The Prestige by Christopher Priest
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
From perhaps the moment you pick up this book, The Prestige, you get the sense that it's going to be a book with an Ending. (You know, where there's some grand mystery revealed only in the final pages to be a devious and perversely unexpected plot twist. If it were a movie you would think it would join the ranks of The Usual Suspects or the Sixth Sense).
But, in the case of the book, the surprise ending is that there isn't really a surprise ending.
Although there is a central mystery, which involves a mystery phantom twin of a modern character and can only be resolved by looking into the past to the history of the rival magicians, its solution is evident long before the end of the book. And although the book itself (and the ending) is atmospheric and creepy, upon finishing it I found myself wishing that there had been more there.*
That being said, this novel is delightfully plotted and has great timing. The solutions to the various puzzles are not hard to work out, but the manner in which they are presented is interesting and engaging, and the fact that the story is broken into several small pieces each with their own buildup, and tension, and resolution, makes it a fast and for the most part satisfying read.
As a note to my readers, I ended up reading The Prestige because of Christopher Priests online rant about the deplorable state of science fiction awards. This rant I found to be delightful (http://www.christopher-priest.co.uk/journal/1077/hull-0-scunthorpe-3/) (as did some of the people he was ranting against http://www.zazzle.co.uk/internet_puppy_t_shirt-235730813931635704). I highly recommend you read that, at least, even if you end up skipping Mr. Priest's actual literary output.
* And although to a certain extent the book spoils the movie, the movie
is a much tighter and darker piece of storytelling, with not one, but two surprise ending, to boot. I might recommend that in favor of the book, but beware this book is downright cozy relative to its movie version.
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