The Tides of Men

I like books that take me away from my everyday world and transport me to a new and different one. And this book does just that. It took me on a trip around the world. A strength of this is your dialogue; you do accents well. And the amount of research you must have done to make all these places and events come to life. I’m adding this to my shelf. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

Interesting story.
The style is journalistic, somehow detached and objective. I expect a little more engagement from the author's voice when I read fiction, but the detachment works here.
Had it been more complete, I would have liked reading more of it.

Backed.


Best wishes.
Huseyin
'All Things Noble'

The issues that existed (actually exist) in NI are ones that I have read extensively on. You really have a knack for descriptive narrative. It is impressive to see what you have done with this, the moving about. I love teh opening, you draw Mairead's grief so well and not only hers but the grief of the city as they march to the boy's funeral.
You move this around from place to place but you still hold the characters and setting, nothing falters. I can see you did the research for this.
I have a few friends who live in Belfast and the strife endured is still reflected now in the people. Even the youth seem to have retained a lot of the emotional scars that their parents have. This is wonderfully written. Pleased to have found it.
Backed
T.L Tyson-Seeking Eleanor

The Tides of Men

Hi Niall,

You do a good job of drawing about us an intriguing set of characters and circumstances, rooted in contemporary history. The threads are still being drawn together as I read this, but the journey is an exotic one, from Belfast to Dublin to Nicaragua already. You have a head for the giddy and effective phrase, the cultural and historical reference, that lifts this story in the genre of literary fiction. This is the kind of book I would take on a plane journey, a book to learn from as much as to take a story form. Your character’s history is inexplicably bound up in the political and historical cultures from which they arise and this is shown clearly by both actions and dialogue. An intriguing and intelligently written novel that won my backing within the first three paragraphs for the quality of its mournful prose. Well done. If you have the time to peek at my book I would welcome the help at this stage in the game.

Best wishes and good luck
Andrew W
(Sanctuary’s Loss)

This is a book which tackles important issues, and draws together events from all over the world. In the first chapter, you use the funeral of young Sean, and the guests there, to introduce some of the major characters who we will meet later. This is cleverly done. A few more sentences of description about each might add something, pin them into our minds more? Just a suggestion. The narrative flows well. It has immediacy. The little girl Maraid is an excellent starting point. Looking through her eyes, we are drawn straightaway into the sadness and the dangers of the NI setting. In the next chapter, you use Dan's point of view in the same way. This works well. You have a real talent for descriptive writing, especially in writing of the glens and mountains of your first chapter, and then of both Frank's and Dan's memories of these. This descriptive talent continues to be in evidence throughout the book, and makes its various settings very real to us. When it comes to describing action scenes, you do equally well. The picture you give us of Frank, dancing in triumph on top of the hillside, and the sudden unnoticed approach of the second helicopter, will live in my memory for a long time, I know.
I think you have a book here which deserves to be widely read and to be very successful.
Here is one more suggestion. You might raise the tension by ending your chapters on more of a hook. For instance, chapter 2 ends on a quiet note. If you simply took the opening sentence of the next chapter and used it as the last sentence of Ch. 2, the chapter would end on a note of tension and excitement which would draw the reader on to turn the page. Again, in chapter 3, I would make the break after Frank's death come after 'heedless of the shouts of the others crouched around him.' This means we end on a note of real sorrow, in a very striking way. The sentence about Dan's injury being minor would then come after the break, leaving us a pause for Frank's death to hit home. Ignore this is you want to, it's just how I would do it.
The quick climb this book has already made shows that there is an appreciative audience for it. I hope to see it continue to climb, and to have great success. All the very best with it!
Gerry McCullough,
Belfast Girls.

The pitches are appealing and there is a nice flow to the story from what I read. SHELVED!

I could use your comments on my book when you get a chance. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau Key

You set the scene effectively in the first chapter, transporting the reader to Ireland amidst the tragedy ofv a boy's funeral.
Read some of the other pitches on the site - they tell us about the story, not the author. Using quotes from readers is not the best idea - readers want to form their own opinion, not be told about others, particularly from people they don't know. Use your pitch to persuade the reader that your story is worth reading.

Some of the finest writing seems to come from hard things. The funeral of a child is a hard thing and this, is some of the finest writing. It is the kind that curls up inside a body and doesn't let go. Leaves whispers of itself long after it has been put down. The only thing I wondered about was the funeral. Not being from Ireland I am unfamiliar with the custom. Was it a night? You say the girl was alone because her mother was working the late shift. Should it be early shift? All the best and on my shelf. C.P

This is very good writing and it sounds like you have quite a tale to tell. I've always enjoyed reading about the Irish. Beautiful country, troubled lives. I know you have done your research and this is a great start for your story. I will back this on the strength of the first chapter and hope to find time to read more.

Trish
'Miranda'

I also like the premise and love the settings! This has the makings of a very good story! BACKED!
Simon

Niall, there's a story here, bursting to get out. Your long pitch contains a repeated sentence from your short pitch and also suffers, in my view, from being a quote from a review. I'd far rather hear from you, the writer, about what to expect from your book.
Your bio page reveals a fascinating background and I'm hugely supportive of your motives in writing this book, but it can be so much better. I'm only a fellow writer, and reader, so am only expressing a personal opinion. I found the typeface difficult to read on screen, but that may be just my eyesight failing after far too much reading.
Your book has an imaginative premise and you have the talent as a writer to bring it alive. Your desriptive passages are excellent and you can write an action sequence, such as the death of Danny in chapter 3, with style and verve.
I'll come back to this and read more as I'd love this book to succeed. Give peace a chance is as important a message now as it was when the phrase first came into being.
Shelved.
Jared (Mummy's Boy).

I like the ideas and love the settings and descriptions here, but I think you
need point of view and voice, and a linear story, for narrative drive.

Best wishes,

AlleJo