- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (July 1 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765358085
- ISBN-13: 978-0765358080
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 9.9 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #336,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This provocative sequel to acclaimed alternate history Farthing (2006) delves deeper into the intrigue and paranoia of 1940s fascist Great Britain. Denied help from the United States, England negotiated the Farthing Peace with the Nazis to end WWII, surrendering freedom for a narrow kind of safety. Eight years later, Scotland Yard investigators like Inspector Carmichael spend as much time monitoring the activities of gays, Jews and foreigners as they do hunting criminals. Carmichael, outed to his superiors as a homosexual and blackmailed into keeping deadly political secrets, plans to retire after his current case, a bombing at the country house of respected actress Lauria Gilmore. Meanwhile, Viola Lark is preparing for the role of her life as a female Hamlet when she's coerced into a plot to kill the prime minister and Hitler on opening night. World Fantasy Award–winner Walton masterfully illustrates how fear can overwhelm common sense, while leaving hope for a resurgence of popular bravery and an end to dictatorial rule. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“Like meticulously nested Matroyshka dolls, both Farthing and Ha'Penny reveal complex arguments layered in their elegantly structured narratives.” —Sarah Weinman, Los Angeles Times
“A literary Guernica—a top-notch thriller set in a terrified Britain that is all too willing to trade freedom for security, and which gets neither.” —Cory Doctorow on Ha’Penny
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
as brilliant as its predecessor, Oct 22 2007
By Margaret Johnston - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Ha'penny (Hardcover)
I read Farthing last year and thought it was brilliant; Ha'Penny is just as good. Farthing's plot was a country-house mystery; I would call Ha'Penny more of a suspense thriller, and full of suspense it is, right up to the explosive ending.It follows on quite shortly after Farthing: Inspector Carmichael has just come off the Farthing case and has been assigned to a bombing which killed leading actress Lauria Gilmore. Viola Lark has been chosen to act Hamlet in a gender-switching production of the play, in which Gilmore had also been cast until her untimely death. As Carmichael investigates the bombing and ponders retirement from the police force, Viola is drawn into a plot to kill Hitler at the opening night of the play, along with Prime Minister Mark Normanby, the lead figure in the increasingly fascistic government.
As in Farthing, Walton alternates voices chapter by chapter, between Viola's first person and Carmichael's third, and both are equally absorbing; I especially liked the reflections of Viola's mental state in her role as Hamlet, as she wavers about her involvement in the plot and treads the edge of sanity. As England slides further and further into fascism, Walton's alternate history, always convincing, becomes more and more frightening.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging and chilling alternate history., Nov 20 2007
By Brenopa "bsmith376" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Ha'penny (Hardcover)
I read a lot of junk; I'll admit it. But every once and awhile, I have to read something that causes me to think. Ha'penny fits this category. A sequel to Farthing, this alternate history continues that fine book's exploration of what may have happened if the U.S. did NOT help Great Britain during WWII. Profoundly chilling, beautifully written--and challenging, Ha'Penny is a subtle and personal exploration of how individuals in postwar London are affecting by the wave of facism which has reached Britain's shore. Each successive tide strengthens the power of the wave, yet lessens the resistance. British citizens start to accept the unacceptable.The plot is complex; I won't reveal it here. But the resistance features a pitiable, almost laughable combination of military patriots, peers, terrorists and theatre types who try to assassinate the fascist leaders of England and Germany with inept plots, and amateur explosives.
Fascinating. One of the things that amazed me is that I kept rooting for the "wrong" side! Like the protagonist, I did not know which side were the "good" guys. The Scotland Yard Inspector who becomes the "hero" realizes that he may have done more harm than good. I can not wait for the next installment of this literary jewel of a series, which combines alternate history, real history, mystery and social commentary.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
suspense and moral ambiguity, Aug 11 2008
By Rachel Thern "kiravae" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Ha'penny (Mass Market Paperback)
Apolitical acress Viola Lark is reluctantly drawn in to a plot to assassinate Hitler. She becomes even more reluctant to get involved when she finds out who else is likely to be affected. Inspector Carmichael is upholding the law for a government he dislikes while investigating an explosion that killed a different actress. Both are sympathetic characters trying to do the right thing in morally ambiguous situations. Since this is an alternate history and anything could happen, Walton keeps the suspense high right until the end.
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