Review: Sometimes you do get a second chance...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 25, 2012
With the  mantra of "more than a dream, less than a memory," author Tony Wilson takes his readers on an---at times---slightly surreal journey through eras, generations and relationships regarding three men battling their own issues and demons who have essentially lost empathy and/or hope for themselves and humanity.The spirit of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" resonates throughout---mixed with a touch of "Waiting for Godot" as we experience the stark, bleak reality of a cold, cold, cold ice-and-snow environment through which the three men trudge with the mysterious Mel.The book dragged a tad in the middle with all the aforementioned trudging but certainly immersed the reader in the environment and communicated a necessary sense of urgency regarding the outcome and resolution.In the "picky-picky" department, I would have given the book five stars if it had not been for a number of typos that jarred me from the mood of the tale: eek for eke; baled for bailed; misuse of "amount" instead of "number" (e.g., inordinate amount of medical personnel; tremendous amount of people); "I can't breath" instead of breathe; a short "tome" ago; your for you're, etc.In what may very well be a British habit, the author repeatedly used the two words "in to" where Americans use "into." Ditto "ladened" is not a current usage; the preferred word is "laden." Should Mr. Wilson make some corrections, it would greatly improve the flow.That being said, this is one of only three books that I will retain in my Kindle archives because of the overall sense of wonder and joy it communicated. Just as I re-read Dickens each year, I may now rotate it with "The Last Train Home." Good job!