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| 0316561487
| 9780316561488
| 0316561487
| 3.34
| 7,369
| Jan 30, 2024
| Jan 30, 2024
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really liked it
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I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit/Redhook, in exchange for an honest review. The description for The City of Stardust I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit/Redhook, in exchange for an honest review. The description for The City of Stardust captivated me as soon as I read it. Here’s what hooked me: “A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.” There are so many things that grab me in that little synopsis. A “seductive, magical underworld?” Sign me up. “Power-hungry scholars?” Forever and always. Fickle gods and family curses? Yes, please. While I did get all of those things, the story itself didn’t land quite as solidly for me as I had hoped it would. This story brought to mind a multitude of others. I was reminded of The Ten Thousand Doors of January in bits and pieces of the writing style, as well as in the key and door motifs. Strange the Dreamer came to mind in terms of tone and texture, and even the story itself. There was a whiff of The Starless Sea, a subtle hint of The Night Circus. By and large, these are books that I adore. So to say that my expectations for The City of Stardust were through the roof would be an understatement. And high expectations are always risky. I found this to be one of those odd stories that is strongest in the middle. It got off to a bit of a slow start, and the finish felt shaky and not wholly formed. But the middle 200 pages or so were incredibly engaging. This was the quest portion of the tale, and it was well crafted and well delivered. It was here that I found our main characters, Violet and Aleksander, to be at their most compelling. The various settings were all beautifully rendered. I felt that the pacing and tension, both in terms of plot and romantic undertones, were wonderfully balanced in this section. I could have overlooked the weaker beginning had the ending not unraveled. At least, it did so in my eyes. The tension dissipated where it should have been the tightest. I liked The City of Stardust, and there were aspects of it that I absolutely love. The descriptions of Violet’s bookish childhood was fantastic. I loved Ambrose and Gabriel, Violet’s uncles, though I actually wish they had been given more time on the page. I was fascinated by the hidden world of Fidelis, and the scholarly underworld that had found its way from that world into our own. Aleksander was a very intriguing character, and I was never quite sure where he was going to fall in terms of relationship with Violet. The mythos here was pretty fascinating, and the supernatural entities were a wonderful blend of awe-inspiring and terrifying. Georgia Summers created something lovely in The City of Stardust, if a touch unbalanced in terms of pacing and a maintenance of tension. I might have felt a bit ambivalent about the way things wrapped up, but by and large I think this was a solid debut. If everything that comes from Summers’ pen is this lovely, I can’t wait to read whatever she puts out next! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 23, 2024
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Jan 30, 2024
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Jan 23, 2024
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Hardcover
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| B0C3NZKVQ4
| 4.08
| 9,460
| Jan 09, 2024
| Jan 09, 2024
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liked it
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Actual rating: 3.5 stars I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. One of my personal ho Actual rating: 3.5 stars I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. One of my personal holiday traditions has become reading the newest Wayward Children novella on or right after Christmas. Tordotcom has been kind enough to facilitate that tradition for the past 6 years by sending me a galley copy of each installment before its publication, usually in January. It’s always one of my most exciting pieces of book mail of the year. Some installments have been more successful (for me) than others. Unfortunately, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is not one of those more successful installments. While not in anyway a bad book, it was missing the magic of the eighth installment, Lost in the Moment and Found. It’s the book that I expected after the seventh installment, Where the Drowned Girls Go, though it could never have have worked without learning Antsy’s story in Lost in the Moment. And yet, even though this was the book I’ve been expecting, it fell a bit flat for me. I think that, in comparison with previous books, the tale being told here had too much story packed into too small a space. We had so many threads coming together in one slim book that the plot felt muddled. We had so many important characters from the past sharing the page that all of them felt somehow lost in the shuffle. And not lost in the way that attracts Doors. They felt less real than they have in the past. Because some of these characters departed the mortal coil in prior books only to return, I won’t be discussing anyone by name except for Antsy. The sole protagonist of Lost in the Moment and Found, she is also the reluctant star of the show here. Abilities she developed in that book are the focal point of this one. Through her, we get reacquainted with Eleanor’s Home for Wayward Children, as well as getting to revisit some worlds and meet others for the very first time. As always, McGuire’s settings are one of the greatest strengths of the series. Her representation is also a huge strength but, while it there was plenty of that here, I felt like she relied too heavily on the characters’ backgrounds in previous novellas for that to come through quite as strongly as normal. If I was going to draw comparisons between this book and any of the others, I would tie it most closely to Beneath the Sugar Sky or Come Tumbling Down. Some novellas in this series stand beautifully on their own. The aforementioned do not. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known relies on every single installment that came before it. If you’ve not read the other eight, and if they’re not fairly fresh on your mind, you will be missing a lot. There were some good messages here, about how the abuse in your past does not excuse abuse done by your hand and that, while we can’t fix the injuries of our own past, we can use them to protect the present and future for others. There was the series-spanning emphasis on finding who you are and embracing it, no matter what the world has to say about it. These are positive, uplifting messages, but they were hazy beneath the muddled plot. While this wasn’t one of my favorite installments, it wasn’t a bad book. I think that the books in this series that are the strongest are those that can stand alone. When the storylines come together, the characters and messages seem less powerful instead of more. But regardless, I’m so thankful for this series, and I’m already looking forward to wherever McGuire takes it next! ...more |
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1
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Jan 2024
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Jan 04, 2024
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Jul 06, 2023
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Audible Audio
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| 0857525115
| 9780857525116
| 0857525115
| 3.30
| 6,543
| Sep 03, 2020
| Sep 17, 2020
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liked it
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D: A Tale of Two Worlds is a very unique story that also pays homage to multiple classic works of literature. This story imagines a world where every
D: A Tale of Two Worlds is a very unique story that also pays homage to multiple classic works of literature. This story imagines a world where every D suddenly goes missing, from print and from speech. Dhikilo, our protagonist, seems to be the only person in the world who notices the disappearance and remembers that Ds ever existed. She goes on a fantastical adventure to find out what has happened to this letter of the alphabet, and to do everything in her power to return it to its rightful places in mankind’s vocabulary. Dhikilo experiences some wacky things and meets some even wackier characters along the way. Evidently this is considered by many to be a middle-grade novel, though I didn’t see it marketed as such. I saw it described as a “quirky adventure for readers young and old,” and that description rings very true. It was wild and madcap and just tremendous fun overall. There was a tongue-in-cheek sensibility that reminded me a bit of The Phantom Tollbooth, which is one of my favorite children’s books. However, there were a number of literary references and something to the writing that still led me to believe that this is an adult novel instead of a middle grade one. There are a lot of Dickens references, great and small. As this book was written in part to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Dickens’ death, that makes total sense. But The Wizard of Oz was also obviously a great source of inspiration for the plot itself. There are also multiple nods to Lewis’s Narnia, which I found delightful. These tips of the hat to tales that I’m so familiar with and have loved for so much of my life were definitely my favorite element of the book. While I loved the tone and the references, I had a couple of qualms with this book. The characters were entertaining, but all of them, even Dhikilo, felt like they had they little depth. Every character felt like a mere prop to the story Faber wanted to tell instead of their own independent personage. I was also disappointed by the resolution. Even though it was the ending the story needed, the way Faber got us there felt like a cop out in some way. There was this big build up and then… nothing. The end just happened. It was a bit of a let down, at least for me personally. D: A Tale of Two Worlds is not a perfect book, but it is a fun one. Quirky is the best description I can think of to give it. This is a story that could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. If you have some familiarity with the works of Dickens, so much the better, as you will pick up on a lot of little nods and references. But if you don’t, that won’t at all hinder your enjoyment of the book. I might have been disappointed in how the ending was handled, but it was as happy a resolution as could be hoped for. If you want something unique and cozy that you know will end well, pick this one up. ...more |
