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The Fading (2000)

by Christopher Ransom(Favorite Author)

3.17 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

review 1: Having the ability to become invisible is an exciting prospect. The opportunities open to an individual (to do good or cause mischief!) are too great to count, but what if the cost of possessing that ability is that you cannot control it?That is the case for Noel Shaker. Who, from birth, has been repeatedly plucked out of the visible spectrum, without warning, for periods of a few seconds up to a number of hours. Fearful of discovery and of the consequences he is sure would follow, Noel lives a solitary existence on the fringe of society, nurturing his fears and longing to build something akin to a normal life. It’s not until an encounter with somebody who can see him when invisible, that Noel begins to understand the nature of his ability and the horrors it can hide.I m... moreust admit, in deference of the cliché, that I judged this book by its cover before even glancing over the opening pages. The blurb was enough to pique my curiosity, but the feeling that I would actually, really dislike this book was enough to relegate it to the back of a shelf to lay forgotten for the best part of a year before finally reading it. Ultimately that feeling proved close to the mark. Whilst I gave the book a fair chance, it was only my unwillingness to leave a book unread that saw me through to the end. I found Noel’s conflict with his ability interesting, but the portrayal of the character ultimately bored me. Noel’s reaction to his situation felt natural (albeit he came across as too defeatist for my liking), but the events that drove the plot forwards felt too contrived, and with rare exception; quite dull. Because of that, certain situations Noel was placed in appeared to be mere afterthoughts, added in an attempt to provide excitement. For me it felt like those situations were often left unresolved. A character would be introduced and then forgotten, or an event would occur but not be addressed again, leaving unanswered questions and plot threads dangling listlessly from the page. That said, the scenes in chapters 16-18 and 26 were very well thought out. Chapter 26 in particular was a good piece of contemporary horror. Also, the sub-plot introduced when Noel meets somebody able to see him when invisible was again deliberated, and entertaining. Had that been more prominent, at the expense of some of the material in the first third of the book, I believe the story would have been much more engaging.I gave The Fading 2 stars because I do appreciate some of the ideas used within the book. Although I did struggle with it, certain plot elements redeemed it slightly, and I've not been entirely put off attempting another book by the author. I would, however, be hesitant in recommending it, instead I would steer horror fans toward King, and the fantastic weird tales by Lovecraft.
review 2: We really don't like writing bad reviews, but this book can be summed up in two words - nothing happens. It follows Noel Shaker, who can turn invisible. Yet he does nothing with his ability. The book starts with a prologue of his birth and then gives the life story of the nurse in the delivery room, which was pointless as you never meet her in the book so we didn't care about her life. The prologue was also written in a detached way which made it hard to connect with.The book sticks with Noel the entire way, which was a shame as he didn't have the personality to carry it off. He spends most of his life (and the book) hiding from the world because he can't control when he'll turn invisible. It's like he's never heard of ghosts. In today's world, ghosts would be people's first thought if they saw things move by themselves, or footsteps appearing in the snow, yet Noel believes if people find out, he'll be captured for research, despite having no evidence of this.There was one scene where things looked like they might get interesting, involving a murdered family and...the author ended the chapter and left out the one scene that would have made the book worthwhile. At that point, we were so furious at being robbed, we almost stopped reading. It takes a lot to make us stop reading. So we carried on in the hope our efforts would be rewarded. They weren't. You have to wait 'til the end of the book for things to finally start happening. And then the book ends before anything substantial happens. The book would have been much better without the first three quarters and starting in the last quarter.The premise mentions the more Noel uses his gift, the more evil he releases. Where was this evil? Taking a toilet break? Because it certainly didn't make an appearance. less

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