Legendary pianist Fryderyk Chopin haunts would-be rock star Robin Hanley, painting the boy’s dreams with confusing thoughts and images. As Robin grows, his musical talent grows with him, but as he becomes a successful musician, he finds the continuing visions increasingly troublesome. Faced with an unusual talent for changing the weather and the ability to predict the deaths of those he loves, Robin struggles to come to terms both with reality, and what he sees in his dreams.
Jumping through several genre-type hoops (fantasy, historical, sci-fi etc), this is an interesting idea that allows the author plenty of scope for exploring it. With a large and eclectic cast of characters, I did occasionally find myself having to re-read some sections to make sure I knew what the heck was going on, but generally it’s reasonably easy to follow the plot.
A clever and interesting novel that will no doubt be difficult to categorise.
Colin Garrow 