Candlemoth

Roger John Ellory's Candlemoth makes a decent but not entirely successful stab at being several novels. It is a protest against the death penalty and about inhuman treatment of prisoners that dramatises both issues by showing us Daniel, who has been railroaded to the electric chair over the brutal murder of his best friend. Inevitably though, Daniel is so passive and battered by his situation that the book can show us little except his pain. Offstage, it is a thriller about the process whereby he was framed and might be acquitted, but Ellory de-emphasises this aspect of the plot in favour of Daniel's suffering.

Much of the book is taken up in a memoir of the 60s, when Daniel and his best friend Nathan had a relationship that crossed racial boundaries in a south torn by conflict and when they went on the run to avoid being drafted into an unjust war. The book is vivid in its sense of the time, but again there is a sense of Daniel as someone who never really lives his own life--even in love and friendship he is the person to whom emotions and events happen. --Roz Kaveney

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His 1st Book? - Rated
Readint his,u wouldent tell this is Ellorys first book,this is how good it is,parts of this remind me of Shawshank Redemption,an amazing debut,buy all 5 of his books,Ellory,make your novels movies! Starting of with A Quiet Vendetta

A fantastic read!! - Rated
This is a fantastic story; at its heart is a friendship so strong it transcends everything, but the underlying plots are many; racial tensions in the deep south of America in the 50;s, 60's and 70's,young and unrequited love,political intrigues and tensions, the death penalty.... and there are many more!
Some of the descriptive language used by Ellory was truly beautiful and has stayed with me long after I turned the final page. I have a very clear picture in my mind of what Nathan Verney and Daniel Ford would have looked like.
This is a gripping, epic of a book and one which I can't recommend highly enough. You won't be disappointed.

Very Enjoyable - Rated
I really enjoyed this story. It was definately one of the best books I've read this year (I try and read 50 previously unread books a year).
It tells the story of Daniel Ford, and his best friend Nathan Verney.

Plot:
The first two thirds of the book are primarily the back-story of Daniel and Nathan's relationship, interspersed with occasional present-day chapters. As the book gets nearer to the end, the "present-day" sections get more detailed and regular. Although I was kept engaged all the way through, the first two thirds were a little slow, while the last third was a veritable gallop to the end. The speed at the end might have been a plot device by the author, but I kept having to go back and re-read sections to keep up.
The whole book had a very philosophical leaning. There were a lot of passages that made me stop and reflect.
There were a lot of pages dedicated to US government, which seemed completely pointless. A whole chapter was about the Watergate saga, yet even after a whole chapter, I still didn't understand what had happened, or how it was related to the story. It appeared that the author had researched this period in history very carefully, and was going to get it into the story if it killed him. Completely pointless.

Characters:
I loved Daniel as a character, but felt that Nathan could have done with a little more development. His character seemed to jump around a lot, with little explanation.

Summary:
Excellent. Fast-paced and beautifully written.

This Book is a Must Read - Rated
This book is just breathe taking. From the first page it has you gripped right until the very end, i couldnt put it down. Ellory has such a way of writing it is like he is telling u the story in person its absolutely amazing. it is my favourite book of all time

EXCELLENT - Rated
This book is amazing. It sets out the life of the main character, Daniel Ford, from different points in his life. It jumps between time in a clear, coherent and engaging way and has managed to balance this with intrigue, political scandal and brilliant crime story. It is more than just a crime novel. It is educational without being patronizing or indoctrinating, it is funny and bittersweet and brings ones attention to real society issues. Brilliant!