary UK intricately.
part 1 这一段太有意思了,忍不住翻译了一下:
“他现在能像你我一样吃书了。不过,没有书齿,他啃起封皮来会很艰难。建议你给他吃印刷或者手写的书页,他一样可以从中吸收信息,就不用吸食人脑了。他写字的本领仍然保留,这点他会比普通的食书族强。但别让他吃他自己写的东西,不然会反胃的。
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FROM 101.86.0.*