Edward G.
kickbox
“Devil’s Sonata” (Attica Books, July 2011) is the most recent novel by romance author Elizabeth Edmondson (AKA Elizabeth Aston). It’s the story of Zuleika Rathbone (I can’t pronounce her first name either.), a neuroscientist and historian who for whatever reason chooses to research witchcraft, ghosts, and other unscientific creations.
Zuleika goes to ‘Beauregard,’ a boarding school named after the family that has owned the property for centuries. She goes there to translate an ancient book of spells that turned up during renovations on the chapel thereat. In the beginning one is led to believe this is what the story is all about, but one soon finds that it is not.
Instead, on her first day at the school, Zuleika uncovers an old violin. It’s an evil-looking instrument, and a shy girl named Arabella Mort, a music student at the school, ends up playing it. When Arabella plays the violin it possesses her and changes her into a mean, self-indulgent, arrogant, but really talented violinist. How that makes her any different from the other mean, self-indulgent, arrogant and really talented kids who go to this private school is part of the mystery I suppose.
Nevertheless, as the story progresses Zuleika as the main character begins to fade into the background and becomes lost in a haze of other sub-characters. Arabella, on the other hand, becomes the most interesting thing happening in this otherwise tepid work of fiction.
The paper version of this book is 544 pages long, but most of it contains the banal gossiping conversations of the minor characters about any and all things irrelevant. One ends up speed-reading just to get to any part or gossip that deals with Arabella.
Truth is the character of Arabella splits the story in two. On one hand there’s the gossiping tripe of all the other characters; on the other is whatever Arabella is doing at the moment, be that seducing someone, scaring someone, or giving someone the creeps. Unlike most demon-possessed teenagers, she never really does anything to anyone; she just bothers people with her personality.
At some point the author must have just given up, because she abruptly ends the story with an epilogue wherein all the loose ends regarding the mystery of the school, its background, the book of spells, the violin, etc. are snipped off and tied up by one of the characters reading an ancient letter written by an evil artist who once worked at the school centuries before. Even the fate of Arabella and the disposition of the violin are dealt with in a quick summation.
Everything may be technically correct about this book. The writing, editing, formatting, and cover art are all impeccable, but the story could have been improved if the main character focus had been on Arabella, who essentially steals the show anyway. As it turns out there’s no focus on any particular character, and this results in a muddled composition the writer has to ultimately euthanize.
“Devil’s Sonata” is available now through Kindle Books, and the paperback is due out in November. If one likes slow-paced, conservative, BBC-type television drama where all the characters speak with perfect wit and constrained yet palpable attitude, then “Devil’s Sonata” is the book to read. No real violence, no real gore, no real sex, very little swearing, and a lot of boring conversation, but it does have a possessed girl with long red hair, piercing green eyes, and a penchant for playing the violin like a devil.
Zuleika goes to ‘Beauregard,’ a boarding school named after the family that has owned the property for centuries. She goes there to translate an ancient book of spells that turned up during renovations on the chapel thereat. In the beginning one is led to believe this is what the story is all about, but one soon finds that it is not.
Instead, on her first day at the school, Zuleika uncovers an old violin. It’s an evil-looking instrument, and a shy girl named Arabella Mort, a music student at the school, ends up playing it. When Arabella plays the violin it possesses her and changes her into a mean, self-indulgent, arrogant, but really talented violinist. How that makes her any different from the other mean, self-indulgent, arrogant and really talented kids who go to this private school is part of the mystery I suppose.
Nevertheless, as the story progresses Zuleika as the main character begins to fade into the background and becomes lost in a haze of other sub-characters. Arabella, on the other hand, becomes the most interesting thing happening in this otherwise tepid work of fiction.
The paper version of this book is 544 pages long, but most of it contains the banal gossiping conversations of the minor characters about any and all things irrelevant. One ends up speed-reading just to get to any part or gossip that deals with Arabella.
Truth is the character of Arabella splits the story in two. On one hand there’s the gossiping tripe of all the other characters; on the other is whatever Arabella is doing at the moment, be that seducing someone, scaring someone, or giving someone the creeps. Unlike most demon-possessed teenagers, she never really does anything to anyone; she just bothers people with her personality.
At some point the author must have just given up, because she abruptly ends the story with an epilogue wherein all the loose ends regarding the mystery of the school, its background, the book of spells, the violin, etc. are snipped off and tied up by one of the characters reading an ancient letter written by an evil artist who once worked at the school centuries before. Even the fate of Arabella and the disposition of the violin are dealt with in a quick summation.
Everything may be technically correct about this book. The writing, editing, formatting, and cover art are all impeccable, but the story could have been improved if the main character focus had been on Arabella, who essentially steals the show anyway. As it turns out there’s no focus on any particular character, and this results in a muddled composition the writer has to ultimately euthanize.
“Devil’s Sonata” is available now through Kindle Books, and the paperback is due out in November. If one likes slow-paced, conservative, BBC-type television drama where all the characters speak with perfect wit and constrained yet palpable attitude, then “Devil’s Sonata” is the book to read. No real violence, no real gore, no real sex, very little swearing, and a lot of boring conversation, but it does have a possessed girl with long red hair, piercing green eyes, and a penchant for playing the violin like a devil.