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1
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Dec 13, 2022
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Dec 20, 2022
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Dec 13, 2022
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Paperback
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| 1668002175
| 9781668002179
| 1668002175
| 4.10
| 277,337
| Sep 06, 2022
| Sep 06, 2022
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really liked it
| “That much is true about songs (and many stories) even in my own world. They speak mind to mind, but only if you listen.” Fairy Tale has been one of m “That much is true about songs (and many stories) even in my own world. They speak mind to mind, but only if you listen.” Fairy Tale has been one of my most anticipated reads of the 2022 since it was announced. I preordered it in February, the day it first became available. So to say my expectations were sky-high would be an understatement. Reading anything you’ve been looking forward to for that long with your hopes for it residing somewhere in the clouds is always a tenuous undertaking. While Fairy Tale didn’t disappoint, it couldn’t quite live up to the hype in my head. “it’s the stories of our childhood that make the deepest impressions and last the longest.” Something that King does wonderfully well is coming-of-age stories, and that was on full display here. This is, at its core, the story of a boy and his dog. And that core was my absolute favorite thing about the book. I felt a little bit in love with Charlie as a character, and his relationship with Radar was just the sweetest thing. He’s had a lot of struggles in his life, but somehow he is still good. Well, mostly. Charlie is a pure soul with a kernel of darkness at his core. This darkness serves him well on occasion throughout the story, though sometimes he regrets it in hindsight. But he’s overwhelmingly good. The bond he forms with Mr. Bowditch as he seeks to pay it forward, so to speak, after his dad stops drinking, was heartwarming. “There’s a dark well in everyone, I think, and it never goes dry. But you drink from it at your peril. That water is poison.” Speaking of his dad, I loved seeing someone struggling with an addiction without becoming a monster, and actually trying to do better. Alcoholism is used so often in fiction to propel forward a plot, and King himself has used it many times in the past. But there was something refreshing about how it was portrayed so hopefully in Charlie’s dad. The relationship between Charlie and his dad was beautiful, even with its scars. I thought this showed trauma and response to said trauma in a very believable, balanced light. “A brave man helps. A coward just gives presents.” I found Fairy Tale reminiscent of other stories by King; specifically The Talisman and Hearts in Atlantis, both of which are works I adore. The coming-of-age, boy on a journey, portal fantasy with a period of captivity, all reminded me me strongly of The Talisman. Even the tone was similar. And Charlie’s relationship with Mr. Bowditch, and how that relationship revealed an entire hidden world, were very much in keeping with Hearts in Atlantis. For some reason, I actually found that portion, which comprised the first third of the novel, more emotionally compelling than the fantasy aspects that come later in the novel. It was when Charlie finally entered the shaft shown on the front of the U.S. edition that I thought the story would pick up, and yet that’s when I found myself having a harder and harder time focusing on the plot. “You never know where the trapdoors are in your life, do you?” Even if this wasn’t my favorite King book, I did still really like it. And I think it’s going to hold up really well to rereading. King did a lovely job capturing the eponymous fairy tale vibe while still maintaining his unique voice. There were a host of interesting characters, a fascinating world under a dark curse, and plenty of stakes. The protagonist was likable with a ton of heart. But something about the body of the plot seemed to drag. While I found myself thinking about the book often, I wasn’t feeling compelled to keep reading or sacrifice sleep, which is a feeling a tend to associate with King’s work. “Time is the water, Charlie. Life is just the bridge it flows under.” I think my main issue with Fairy Tale is that I firmly believe it would’ve been a far stronger novel if it were about 150 pages or so shorter. King tends to have a problem with bloat in his novels, and this one unfortunately was no exception. It was very good, and I would give it a solid 4 stars, but with some tighter editing it could easily have been one of my favorite books of the year. I actually think I might have enjoyed it more in audio than in print, so I plan to reread in that format sometime in the not-too-distant future. However, I will say that I was very pleased with the ending. King doesn’t always stick the landing, but he did here. He even poked a bit of fun at his readers for wanting a happy ending even as he delivered one. “good people shine brighter in dark times.” It may not sound like it from this review, but I did very much enjoy Fairy Tale. It gave a quintessential King story with a wonderful new setting and an even more wonderful protagonist. And I will always have a weakness for any story about a boy and his dog. I just wish the book had been edited down a bit. However, I really can’t wait to reread this, because my expectations won’t be so unreachably high. Which means that I have little doubt that Fairy Tale will blow those more tempered expectations out of the water when I return to it someday. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 23, 2022
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Oct 04, 2022
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Aug 06, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 9781789098617
| 1789098610
| 4.09
| 1,464
| 2022
| Mar 22, 2022
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liked it
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The Shadow Glass is a love letter to kitschy fantasy movies from the 80s. If you’re a lover of movies like Willow, The Never-Ending Story, Labyrinth,
The Shadow Glass is a love letter to kitschy fantasy movies from the 80s. If you’re a lover of movies like Willow, The Never-Ending Story, Labyrinth, and especially The Dark Crystal, then you need to get your hands on this book. Its pages are populated with puppets come to life, a quest to save a dying fantasy realm, and a ton of pop culture references. While I loved the idea behind it, the actual execution of this story left me a bit unsatisfied, but it’s a book that I think is going to make a lot of my fellow nerdy 80s babies extremely happy. If I were to describe The Shadow Glass in a word, it would be: zany. This felt wacky and madcap, but with a tinge of darkness. The story was almost manic in its wildness and pacing, to the point of near unbelievability even as a fantasy novel. But that was paired with a melancholy that bordered on depressive, and I found that a very odd dichotomy. The author had interesting things to say about nerd culture, especially those who view themselves as “gate keepers” of the things they treasure, resenting even the very creators of the story or world they love should said creator decide to expand it. Which is completely their right, by the way. There is no wrong way to love the stories that speak to you, unless it involves tearing down that love in other fans. But the flip side was addressed, as well; very little is as powerful as a group of fans who wholeheartedly love something. Finding others who love the same thing you love, just as fervently, can feel like finding your tribe after going it alone. That joy and camaraderie were well presented in this novel. I really wanted to love The Shadow Glass, but I couldn’t quite make that happen. The cause was two-fold. First, there were multiple points in the narrative where there was simply too much going on, and so much of it was over the top that I became desensitized to even the things that should’ve broken my heart or had me cheering. My other issue was with the characterization, or lack thereof. There was not much to be found in terms of character development, even though Jack was a much different person by the end of the book. He even paid for that transformation, but it still felt somehow disingenuous. And speaking of Jack, I never found him likable, even when he found his inner hero. I found him grating, and I thought the same about Zavanna. Most of the characters grated on me, actually, unless they had golden retriever energy like Toby and Brol. While I didn’t love The Shadow Glass, I loved the idea and the heart behind it. It’s a story that I have no doubt will charm other fantasy fans, especially those who loved (and still love) Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal and the like. It encourages readers to never stop loving what you love, and to never stop believing in the magic of stories. I would love to see The Shadow Glass come to the screen, and to see how it would measure up to the movies it honors in its pages. I have no doubt that it would be just as loved as the stories that inspired it. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 07, 2022
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Apr 18, 2022
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Mar 18, 2022
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Paperback
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| 1250213649
| 9781250213648
| 1250213649
| 4.32
| 14,151
| Jan 10, 2023
| Jan 10, 2023
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it was amazing
