- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Soho Crime; Reprint edition (Oct 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1569478570
- ISBN-13: 978-1569478578
- Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.2 x 19 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#14,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #31 in Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Hard-Boiled
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“Explosive and absorbing ... The Ghosts of Belfast is an intense meditation on obligation, necessity, and war. Within Stuart Neville’s rich vocabulary, complacency is not a word to be found.”—Sacramento News and Review
“The best first novel I’ve read in years...It’s a flat-out terror trip.”—James Ellroy
“Not only one of the finest thriller debuts of the last ten years, but also one of the best Irish novels, in any genre, of recent times.”—John Connolly
“The Ghosts of Belfast is the book when the world finally sits up and goes WOW, the Irish really have taken over the world of crime writing. Stuart Neville is Ireland’s answer to Henning Mankell.”—Ken Bruen
“Sure to garner attention and stir lively pub discussions.”—Library Journal
“Neville’s debut novel is tragic, violent, exciting, plausible, and compelling. . . . The Ghosts of Belfast is dark, powerful, insightful, and hard to put down.”—Booklist
“Neville’s debut is as unrelenting as Fegan’s ghosts, pulling no punches as it describes the brutality of Ireland’s 'troubles' and the crime that has followed, as violent men find new outlets for their skills. Sharp prose places readers in this pitiless place and holds them there. Harsh and unrelenting crime fiction, masterfully done.”—Kirkus
“[Stuart] Neville has the talent to believably blend the tropes of the crime novel and those of a horror, in the process creating a page-turning thriller akin to a collaboration between John Connolly and Stephen King. . . [The Ghosts of Belfast] is a superb thriller, and one of the first great post-Troubles novels to emerge from Northern Ireland.”—Sunday Independent (Ireland)
“The best first novel I’ve read in years...It’s a flat-out terror trip.”—James Ellroy
“Not only one of the finest thriller debuts of the last ten years, but also one of the best Irish novels, in any genre, of recent times.”—John Connolly
“The Ghosts of Belfast is the book when the world finally sits up and goes WOW, the Irish really have taken over the world of crime writing. Stuart Neville is Ireland’s answer to Henning Mankell.”—Ken Bruen
“Sure to garner attention and stir lively pub discussions.”—Library Journal
“Neville’s debut novel is tragic, violent, exciting, plausible, and compelling. . . . The Ghosts of Belfast is dark, powerful, insightful, and hard to put down.”—Booklist
“Neville’s debut is as unrelenting as Fegan’s ghosts, pulling no punches as it describes the brutality of Ireland’s 'troubles' and the crime that has followed, as violent men find new outlets for their skills. Sharp prose places readers in this pitiless place and holds them there. Harsh and unrelenting crime fiction, masterfully done.”—Kirkus
“[Stuart] Neville has the talent to believably blend the tropes of the crime novel and those of a horror, in the process creating a page-turning thriller akin to a collaboration between John Connolly and Stephen King. . . [The Ghosts of Belfast] is a superb thriller, and one of the first great post-Troubles novels to emerge from Northern Ireland.”—Sunday Independent (Ireland)
Book Description
A onetime IRA hit man, haunted by ghosts, stalks his former bosses.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bleak but Fascinating,
By
This review is from: The Ghosts of Belfast (Hardcover)
This is quite the brutal novel and that is intentional. The plot covers one week that apparently encapsulate thirty years of The Troubles. It is all brought back through the main character Gerry Fegan, a former IRA hit man who is literally haunted by the ghosts of the 12 people he killed. So he embarks on a journey of revenge and redemption (sort of). But I was more intrigued by the backdrop of a still-fragile peace and the various factions required for stability. The Northern Ireland conflict is as fascinating as it is confusing (like the breakup of Yugoslavia).The author does a great job communicating the bleakness of the previous decades and the almost vacuous times the peace ushered in. What really impacted me is the extent of betrayal and lack of trust that permeates the novel and the history it covers. The plot itself runs with speed and there are decent twists throughout but it is worth reading for the atmosphere and history alone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
So good you'll skip dinner (and breakfast and lunch),
By
This review is from: The Ghosts of Belfast (Hardcover)
Just a brilliant idea wonderfully told. Gripped me from the first line to the last so much so I did skip all three meals as mentioned in the title (OK, lunch was just postponed, I've now eaten). It's giving nothing away to say the story is about a man, Gerry Fegan, who's killed for the Irish unionist cause in the past and is haunted by the ghosts of his victims who are demanding he take their revenge against his former comrades. I don't know if this sort plot device has been used before; it seems like such a great and natural thing. In Neville's sure hands the prose is so immediate and exciting the action leaps off the page. The scenes and setting are intriguing and fresh but it's the exploration of the character of Gerry Fegan that really grabs you. He's a complex character and while I didn't quite come to feel sympathy for him, I felt I did come to an understanding of him. Well done Mr. Stuart and thank you so much for the ebook (downloadable from the author's web site); I'll parcel out the short stories until the sequel arrives.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story,
By
This review is from: The Ghosts of Belfast (Hardcover)
Also published under the title 'The Twelve'This novel is a stunning debut thriller; tension-filled from start to finish telling the fictional story of Gerry Fegan, a former IRA assassin who is haunted by ghosts of his twelve victims. I was grabbed from the first pages and I couldn't read fast enough to see the outcome. The tale begins with the central protagonist, Gerry Fegan, driven to the brink of insanity, haunted and tormented day and night by the terrible memories of the twelve people he killed. Since his release from Maze Prison, he spends his waking moments in a state of inebriation in an attempt to seek refuge from the visions and guilt that continually haunt him. One day through a vision, he sees a possible way out, eliminate the people who contracted these murders and hopefully banished the ghosts of guilt forever and lead a normal life. One by one, Fegan seeks out the master minds and makes them pay for their misguided decisions, a life for a life, gradually clearing the burden hanging heavy over his shoulders. This novel is full of energy creating an escalating sense of tension as you go deeper into it. The author has created a harsh and unrelenting story that dabs into the political and religious landscape of today's Ireland and the fragility of its peace accord. The prose is sharp and emotional. ' Ghosts of Belfast' is a mystery novel with a different spin, brilliantly done and brims with its strong characterization. We see how leaders with self centered ideas manipulate the minds of average people and turn them into puppets, some haunted by their actions for the rest of their life. I enjoyed my time spent with this thought provoking thriller.
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