Helpful Score: 1
This novel, published in 1890, is the authors first. We come to expect tales of horror from him, as Dracula is probably the only well-known novel of his works. Certainly the title, "The Snakes Pass," bodes of a tale of fantasy and horror (particularly if one is familiar with his lessor known works "The Lair of the White Worm" and "The Jewel of the Seven Stars"). Rather, it is a tale set on the western shore of his native Ireland based upon the legend of Saint Patrick and the King of Snakes. The Snakes Pass is a cleft in the mountains that runs to the western sea near Galway. To the ancient legend he adds a more recent incident (real or imaginary) from the war for independence concerning a lost treasure. Over time an ominous, shifting bog has formed on the mountain above the pass. These all become meld into the basis for the plot: quite naturally a treasure hunt.
The book includes some interesting depiction of the geology of the mountain and the bog. While most of the dialogue is straightforward English, he has the local characters using an Irish brogue that requires some degree of concentration and patience to understand (similar to Stevensons use of Scotch in several of his works). In all, this is an easily read book and an entertaining one; unfortunately, it is not easy to find in print.
The book includes some interesting depiction of the geology of the mountain and the bog. While most of the dialogue is straightforward English, he has the local characters using an Irish brogue that requires some degree of concentration and patience to understand (similar to Stevensons use of Scotch in several of his works). In all, this is an easily read book and an entertaining one; unfortunately, it is not easy to find in print.