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I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. One of my personal holiday traditions has bec I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. One of my personal holiday traditions has become reading the newest Wayward Children novella on or right after Christmas. Tordotcom has been kind enough to facilitate that tradition for the past 6 years by sending me a galley copy of each installment before its publication, usually in January. It’s always one of my most exciting pieces of book mail of the year. Some installments have been more successful (for me) than others, but this year’s release, Where the Drowned Girls Go, brought me back to the magic of the first book. There we were introduced to the dark sister school of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, but we also begin to see various storylines from previous novellas finally tying themselves together. Because of this, my hopes for this newest installment, Lost in the Moment and Found, were very high, and I was expecting even more of the series to come together. Lost in the Moment and Found is nothing like I expected while still being everything I hoped it would be. I was expecting a furtherance of the overarching plot, as we were given in its direct predecessor, Where the Drowned Girls Go. That’s not what McGuire delivers here. Instead, she gives us an achingly beautiful, linear observation of a beautiful little girl whose life falls apart slowly but unexpectedly. And as we follow this girl, we see her face her trauma in nuanced, subtle ways that could be by turns both difficult and healing for readers who have faced similar things in their own pasts. Antsy’s story is beautiful, sad, and oddly cathartic. I was gripped from the first sentence to the last. Antoinette, or Antsy to those who love her, is a beautiful, feisty, very happy 5 year-old when we first meet her. But when she loses her father, in a way that he can never be found, Antsy’s life takes a turn. When things outside of her control threaten her in ways that she can’t even fully understand, Antsy runs. And, like many such children on the run from trauma, Antsy finds her Door. The world she finds on the other side is a bit of a nexus, and Antsy finds that she can visit all kinds of worlds from the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. This Shop lives up to its name; it is indeed where all the lost things go. Some are searched out and found, while others find new homes and still others molder away, forgotten for always. Antsy will face some unusual (but highly symbolic) difficulties and decisions in the Shop, but the Door was right; this place is hers. As with all of the books in the Wayward Children series, trauma and the ways in which we deal with it are at the forefront of this story. Each novella has addressed a different source of trauma, or multiple sources, in different ways. In Lost in the Moment and Found, that trauma is grooming, adult gaslighting, and what those things could possibly lead to. Because this could be so triggering for so many readers, McGuire makes sure that you know, before the story even begins, that Antsy runs. Before anything can happen, Antsy runs. I love that McGuire gives us this warning at the beginning, because it’s something that is so personal to her. I really respect both the decision and McGuire’s transparency here. The writing itself is just as beautiful and poignant as I’ve come to expect from this series. McGuire has an achingly lovely way with words, but in a way that further builds and focuses on the character at the center of the story instead of distracting from her in any way. I love lush prose, but not at the expense of the characters or story, so the balance McGuire strikes here is absolutely perfect, in my opinion. This is a slim tale that part of me wishes were longer, but honestly these novellas are the perfect length for the stories they hold. These are without a doubt my favorite novellas, and they demonstrate how the shorter format can shine in the right hands. Lost in the Moment and Found is an exquisite installment in what has become one of my favorite series of all time. There is something powerful and profound, heartbreaking and life-affirming, about the series as a whole. Not every novella has been my favorite, but this is the 5th in the series that I’ve given a full 5 star rating. The stories McGuire is telling through this series matter so much. Wayward Children beautifully represents every kind of person and showcases how children can overcome even the worst trauma. I’m so glad that I live in a world where these books exist and are there to help those who see themselves in any of these stories face what they’ve suffered and find a way to overcome it. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 26, 2022
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Dec 31, 2022
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Feb 03, 2022
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ebook
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| 1250213622
| 9781250213624
| 1250213622
| 4.05
| 17,738
| Jan 04, 2022
| Jan 04, 2022
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it was amazing
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I received an advance copy of this novella from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. “There are worlds where death itself is malI received an advance copy of this novella from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review. “There are worlds where death itself is malleable, where anything can be rewritten, be undone, if the right approach is taken. Worlds where the air bleeds words and lightning can rewrite the past.” Reading McGuire’s newest Wayward Children novella has become something of a Christmas tradition for me over the past few years. While my reading experience has varied book to book, it’s always cozy and enjoyable and transportive. I request very few ARCs, but this series is top among them and I’m always elated to receive the next installment. I was cautiously excited about Where the Drowned Girls Go, as it’s a pretty direct followup to my least favorite novella in the series, Beneath the Sugar Sky. However, this newest novella was absolutely fantastic; so much so, in fact, that it made me want to go back and reread Beneath the Sugar Sky to see if my opinion of it had changed. Where the Drowned Girls Go was a thoughtful, different addition to the series, and builds on and links every single one of its predecessors. “I never wanted to be a hero, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you turn me into a villain.” Cora Miller, a girl who found her true identity as a mermaid of the Trenches, as been claimed by the Drowned Gods of the Moors, a different world than the one to which she yearns to return. Back at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, Cora is so scared of the Drowned Gods that she is determined to escape and forget any and all doors to other realms, even the one that her heart calls home. And she’ll do it at any cost. This determination leads her to switch her enrollment to West’s sister school, the Whitethorn Institute, despite Eleanor’s desperate pleading for her to reconsider. Because Whitethorn isn’t welcoming, friendly, or safe. It’s a prison, and Cora has just voluntarily incarcerated herself. Will the Drowned Gods find her anyway? Will Cora let herself fade, as Whitethorn demands of her? Or will she finally find the courage to face her fears and search for home? “I am not yours to cling to or to claim.” “I am not your door… But I might be my own.” Besides Cora, we have a fairly extensive cast of returning character at West’s, as well as new characters we meet at Whitethorn. I found most all of these new characters interesting, and the returning characters who received much time on the page had all developed in lovely ways. This is especially true of Cora herself. I didn’t love her in her first story, Beneath the Sugar Sky, for a host of reasons. But I found many of those reasons not only addressed but rectified in this new chapter of her story. She grew tremendously as a character, and I’ve come to love her as much as I do Jack and Kade and Christopher. I’m now incredibly interested in getting more of her story. “You can’t say ‘my hands are clean, that means I’m a good guy’ when you let people stand behind you with knives, ready to slash at everyone you say you want to save.” I mentioned that this book builds on all of the preceding novellas. Some of the others could be read independently of the rest of the series, but that is definitely not the case here. The plots and settings and characters of the six books before this one are essential to understanding and appreciating Where the Drowned Girls Go. I feel like this installment bound the others into one entity, a solid foundation upon which McGuire could take the series in any direction for any duration. It made me incredibly excited to see what comes next. “Sticks and stones, as the sages say; sticks and stones. I know what I am and I’m happy this way, and saying something true shouldn’t be an insult, ever, because that’s not how words want to work.” Something I have loved about every single Wayward Children novella is the philosophical depth McGuire so beautifully imbues into the prose of each story. The writing is exquisite; I always find myself recording pages of quotes that moved me both with what they communicate and the lovely ways in which the do so. Even though all of these books are under 200 pages long, they always make me think and feel deeply. McGuire truly has a gift, and it’s always beautifully wielded on the page. I’m in awe. If each of these novellas has a philosophical theme, this one is courage and self-acceptance and being willing to stand up for both yourself and others, even when those in authority truly believe the ways in which they hurt you are “for your own good.” The dichotomy between the two school hammered these points home, and gave me an even deeper appreciation for the haven Eleanor West offers. “You’re a monster in a hall of heroes, and we’re going to defeat you. That’s what heroes do. We beat monsters, no matter how much it costs us.” Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series is this wonderful, rare balancing act between comforting and thought-provoking. Each installment is unique and offers something different in both story and topics to contemplate. But the central thread, the desire to find a place of our own and the need to Be Sure before we take the risky step out of our comfort zone and into a reality that fits us better, binds all of these stories into something even stronger together than they are individually. Where the Drowned Girls Go acts to solidify that tie while also telling a very compelling story in its own right. There’s something truly magical about McGuire’s writing and world building, and I’m already eagerly awaiting the eighth installment in the series. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 15, 2021
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Dec 20, 2021
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Dec 15, 2021
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Hardcover
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| B007QUOF7Q
| 4.03
| 65,301
| 2001
| Nov 06, 2012
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really liked it
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For some reason, I wasn’t expecting much from Black House. While I really enjoyed The Talisman, the first novel in this duology, I feel like I’ve hear
