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Service of All the Dead

1979 • 324 pages

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Average rating3

15

I found this difficult to follow - all the characters introduced, similar names, so many deaths, and a convoluted conclusion that takes several chapters to convey. The last bit of the book is full of exposition too - Dexter falls in to the trap of telling, not showing.

Also very much a novel of its time with references to homosexuality that you could excuses as being the prevailing attitude amongst many, more misogyny (especially from Morse who is not a likeable character), and a reference to the colour brown early on that is quite shocking. That is how people referred to it at the time, but you'd think a light bit of editing might be called for...

August 1, 2016Report this review