Starting in the small Canadian village of Deptford, this trilogy of novels follow the lives of three men whose lives started, or were greatly affected by, that village. The first is Dunstan Ramsay, a relatively unremarkable history professor, looking back over his life to an event that occurred in his tenth year and shaped much that happened to him afterwards. The second is a rich, highly respected lawyer, David Staunton, the son of Ramsay's old friend Boy Staunton. The third is Magnus Eisengrim, the greatest magician in the world, who was also born in Deptford.
These novels aren't the usual sort of thing I would read, and I cannot say that I would have ever come across them if they hadn't been recommended to me. However, they are very good books, and are certainly very well written. The characters are all well-rounded, and interesting. Each has a good story to tell, and each is well told. Throughout each book, there are a number of interesting themes, such as friendship, loyalty, myth and vengeance. They are dealt with skilfully and as each story develops, you see how each character has been shaped by his past.
While I can honestly say that I enjoyed these stories, I have more to say on the negative side than usual, and this is perhaps because I have stepped outside my reading comfort zone. However, I also mainly noticed flaws that I have picked up on (or that others have mentioned) about my own writing.
Firstly, all of the main characters were all incredibly intelligent and self-aware. This in itself is not a flaw, but there were very few characters bought to the fore in the whole story who did not meet this general description, which I feel lost something of the tapestry of life.
Secondly, all of the characters seemed to speak in the same, or very similar, voices. The consistency of tone was very good for the first story, where it was all told in first-person perspective from Ramsay's point of view. However, when all three of the stories were told in the same tone, it became less interesting and lost the characters some of their variety, especially in the third story, where other characters have a lot more to say. This is not to say that the narrative voice was dull; just that the style was a little too consistent between characters.
Thirdly, although I wanted to read on, and was interested in the outcomes of all of the stories, this book was not what I would describe as a page-turner. Usually stories that interest also grab me, to a lesser or greater extent. For the Deptford Trilogy I wanted to read on, but I was not compelled in the same way as for many ripping yarn stories.
However, at no point did I consider stopping reading the book; throughout I wanted to find out what happened, it just took me a lot longer than some books. The first book introduced me to a cast of characters who had enough variety to intrigue (earlier comments notwithstanding). There was also a considerable amount of extraneous knowledge and information dotted around the plot. The second book, especially, taught me a few things that I didn't know, while exploring the life and character of the subject of that novel, David Staunton.
I've thus finished this omnibus with mixed feelings. The threads that pull all three stories together are intriguing and the characters and tales are very strong, and quite believable, even in their most fanciful moments. It was definitely strong literature, very cleverly and well written. However, while the book was entertaining enough, it just wasn't as gripping as I wanted it to be, so I found it took me a very long time to read.
If, like me, you prefer ripping-yarn stories that pull you through on tenter-hooks, and have a plot that grabs you, you may find, like me, that the Deptford trilogy is a surprisingly good read, but not precisely your cup of tea. If, however, you are very much into fictional life-stories and semi-historical fiction, I think that this is a fine example of its kind, and you will probably enjoy it greatly.
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