For some reason, I wasn’t expecting much from Black House. While I really enjoyed The Talisman, the first novel in this duology, I feel like I’ve heard a good bit of negative commentary about this particular book in the past. Can I actually pinpoint any of said comments? Nope. Not a one. Maybe I was thinking about a different book. Because Black House was everything I should have expected: scary, moving, and vital to the Dark Tower. “I must not be so bad if I have a friend like that.” I love the narrator’s voice in this book. To me, it’s reminiscent of Dickens with charming, gentle directions of “let us look here” and “this is our destination” and so on. This creates an interesting dichotomy with the darker, more horroresque elements of the novel. And this book is absolutely a horror novel. Like its predecessor, there might be elements of portal fantasy and mystery here, but Black House is unequivocally and firmly planted in the horror genre. So much so, in fact, that there were multiple parts of the story that had me feeling squeamish and contemplating putting the book aside. I’m incredibly glad that I stuck it out, because this story ended up being far more important in the scheme of things concerning the Dark Tower than I expected. “What you love, you must love all the harder because someday it will be gone.” Michael Collings called this book “a linchpin narrative bringing together—explicitly, undeniably, and utterly—the mythic worlds King and Straub have drawn, pulling them together and knotting them at the core…” While I haven’t read any of Straub’s work outside the predecessor to this book he wrote with King, The Talisman, I can absolutely see how vital this book is to King’s Dark Tower landscape. While all of the interrelated novels on the extended Dark Tower reading order list I’ve been using do indeed tie into the narrative in some way, The Talisman and Black House feel essential to the overarching story. While I think the duology would be a powerful story on its own, the connections it provides in King’s larger picture feel truly inspired. If you’re thinking about embarking on a trip to the Dark Tower, absolutely do not skip these two books. “The King is in his Tower, eating bread and honey. The Breakers in the basement, making all the money.” Outside of its contributions to the Dark Tower landscape, I have some mixed feelings about Black House. On the one hand, I was utterly charmed by the narrative voice, as stated above. There were also a handful of characters who shone so brightly they almost burned, my favorites of these being Henry and Beezer. On the other hand, there were multiple descriptive passages that felt almost like murder porn, and it gave me the willies, to use a King-ism. It felt almost gleeful in its visceral depictions of carnage. And I initially thought I was going to hate this book because of the changes in Jack Sawyer’s character from The Talisman, but thankfully those alterations weren’t permanent. “Yes, it’s always the past. That’s where the hurt is, all you can’t get over.” Again, my main complaint with The Talisman comes back into play in Black House: while I loved some of these characters, anyone being portrayed as villainous had absolutely zero redeeming qualities. I can’t stand caricature villains, and there were multiple characters I feel fit that bill in this book. There is a struggle, a nuance at the core of all of the protagonistic characters I came to love in this story. They weren’t perfect, which just made me care about them even more. But the villains? They’re cardboard. Malicious, sadistic, evil-to-the-core cardboard. While I’m not saying that I wanted to root for the villains in any way, I wish there would have been just a tiny bit of nuance there. “Ka is a friend to evil as well as good. It embraces both.” This was also another monster of a book that I believe could have been edited down one or two hundred pages and become a tighter, even more engrossing story. But it was compelling despite its verbosity, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Black House is a book that I thought about even when I wasn’t reading, which I think is the highest mark of a good story. I can’t wait to see what parts of this book carry over into the last half of the Dark Tower series. (Side note: The audio of this book is narrated by one of my absolute favorite narrators, Frank Muller. If you’re an audiobook person, both this book and The Talisman are fantastic listens!) You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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Sep 24, 2021
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Oct 14, 2021
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Sep 24, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| 125027270X
| 9781250272706
| 125027270X
| 4.32
| 42,695
| Nov 23, 2021
| Nov 23, 2021
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it was amazing
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Actual rating: 4.5 stars Nora never disappoints. There are so many trilogies and series where reading the second book is something of a doldrums experi Actual rating: 4.5 stars Nora never disappoints. There are so many trilogies and series where reading the second book is something of a doldrums experience; it’s giving you a lot of background and filler to get you to the main event in the third book. I’ve read a bunch of these, some of them in series that I consider to be favorites, especially in the fantasy genre. But that’s not at all what I got in The Becoming, book 2 of Nora’s The Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy. This book was impactful and engaging from first page to last, while still providing the setup needed for the final installment. I thoroughly enjoyed every single scene in The Becoming, and I will absolutely be rereading it and its predecessor before the aforementioned final installment, The Choice, is published in November of 2022. I’m incredibly thankful for Nora’s schedule and work ethic, because I would hate to have to wait any longer to get the end of this story. If you know me at all, you know that I adore Nora Roberts and read absolutely everything she publishes. She’s one of my very favorite authors, and has been for over half of my life now. I go through phases and changes with other favorites, but Nora’s place in my heart has always been solid and secure. My favorite genre tends to change. Sometimes I’m all about fantasy and horror, while other times I want nothing but literary fiction or thrillers or middle grade classics. I’ve never considered romance a favorite genre until this year, but Nora has always been my favorite regardless of genre. Because of this, I’ve been beyond thrilled as, in the past few years, she’s really stretched herself as a writer and has both tackled tough topics and tried her hand at genres outside of her norm, like dystopian and fantasy. While she’s always had fantastical elements in her work, The Dragon Heart Legacy is the first I would label straight up portal fantasy, and she’s done a brilliant job balancing the worlds on either side of those portals. There are so many strong, wonderfully developed characters in this series that listing them would take forever, so I’m only going to mention a few. Breen, our protagonist, has grown by leaps and bounds since we first met her in The Awakening. Her determination and drive support her talent and wit very well, but she would have never discovered any of those qualities in herself without the beautiful support system of friends and family she’s managed to accrue by this point in the narrative. My favorites are Marco, her childhood best friend who would follow her anywhere; Sally, the drag queen who is far more of a mother to Breen and Marco than either of their own; and the grandmother and honorary grandfather Breen never knew she had. But the entire cast is wonderful. While the romance of the central characters is far slower developing than is Nora’s norm, she’s balanced that very well with romances in the lives of the supporting characters, especially in Marco. There’s quite a lot of action and battle sequences for a Nora series, and she has always written them well. As with her sex scenes, she writes more about the atmosphere and emotions than she does the mechanics of the act itself, but her battles suck you in. You can smell the blood and smoke and sheer ferocity in the scenes. And there’s something beautiful and timeless about magic as she writes it, just as there’s something insidious in the magic of the antagonists. This series has no gray characters; there is a very clear divide between good and evil, but I think having such a solid division between light and dark is refreshing. I have nothing negative to say about this book, or the one that came before it. The writing was lovely, the magic enchanting, the characters endearing, and the battle engaging. I wish I could take a trip to Ireland, find the Welcoming Tree, and take my own journey into Talamh. The Becoming made me want to ride a dragon and make friends with a fairy, yes, but it also made me want to write, to sing, to push myself out of my comfort zone and see who I can become when I get out of my own way. And isn’t that kind of motivation the very most we can ask of fiction? You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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Nov 28, 2021
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Nov 30, 2021
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Jun 27, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 1250213592
| 9781250213594
| 1250213592
| 3.80
| 21,688
| Jan 12, 2021
| Jan 12, 2021
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really liked it
