Night Music: Nocturnes Volume Two
Written by John Connolly
Narrated by Gareth Armstrong, Jeff Harding, Penelope Rawlins and Luke Thompson
4/5
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About this audiobook
A decade after Nocturnes first terrified and delighted readers, John Connolly, bestselling author of thirteen acclaimed thrillers featuring private investigator Charlie Parker, gives us a second volume of tales of the supernatural. From stories of the monstrous for dark winter nights to fables of fantastic libraries and haunted books, from a tender account of love after death to a frank, personal, and revealing account of the author's affection for myths of ghosts and demons, this is a collection that will surprise, delight—and terrify.
Night Music: Nocturnes 2 also contains two novellas: the multi-award-winning The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository and The Fractured Atlas.
Night Music: Nocturnes 2 is a masterly collection to be read with the lights on—menace has never been so seductive.
John Connolly
John Connolly is the author of the #1 internationally bestselling Charlie Parker thrillers series, The Book of Lost Things and its sequel The Land of Lost Things, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, see his website at JohnConnollyBooks.com, or follow him on Twitter @JConnollyBooks.
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Reviews for Night Music
48 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I liked this better than the last Nocturnes volume.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Night Music: Nocturnes Volume Two is an unbelievably wonderful collection of tales from a master.
The only other short form John Connolly story I've read is The Wanderer in Unknown Realms, which I loved. Turns out that's part of a larger narrative: The Fractured Atlas-Five Fragments. This is a group of 5 tales of varying lengths involving an ancient, evil text. Who doesn't love a good story about an evil book? And here, there's 5, (count them, 5!),and they are simply delicious.
Two of the other stories here are connected: The Caxton Private Lending Library and Book Depository and Holmes on the Range: A Tale of the Caxton Private Library and Book Depository. These are killer pieces about characters in books coming to life and in what type of places they reside. I want to go there for a nice long visit.
One of the reasons this collection is so perfect for me is all these stories about books. And book lovers. And book characters. And evil books. I can't resist!
Plus, Connolly's characterization and writing are beyond compare. I loved this passage from the story The Wander in Unknown Realms :
"There was a benignity to him that I liked, a happy disengagement from the futilities and ugliness of life's toil that one encountered in those who had discovered a way to take something for which they had only love and gratitude, and make it their means of support."
Ain't that the truth?
This was a lovely, dark collection. It ends with a sort of autobiographical essay called I Live Here ,which was enjoyable and included insights into John Connolly's boyhood experiences with horror fiction and movies.
I found every story in this volume worthy of my attention and I can't say enough good things about it. My highest recommendation!
*Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. This is my honest review.* - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a brilliant book. I particularly liked the Sherlock Holmes story and John Connolly’s essay at the end of the book gives a good insight into the authors favorite horror/mystery writers. This collection of short stories also gives a background to Quayle and the Fractured Atlas. I found it very Lovecraftian tale and adds to the Charlie Parker series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the second volume of John Connolly's anthology of short fiction (eleven short stories and two novellas), all with a supernatural theme. While I enjoyed some of them, and was perturbed (or left somewhat puzzled) by others, I felt they lacked the breathtaking intensity of the first volume. Still, even a slightly better than mediocre Connolly is better than a lot of authors' top quality.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With his delicate and slightly chilling prose, John Connolly is a writer of distinction, best known for his beyond-excellent Charlie Parker series where excitement, melancholy and belly laughs make for a thrilling read.That Connolly is also a dab hand at the short story is proved by this, his second volume of tales that are magical, unsettling, supernatural and funny – but never quite horrifying. Take Lazarus whom, although raised from the dead by Jesus, is not really alive; or the Caxton Private Lending Library and Book Depository where famous literary characters go when their original creator dies – imagine what happens when the resurrected Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty meet? And then there is the little Irish girl who can perform miracles: her parents are delighted to welcome Vatican investigators - even if they do arrive a day early - never verifying that these are priests, not something more sinister.A superb collection for readers who prefer having their imaginations stimulated rather than their spines tingled.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Night Music: Nocturnes, Vol. 2 is the second story collection by author John Connolly. Connolly is one of my favourite writers and this collection is a good example of why. The range and diversity of these stories guarantees that there is a little something something for anyone with a love of all things supernatural from the creepy horror of “Razorshins” to the sweet sadness of “A Haunting”. It contains 12 stories and novellas and, as in any collection of stories, I Iiked some better than others. My favourite is the novella “The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository”. In this wonderfully imaginative tale, after authors die, their characters, at least those that have become part of our collective consciousness like Anna Karenina or Dracula, move into a hidden library in the British countryside. This august establishment plays a role in another story, “Holmes on the Range” which is a rather quirky tale about the possible consequences of an author killing off a beloved character and later bringing him back to life. The book ends with a fascinating and often laugh-out-loud essay titled “I Live Here” in which Connolly discusses the writers and books that influenced his own writing… among other things including his definitely not-stalking of Stephen King. If you’re a fan of the supernatural or just good writing and are looking for something that you can read at your leisure at this busy time of year, this may be the perfect solution although, warning, you may find yourself so engrossed in this collection you may forget to put it down to get back to those other things.