Jonathan Barnes' The Somnambulist

The Somnambulist is the debut novel from British author Jonathan Barnes. Set in Victorian England, The Somnambulist is a melange of styles: the detective novel, historical fiction, occult thriller, dark fantasy. When a string of bizarre murders take place in 19th century London, Edward Moon, fading stage magician and detective, and his mysterious, silent sidekick known only as The Somnambulist, find themselves energized once again. For the first third of the book, Barnes creates a masterful and creepy atmosphere involving secret societies, traveling freak-shows, and the various social strata of historic London.

As the mysteries begin to unfold, leading to even more tightly-coiled mysteries (including the central one re-creating the apocalyptic prophecies of poet/philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Barnes starts to lose control of his lovely creation. In fact, halfway through the novel, I suddenly felt I was reading a satire or parody of the far superior work I had been reading 25 pages previous. Barnes manages to regain some control of the fantastic plot as he nears the conclusion, but a late-added element, almost a deus ex machina, threatens to tear it all down again. Ultimately striving for a Neil Gaimanesque dark fantasy, The Somnambulist misses more than it hits, but judging from the first third of this tale, there's some real talent there.