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I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Tor.com, in exchange for an honest review. Over the past few years, I’ve come to love Seana I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Tor.com, in exchange for an honest review. Over the past few years, I’ve come to love Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series fiercely. And thanks to the wonderful people at Tor.com, reading the newest installment a bit ahead of its publication date has become something of a Christmas tradition for me. These novellas are all beautifully written and poignant and full of heavy topics handled with a light but respectful touch. Across the Green Grass Fields is no exception to this rule. “Girlhood wasn’t destiny unless you wanted it to be, and she had accepted her destiny wholeheartedly. Anything to be normal.” In this sixth volume of the loose series we meet Regan, a young girl who loves horses and lives in fear of being shunned for any reason. She tries to surpress anything about herself that might make her stand out, but it’s not enough. When Regan finds out why she doesn’t fit in easily with the other girls, her sense of betrayal drives her through a Door into a world she didn’t know she was searching for. “…anyone who answered a friend’s honesty with horror and rejection had never been a friend in the first place.” The Hooflands are populated by every hoofed creature imaginable. Unicorns, fauns, kelpies, selines, perytons, and minotaurs abound. But Regan finds her true home in a herd of centaurs, where she learns that being a strong woman doesn’t look the same for everyone. Within this herd, Regan finds love and acceptance and empowerment. Her human parents in our world also loved her fiercely and accepted her unconditionally and would have done anything to help her feel empowered, but something about the presence of hooves and furred flanks has cleared her vision enough to finally accept and love herself. “I can be beautiful and limited at the same time… There’s nothing wrong with being limited, as long as you have people around to make sure those limitations don’t get you hurt.” This story, like all of its predecessors, deals with some heavy topics in lovely, respectful ways while never impeding the plot in any way. The tale at the heart of this book was meandering but compelling, and I enjoyed it immensely right up until I didn’t. The ending seemed incredibly abrupt, but as that’s how it would have seemed for Regan, I think that was the point. But even though I understand the choice, it still left me a teensy bit dissatisfied with the final pages. “She still didn’t believe in destiny. Clay shaped into a cup was not always destined to become a drinking vessel; it was simply shaped by someone too large to be resisted. She was not clay, but she had been shaped by her circumstances all the same, not directed by any destiny.” Across the Green Grass Fields is an achingly lovely story about a girl who loved horses but not herself, who finally found self-acceptance among the hoofed inhabitants of another world. It was a solid new installment in a series that resonates deeply with a multitude of readers, and I think they’re going to really love this one. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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Dec 20, 2020
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Dec 23, 2020
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Dec 20, 2020
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Hardcover
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| 0008229945
| 9780008229948
| 0008229945
| 4.19
| 4,068
| Sep 17, 2020
| Sep 17, 2020
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liked it
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While still interesting, and even more innovative than the two preceding installments, Tilly and the Map of Time lacked a little of the charm of its p
While still interesting, and even more innovative than the two preceding installments, Tilly and the Map of Time lacked a little of the charm of its predecessors in my opinion. Despite all of the new plot points and the expansion of the magic system, it felt just a touch stale. However, this could be because I read it immediately after finishing Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales. I love the idea of book magic, and how it was shown in both healthy and unhealthy forms. I also loved the inclusion of Shakespeare and the most wholesomely magical train I’ve come across outside of a picture book. I’m happy that there was actually an ending to the story in this third book, and I think it’s a great place to leave the story while still leaving room for the author to revisit the world she’s created should she choose to do so.
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1
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Nov 08, 2020
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Nov 11, 2020
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Nov 08, 2020
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| 0008229902
| 9780008229900
| 0008229902
| 4.14
| 6,070
| Sep 19, 2019
| Sep 19, 2019
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really liked it
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Cute. Sweet. A fun romp through the world of fairy tales. I do, however, think this book veers more toward being a children’s book than middle grade.
Cute. Sweet. A fun romp through the world of fairy tales. I do, however, think this book veers more toward being a children’s book than middle grade. For instance, the Percy Jackson books are in a completely different league, with much more complex themes and deeper character development, even in the first book. The Pages & Co. novels are breezier, more about tipping the hat to classic children’s tales while at the same time turning said stories on their heads. I love how this book in particular addresses gender roles in fairy tales, and how obnoxious those are. The prose might be simplistic, but that’s part of the beauty of these books. Children as young as six or so could enjoy them as readily as an older child or even an adult like myself. They’d make great read-alouds, but I’ve enjoyed myself immensely simply reading them on my own. However, unlike the first book in the series, Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales doesn’t have a tidy, self-contained ending, so maybe ensure that you have access to a copy of the next book in the series before reading this particular installment.
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Nov 04, 2020
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Nov 08, 2020
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Nov 04, 2020
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| 4.26
| 206,001
| Nov 04, 1997
| Jan 01, 2016
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it was amazing
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The Dark Tower has completely captured my heart and mind. I feel as though I am part of the gunslinger’s ka-tet, making the trek right along with them
The Dark Tower has completely captured my heart and mind. I feel as though I am part of the gunslinger’s ka-tet, making the trek right along with them. And so far, it’s one of the most fulfilling literary journeys I’ve ever embarked upon. Wizard and Glass did nothing but reinforce that feeling. “And now, all these years later, it seemed to him that the most horrible fact of human existence was that broken hearts mended.” In this installment of the series we get a lot of backstory on Roland, the tragic hero of this entire tale. And tragic is definitely the right descriptor. Because of the framework King set up before embarking on this trip into Roland’s memories, we know things are going to end horribly, even if we don’t know exactly how things go wrong. We know we’re in for a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. And yet, even knowing this, even knowing that the events we’re witnessing occurred in the past and can’t be changed, it’s impossible to keep from pleading King to give us a different outcome in the telling. No such luck. But even the most heartbreaking tales can be utterly captivating when told well, and this one is very well told. “So do we pass the ghosts that haunt us later in our lives; they sit undramatically by the roadside like poor beggars, and we see them only from the corners of our eyes, if we see them at all. The idea that they have been waiting there for us rarely if ever crosses our minds. Yet they do wait, and when we have passed, they gather up their bundles of memory and fall in behind, treading in our footsteps and catching up, little by little.” I’m really glad that I read The Stand before picking up this book, as it was referenced heavily. While you could definitely read only the main series and still very much enjoy it without feeling lost, I think reading books like The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, ‘Salem’s Lot, and other will only enhance the enjoyment for King’s Constant Readers. If you have no interest in becoming one of those and just want Roland’s story, go for it. It’s more than capable of standing on its own. The interconnectedness of King’s other works to the Dark Tower is just a wonderful added bonus. “It starts here. From its field of roses, the Dark Tower cries out in its beast’s voice. Time is a face on the water.” An unexpected side effect of reading this series is the soft spot I’m developing for the Western genre. I never thought I had much taste for Westerns, but I’m becoming a bit enamored with the setting. Who would’ve thought that Stephen King, the King of Horror himself, would have me finally gearing up to read Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry? And King’s portrayal of ka, the irresistible and unstoppable fate which drives the world, has given me a lot of philosophical musings on which to ponder. “If it's ka it'll come like a wind, and your plans will stand before it no more than a barn before a cyclone.” There’s not a whole lot more I can say without spoiling something, so I’ll just say this: I loved this book. I loved the story-within-a-story, as well as the framework containing it. I loved the cultural references, and the connections to The Stand. Most of all, I love the group of characters at the core of this series. By this point, they feel incredibly real to me. And, knowing King, I’m terrified that not all of them will make it to the Tower. But live or die, they’re a ka-tet I would be proud to belong to, and I’m with them ’til the end of the line. “Stand, and be true.” You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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Oct 03, 2020
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Oct 09, 2020
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Oct 03, 2020
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Kindle Edition
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| B018ER7IR8
| 4.25
| 230,300
| Aug 1991
| Jan 01, 2016
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it was amazing
