Although it’s been a long time between updates, I am very pleased to say that there is substantial news to report. Starting with news that will be of most interest to fans of the Alienist books, The New York Times is reporting that there will be an online discussion about the books this week on January 15 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. EST with Caleb Carr as a special guest!
The Big City Book Club will convene online for our live discussion of “The Alienist” on Jan. 15, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with two special guests taking part: Caleb Carr, the book’s author, and Ric Burns, the filmmaker behind the public television mini-series “New York: A Documentary Film.”
Set in 1896, just as Theodore Roosevelt comes to take over the Police Department in a city where vice reigns, Mr. Carr’s 1994 literary thriller revolves around a murder investigation conducted by a reporter for The New York Times and his psychologist friend. At the book’s center is the mutilated body of a young male prostitute discovered on the Williamsburg Bridge, along with the nascent world of criminal profiling.
Join us for the discussion of the book and of the world of 19th-century New York.
In addition, readers may be interested to learn that Caleb Carr released a new novel, The Legend of Broken, late last year. Described as “…[a]n excellent and old-fashioned entertainment that evolves into a clever discourse on the history and development of modern warfare,” in a review by The Washington Post, Random House released the following description of the novel:
Legend meets history in this mesmerizing novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Caleb Carr. Demonstrating the rich storytelling, skillful plotting, and depth of research he showcased in The Alienist, Carr has written a wildly imaginative, genre-bending saga that redefines the boundaries of literature.
Some years ago, a remarkable manuscript long rumored to exist was discovered: The Legend of Broken. It tells of a prosperous fortress city where order reigns at the point of a sword—even as scheming factions secretly vie for control of the surrounding kingdom. Meanwhile, outside the city’s granite walls, an industrious tribe of exiles known as the Bane forages for sustenance in the wilds of Davon Wood.
At every turn, the lives of Broken’s defenders and its would-be destroyers intertwine: Sixt Arnem, the widely respected and honorable head of the kingdom’s powerful army, grapples with his conscience and newfound responsibilities amid rumors of impending war. Lord Baster-kin, master of the Merchants’ Council, struggles to maintain the magnificence of his kingdom even as he pursues vainglorious dreams of power. And Keera, a gifted female tracker of the Bane tribe, embarks on a perilous journey to save her people, enlisting the aid of the notorious and brilliant philosopher Caliphestros. Together, they hope to exact a ruinous revenge on Broken, ushering in a day of reckoning when the mighty walls will be breached forever in a triumph of science over superstition.
Breathtakingly profound and compulsively readable, Caleb Carr’s long-awaited new book is an action-packed, multicharacter epic of a medieval clash of cultures—in which new gods collide with old, science defies all expectation, and virtue comes in many guises. Brimming with adventure and narrative invention, The Legend of Broken is an exhilarating and enthralling masterwork.
Let us know what you think of the new book or the New York Times chat at the message board! As an aside, if you tried to make a message board account at any stage last year, you may have found that your account was not validated in a timely manner (my apologies, I was bogged down last year with work and study commitments) so you may need to create a new account in order to post. Rest assured that any new message board accounts will be validated in a timely manner from this point onwards, so please get involved and enjoy a discussion with other readers.