Embers
Originally published in 1942 and now rediscovered to international acclaim, this taut and exquisitely structured novel by the Hungarian master Sandor Marai conjures the melancholy glamour of a decaying empire and the disillusioned wisdom of its last heirs.
In a secluded woodland castle an old General prepares to receive a rare visitor, a man who was once his closest friend but who he has not seen in forty-one years. Over the ensuing hours host and guest will fight a duel of words and silences, accusations and evasions. They will exhume the memory of their friendship and that of the General’s beautiful, long-dead wife. And they will return to the time the three of them last sat together following a hunt in the nearby forest--a hunt in which no game was taken but during which something was lost forever. Embers is a classic of modern European literature, a work whose poignant evocation of the past also seems like a prophetic glimpse into the moral abyss of the present
In a secluded woodland castle an old General prepares to receive a rare visitor, a man who was once his closest friend but who he has not seen in forty-one years. Over the ensuing hours host and guest will fight a duel of words and silences, accusations and evasions. They will exhume the memory of their friendship and that of the General’s beautiful, long-dead wife. And they will return to the time the three of them last sat together following a hunt in the nearby forest--a hunt in which no game was taken but during which something was lost forever. Embers is a classic of modern European literature, a work whose poignant evocation of the past also seems like a prophetic glimpse into the moral abyss of the present
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Community Reviews
This is not a spoiler free review
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
This is not a spoiler free review
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
This is not a spoiler free review
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
"Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters." Based on that blurb, this book caught my attention. Unfortunately it didn't keep it. The writing is good which isn't always a given in some urban fantasies. It is third person from Anya's POV instead of first person that is so popular these days.
The gets off to a good start with the first chapter where we meet Anya on a ghost busting job. That's when we meet Sparky her salamander elemental familiar. Sparky is invisible to most people and he's an intriguing detail to the story.
Anya quickly finds out that the fires she is investigating in her day job are related to a mystical threat. Someone is trying to summon a demon called Sirrush and it turns out that would be bad.
About half way through the book Anya meets the arsonist and would be demon summer and that's when the story starts going down hill. She is trying to stop a murderer intent on summoning a demon to destroy the city. He doesn't deny that he is sacrificing people to this demon. So while her some time boyfriend is lying in a coma she does the sensible thing and has sex with the bad guy.
I think we are supposed to understand that she is drawn to him because they are both the same sort of supernatural being - a lantern which means they are able to consume ghosts. That might work if she was either unsure of the identity of the killer or if he was still only in the planning stage when this happens but he has all ready murdered people when she meets him and he never denies either his actions or intentions. It just makes empathizing with the heroine difficult from that point.
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