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And the award for creepiest train in all of literature goes to… “Don't ask me silly questionsAnd the award for creepiest train in all of literature goes to… “Don't ask me silly questions Stephen King has had a place among my favorite authors for 3 or 4 years now. But over the span of this book and its predecessor, The Drawing of the Three, he’s edging remarkably close to becoming not just one of my favorite authors, but my hands down favorite. Right now he’s in a three-way tie with Brandon Sanderson and Nora Roberts, but Wizard and Glass might actually change that if it holds a candle to The Waste Lands. I’ve heard that the back half of the Dark Tower series pales a bit in comparison to the first 4 books, so I’m trying to keep my expectations low, but this is shaping up to be my favorite series of all time. “The wheel of ka turns and the world moves on.” The Gunslinger was fine the first time I read it, and I enjoyed it more the second time around. I loved The Drawing of the Three almost immediately, and that love never wavered throughout the course of the novel. But The Waste Lands is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I’m not saying it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, as I’ve been fortunate enough to consume some absolute masterpieces. King’s prose doesn’t quite measure up to masterpiece quality. There are imperfections here. But for sheer enjoyment value, for its ability to keep me so invested that I had a difficult time focussing on real life, for its insistence on invading my dreams even after I had read its final pages, this book just wins. I was never less than completely entranced. The plot was astonishingly intricate and never lagged. I was never bored for a single second. “See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the earth. If you want to run and play, come along the beam today.” I’m always amazed by the myriad of intricate ways in which King references his own work. Some are small and incredibly subtle, while others are evident to even those who haven’t read a lot of his backlog. And the self-referencing should seem haughty. It doesn’t. Instead, it makes everything King has ever written come across as purposeful and intentional and premeditative. I have mad respect for this, and I think it makes his stellar stories even more enjoyable, as they build on one another. I’m a huge lover of Easter eggs in stories. It’s why I love Marvel and Sanderson’s Cosmere, and it’s why I’ve come to adore King’s work. And it’s exactly why I’ve chosen to take the much longer, circuitous route to the Tower. I’d love to just blast through the main series, but I’d love even more to pick up on as many of the little references to his other works that King has interwoven into the story as I possibly can. This will more than likely lead to me reading his entire body of work over the course of a decade or two, and I’m completely okay with that. “In the end, all things, even the Beams, serve the Dark Tower. Did you think you would be any different?” The central cast of The Waste Lands completely won me over. I love each member of this ka-tet with every fiber of my being. And I can’t discuss a single one of them because, as with John Gwynne’s work, even mentioning certain character names could potentially spoil some important plot points. But also as with Gwynne’s work, I’m making an exception for an animal companion. Oy the Billy-Bumbler is an absolute darling, and I’m amazed at King’s ability to craft such a unique and lovable creature. I need one. Not want. NEED. I will say this about the central cast; they have all grown tremendously since each of them was introduced into the narrative. There’s so much character development in this series that it’s unreal. And their relationships with each other have experienced just as much transformation. It’s been truly wonderful to observe. I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I have no idea where the wheel of Ka will take these companions. I would say that I can’t wait to find out, but I also know that King has no problem killing off his darlings and I’m terrified of what might lie ahead. But the need to know is fierce, and I’m incredibly excited to continue my journey to the Tower. And I can’t wait to see how more of King’s other works tie into it. Long days and pleasant nights, friends. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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1
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Sep 18, 2020
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Sep 26, 2020
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Sep 18, 2020
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Kindle Edition
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| 1250272610
| 9781250272614
| 1250272610
| 4.19
| 63,162
| Nov 24, 2020
| Nov 24, 2020
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it was amazing
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Actual rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up. I know of no medicine better than a Nora Roberts book. Whenever I’m feeling down or overwhelmed or just in need o Actual rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up. I know of no medicine better than a Nora Roberts book. Whenever I’m feeling down or overwhelmed or just in need of something comforting, her books are always a welcoming escape. The Awakening, the first installment in her newest series, is no exception. If the rest of the Dragon Heart Legacy is as great as The Awakening, it promises to be one of her best. “You have to look to find. You have to ask to have the answers. You have to awaken to become.” In recent years, Nora has been taking more and more risks with her work. She’s been writing about weightier topics, departing from the formula she’d adhered to for so many novels, and diving further into the fantasy genre. All of these changes absolutely delight me. While there’s a part of me that misses the predictability, as it was part of the the draw and comfort of her work, I have so much respect for the risks she’s taking and the ways in which she is stretching herself. “You have to work to have peace, and there are times you have to fight for it.” In this novel, Nora really highlights her strengths: characterization and strong sense of place. Breen, our main character, grows tremendously over the course of the book. And her supporting cast is simply delightful. There are a lot of musicians in this novel, and the way Nora portrays music was, as it always is, moving and true. I loved getting to know this cast, and I can’t wait to see how they develop over the next two books. “An instrument was a garden, needed love, needed tending.” My very favorite element of the story is the setting. We actually have three main settings here: Philadelphia, Ireland, and the fictional Talamh. All three settings are vibrant and well fleshed out, but there’s something about Ireland that just shines. I’m not sure how many novels Nora has written that are set at least in part in Ireland, but I’d say there are at least a couple dozen or so. You can tell that Ireland holds an incredible appeal for her, and her love for it comes through brilliantly in each of those aforementioned books. Reading one of her stories set on the Emerald Isle is my favorite way to travel when traveling is impossible. Because of Nora, Ireland is the top bucket list destination for every woman in my family. The way she paints the setting with her words is nothing short of stunning. I can always close my eyes and see just exactly what she’s described, and it’s always lovely. “If you fail, well, greatness rises from first failures.” The fantasy elements in this story are so much fun. For the most part, they are elements she has utilized in past novels, but the parallel worlds motif is a new one for her, and it adds some resonance to the rest. There’s magic, and fairies, and dragons, and more. I feel like these elements will be further explored in the next installment, and I’m beyond excited. “If you rock no boat, you never end up in the water to see where the waves might take you.” One way in which this book differs greatly from most of Nora’s novels is that it ends on a cliffhanger. I’m never a fan of such endings, but it definitely packed a punch. Thankfully, I know I won’t have to wait forever for the next book. Nora’s work ethic is insane, and I can’t remember once in my adult life when a book wasn’t published on the date she promised. Because she’s so dependable, I feel pretty secure in the belief that I won’t have to wait more than a year to see what happens next. “I’ve learned that life, a good one, is about love, about standing up for yourself and others, about generosity, about giving back.” I had a wonderful time reading The Awakening, and discussing it with my mom and grandmother as we all read it together. Even if it’s not my new favorite book, there’s nothing quite as soothing and captivating as diving into the writing of Nora Roberts when the real world is so far from perfect. This novel met all of my expectations, and I have a feeling it’s just going to get better when I revisit it next year. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
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2
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Nov 24, 2021
Nov 27, 2020
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Nov 28, 2021
Dec 02, 2020
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Jul 27, 2020
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Hardcover
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| 1409103862
| 9781409103868
| 1409103862
| 4.11
| 133,565
| Nov 08, 1984
| Jul 05, 2012
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really liked it
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I’ve been reading a lot of King lately. Very rarely do I binge read a particular author. I feel the need to mix things up in my reading life or I find
I’ve been reading a lot of King lately. Very rarely do I binge read a particular author. I feel the need to mix things up in my reading life or I find myself burned out and unable to appreciate a book I should love because I’ve consumed too much of the same thing in a row. I might love pizza, but I would find it far less palatable if I had to eat it for every meal. I feel the same way about my literary diet. So I’m a readerly butterfly, flitting from author to author and genre to genre as they grab my attention. However, this is my fourth King novel in a row, and it’s the fourth in a row I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I think that’s because each of these four novels, whether King penned them alone or with the aid of a co-author as with this book, vary drastically from everything else I’ve read by him. And yet what makes them so incredible is the way they tie into each other and refer back to things King wrote before them and foreshadow books he would write after. The Talisman is the first book King coauthored with Peter Straub, who is an author I’m unfamiliar with. However, after reading this book I’m interested to try something he wrote independently. Because The Talisman was wild, y’all. This book contains the most hardcore, horrifying hero’s journey I’ve ever encountered. Some of the more recent King books I’ve read felt very removed from the horror genre. While they might’ve had instances of horror, that is not the genre in which I would classify them. Not so with The Talisman. While the story relies heavily on the building blocks of portal fantasy, it is unequivocally horror. There was a whole lot of freaky in this book. Jack Sawyer is just a twelve-year-old kid who wants his mom to get better. This desire along with a “chance” meeting with a kindred spirit and mentor send him on a journey unlike any our world or any other have ever seen. For his task is not just to travel cross-country in search of a Talisman that can save his mother’s life, but to save the Queen of another world called the Territories. These two worlds, and more besides, are irrevocably tied together, and Jack is the only one who can get the Talisman that can save them. Along his very long, arduous journey, Jack meets wonderful people and horrible people, makes friends he loves with all his heart and villains so vile that his loathing for them knows no bounds. He sees and tastes beauty unlike anything he ever imagined, and sees horrors that would break the mind of any adult who saw the same. It’s one helluva trip. King paved the way for this story with a single, profound line of dialogue in The Gunslinger: “Go, then. There are other worlds than these.” That concept is the hub around which the happenings within The Talisman occur. This story is very much about the possibility of parallel worlds and the versions of ourselves that might reside in those worlds. The concept of twinners, those with a soul twin in another world, is one that I’m positive will pop up again and again in King’s work, and one that feels connected to books in his catalogue that I’ve already read. What holds me back from giving this book a 5 star rating lies mostly in the characters. While I did love Jack and liked the friends he made along the way, those portrayed as evil felt like cardboard cutouts of dastardly villains. All they were missing to complete the look were mustaches to twirl while they laughed maniacally. They were stupid and repetitive and, while they were indeed scary, I could help rolling my eyes at their mannerisms and speech patterns. I was also driven just a little bit crazy by Jack’s friends, who tended to be so out of their minds with fear that he had to just pull them along until they could finally serve their purpose. I’ve also noticed that King has a tendency toward the mystic negro trope which bothers me and seems borderline, if accidentally, racist. And, as with quite a few of his older works that I’ve read, King’s overuse of slang in his works prematurely ages them, and there was an abundance of such slang in this book. However, the story and the telling of it were so incredibly compelling that I can’t really hold these shortcomings against the book or its authors. Even with its failings The Talisman still provided me with a phenomenal reading experience. It was moving and unpredictable, and I was on the edge of my seat for all 900+ pages. I’m one step nearer the Tower, and I’m so glad I’ve chosen to take the scenic route. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 24, 2020
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May 2020
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Apr 24, 2020
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Paperback
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| 038554121X
| 9780385541213
| 038554121X
| 3.85
| 215,300
| Nov 05, 2019
| Nov 05, 2019
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liked it
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Actual rating: 3.5 stars “We are all stardust and stories.” I adore The Night Circus, and have been eagerly anticipating Morgenstern’s sophomore novel f Actual rating: 3.5 stars “We are all stardust and stories.” I adore The Night Circus, and have been eagerly anticipating Morgenstern’s sophomore novel for eight years. I really should have tempered my expectations. The Starless Sea is the type of book that, in the beginning, I believed would evoke strong feelings. You should either love it and be completely entranced by the atmospheric quiet of the tale, or be bored to tears by the apparent lack of action and a more common pacing. That’s what I expected when I read the first few pages. Unfortunately, if fell short for me. Instead of either loving or hating it, I mostly just find myself disappointed by it. “If all endings are beginnings, are all beginnings also endings?” Morgenstern can paint a picture with words unlike almost any other author I’ve experienced. There is a lushness to her writing that enchants me, and I can see everything she describes. I delight in the worlds she has created. The settings and premise of this book are absolutely fantastic. The idea of a secret world of stories is always a thrilling trope, and Morgenstern had a truly unique take on it that I found fascinating. The Starless Sea and its multitude of past and present Harbors are places that I would dearly love to visit. I swear I could taste the honey and smell the forgotten stories. It sounds like heaven. There were so many small-scale, unique settings within the scope of the Starless Sea that you could explore forever and never stop finding new depths to plumb. Along with its predecessor, The Starless Sea is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve ever read; creating a unique and compelling atmosphere is without a doubt Morgenstern’s biggest strength as an author. If storytelling can be a lullaby, she is one of the best in the business. “Strange, isn’t it? To love a book. When the words on the pages become so precious that they feel like part of your own history because they are.” Besides the beautifully described settings, my favorite element of this book was the fact that it wasn’t just one book. In each section, Morgenstern divided the story between Zachary’s current story and a book of fairy tales or a diary or some other book unique to that particular section. The fairy tales that Morgenstern crafted were wholly original and absolutely beautiful. The ideas of the Moon and the innkeeper, of Time and Fate, of the Owl King and his domain, were every one of them lovely and enchanting and thought provoking. Morgenstern created her own mythos, deep and wild and utterly unique, and it fueled the story. If I could somehow find a book of just these fairy tales, I give copies out like candy and would read them over and over again. “Everyone wants the stars. Everyone wishes to grasp that which exists out of reach. To hold the extraordinary in their hands and keep the remarkable in their pockets.” If this book was so beautifully written, so original in setting and lore, why didn’t I adore it? My disappointment can be found in two foundational elements: characterization and pacing. Actually, my displeasure stems from a lack of both. The characters were interesting and varied on the surface, but they had no depth. We were told of their depth, of their successes and losses and aches, but we were never actually shown these things. Morgenstern excels at presenting a setting in such a way that her audience can truly visualize it, as I stated earlier. But for some reason, she seems unable to show us a character’s core instead of merely telling us about it. This results in cardboard characters against a stunning backdrop, which just doesn’t really work. There is even very little dialogue in proportion to the amount of exposition. “Be brave… Be bold. Be loud. Never change for anyone but yourself. Any soul worth its star-stuff will take the whole package as it is and however it grows.” Also, there never seemed to be any true action; the plot just moseyed from one event to the next. There was never a true sense of tension, which is odd for a story with high stakes, as The Starless Sea is revealed to have. Perhaps part of this comes from Morgenstern’s decision to write in third person present tense? This mixed with high levels of introspection can lead to the story feeling incredibly slow for some and totally immersive for others. Even the various romances felt as if they had no true foundation, which rendered them far less powerful than I believe was intended. I think she tried to make this book more than it is, when the story could have stood just fine on its own had it been allowed to do so. “We’re here to wander through other people’s stories, searching for our own.” Above all, this is a story about never passing up an opportunity; about the stories that shape us, whether they’re consumed from outside sources or told only within ourselves; about the importance of actually living your life instead of merely existing. Though the messages are profound, they were weakened by the lack of dimension within the characters. However, the atmosphere and exquisitely rendered settings and incredibly original and lush lore were compelling enough to ensure that this is a book I’ll end up revisiting someday. Perhaps I will see the characters in a different light and be able to include The Starless Sea among my favorites, along with Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. I recommend making sure that you’re in the proper mood for this book, ready for something atmospheric and lovely that meanders instead of races. “But this is not where their story ends. Their story is only just beginning. And no story ever truly ends as long as it is told.” You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 07, 2019
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Nov 23, 2019
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Nov 07, 2019
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Hardcover
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| B0DLT2PDHK
| 4.04
| 56,298
| Oct 03, 2019
| Oct 03, 2019
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really liked it
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Pullman has created something so special with Lyra’s world and the mythos of other worlds he set up in the original His Dark Materials trilogy. La Bel
Pullman has created something so special with Lyra’s world and the mythos of other worlds he set up in the original His Dark Materials trilogy. La Belle Sauvage, the first installment of this spin-off trilogy, took us back to Lyra’s beginning, giving up the wild story of her infancy and the two children who rescued her. This second installment fast forwards to years after the events of the original trilogy, when Lyra is grown, having just tipped over the cusp of adulthood. The final events of that first trilogy haunt her still, but she is convincing herself more and more that those events aren’t quite true. As she falls into the trap of rationality Pantalaimon, her dæmon, rebels against her loss of imagination. From there, the plot goes wild. Seeing Lyra as an adult was both thrilling and heartbreaking. She’s been through so much by this point, but she’s begun to lose the ferocity and uniqueness that made her so compelling in His Dark Materials. Adult Lyra seems like a pale imitation of childhood Lyra, and Pan is incredibly upset about the change. Seeing the two of them at odds and at each other’s throats is incredibly uncomfortable. Dæmons are like the outward expression of a person’s soul, and so we can see that Lyra’s quarreling with Pan is at its core a level of self-hatred that is hard to stomach. The journeys taken in this book are made all the more poignant for it. Something that I really love about this book is the multitude of plot lines happening simultaneously but coming across as spokes in the same story instead of separate stories that the reader hopes will come together. The jump from one plot to the next never felt jarring, but like a natural progression in the overarching story. Besides Lyra’s and Pan’s perspectives, we also get to see a lot of the story from Malcolm’s point of view, and a small bit from Alice’s, as well. Unlike La Belle Sauvage, which could technically be read without having first read His Dark Materials, The Secret Commonwealth would be incredibly confusing for readers who have not read both the first trilogy and La Belle Sauvage. The preceding four books are absolutely essential to both the understanding and enjoyment of this book. My absolute favorite element of The Secret Commonwealth is the expansion of knowledge we’re given regarding dæmons. Strangely, this new information makes the dæmons more mysterious instead of less. There isn’t really any of this new knowledge that I can share in a review without somehow spoiling the plot, but it was all totally fascinating. The story also spanned much of Lyra’s world that we hadn’t seen up to this point, and it was interesting to see how it was eerily similar and radically different from our own world. We see how prejudice and fear of anyone who is different plague Lyra’s world as much as our own, and how religion so often inflames these prejudices instead of abating them. I was completely enthralled by The Secret Commonwealth, but the ending felt so abrupt that it actually shocked me and left me a little angry. I felt cheated out of witnessing something that the entire novel had been building toward. While I am sure it happened, it did so off screen so to speak. Honestly, I frantically flipped back, hoping I had accidentally skipped a few pages. No such luck. Had I known how jarring I would find the ending I would’ve waited to read it until closer to the still unknown publication date of the final installment before reading The Secret Commonwealth. Pullman wrote something wonderful in The Secret Commonwealth, despite the abrupt ending. Waiting for the final installment is going to be painful, but I have no doubt that it’ll be worth the wait. Pullman has yet to disappoint me, and I can’t wait to see how the phase of Lyra’s story ends. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 18, 2019
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Oct 28, 2019
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Oct 18, 2019
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ebook
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| B000FC1GJW
| 4.10
| 367,784
| Oct 10, 2000
| Nov 13, 2011
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it was amazing
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I’m honestly pretty blown away, and I can’t believe I waiting this long to read His Dark Materials. It was wonderful, balancing thought-provoking phil
I’m honestly pretty blown away, and I can’t believe I waiting this long to read His Dark Materials. It was wonderful, balancing thought-provoking philosophy with nearly breakneck-speed action in this final installment. Pullman crafted a world, or should I say worlds, that I found captivating, and characters whom I grew to care about deeply. Many of these characters, especially Lyra and Will, have taken a little piece of my heart, and I believe they’ll reside there from now on. What a marvelous adventure. “I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.” While reading this book, I did something fairly unusual for me: I kept having to write about my thoughts. Usually, I might take notes on my phone and compile them all after finishing the book, or simply take no notes at all and write a review with nothing but my final thoughts circling around in my head. I could do neither here. I had to actually write out my thoughts as they came to me, so I didn’t forget to address something that I felt was important or forget why that element felt important in the first place. Because I responded to this book so differently from most, my review is going to be a bit different, as well. The next four or five paragraphs are thoughts I had to write out while I was reading. I decided to leave them mostly in their raw form instead of polishing them up and trying to wrangle them into some kind of flow that made sense. Most of these observations and opinions are very religious in nature, as this trilogy hinges so strongly on both belief and Christian mythos, so remember that these are incredibly subjective leanings. Without further ado, here are those thoughts. If you tire of my rambling, feel free to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final views. “I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are.” The problem with the Church of Lyra’s world isn’t their belief or their faith, which I actually saw very little evidence in the series. The problem is that they wish to erase the gift of free will. God could have prevented the original Fall of man in the form of Eve’s choice and Adam’s decision to follow her example. But He didn’t, because one of the greatest gifts He gave us was the ability to make our own decisions through free will. Mankind has no right to revoke that right from future generations, because it’s not a right we bestowed on ourselves to begin with. Instead of taking away our ability to make our own decisions, God gave us another option: accepting the gift of salvation provided by His Son’s death and resurrection. “All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity.” The theory of gaining absolution before the committing of a sin is one of the most disturbing concepts I’ve encountered. It flies in the face of God’s gift and His claim to judge us by our motivations even more than by our deeds. I know that this is a tenet that was once held by very radical sects of the Church, but it’s absolutely repugnant and theologically unsound. Which actually made it a perfect fit for the Church as portrayed by Pullman. “I’m just trying to wake up - I’m so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying - I want to wake up first. I wouldn’t care if it was just for an hour, as long as I was properly alive and awake…” A number of the epigraphs in the book come from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which would have seemed like an almost too obvious decision from Pullman if this weren’t so obviously inspired in large part by Milton’s work. And as Milton conveyed Lucifer more as an antihero than a villain, it was easy to guess which side Pullman would favor in his narrative. However, Pullman’s take was original enough to maintain a level of unpredictability often absent in stories that are so closely linked to a retelling. “People are too complicated to have simple labels.” The descriptions of the Mulefa and their world reminded me of Perelandra, a world visited by Ransom in Lewis’s Space Trilogy. The mood, the innocence, the vast difference between the sentient creatures and humankind, and the relationship one of the adult human characters develops with these unique creatures all hearkened back to Lewis’s Ransom, and his experiences. This was a welcome addition, and was a much needed change of pace in the midst of so much action and trauma throughout the rest of the book. “What work do I have to do then?" said Will, but went on at once, "No, on second thought, don't tell me. I shall decide what I do. If you say my work is fighting, or healing, or exploring, or whatever you might say, I'll always be thinking about it. And if I do end up doing that, I'll be resentful because it'll feel as if I didn't have a choice, and if I don't do it, I'll feel guilty because I should. Whatever I do, I will choose it, no one else.” The spoiler that was thrown in my face when I was a child, (view spoiler)[namely that the two main characters kill God (hide spoiler)], was vastly overstated by the person who delivered it. Yes, this event does occur, but I was expecting premeditated brutality, not the quiet, heartbreaking outcome of an act of kindness. The whole worldview of this trilogy, while different from my own, was not nearly as radical as I was led to believe. This is a story of growing up, of leaving childhood when all you want to do is cling to it, of choosing one dream from many and mourning as the other possibilities move from could-be to might-have-been. It’s about doing good when it would be so much easier to be selfish, and redeeming yourself when the decisions of your past had a hand in harming others. It’s about love and free will and that fact that being able to choose your own path is both blessing and curse. I believe all these things. Where I differ from Pullman is in my belief that God is near, that He respects your choices but cares deeply about you, while Pullman conveys a God who is distant, uncaring, and fallible. I very strongly disagree with this quote and others like it for pretty obvious reasons: “The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake.”Pullman and I couldn’t be more opposed on that statement. Did that difference make me love this book, and the trilogy in its entirety, any less? Absolutely not. “When you choose one way out of many, all the ways you don't take are snuffed out like candles, as if they'd never existed.” I was honestly blown about by His Dark Materials. It is one of the richest, most lovingly crafted trilogies I’ve had the pleasure of reading. It is epic and heartbreaking and sweet and fierce, and I absolutely loved it. Both Lyra and Will, and many of their supporting cast, will always have a place in my heart. Especially Lyra. She is kind and brave and incredibly loving, and I think every little girl could use a role model like her. Each book somehow improved the volume that preceded it, and it’s a series that I believe will lend itself very well to rereadings. His Dark Materials is a modern classic of the fantasy genre for a reason, and it’s well worth your time. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 31, 2019
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Sep 03, 2019
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Aug 31, 2019
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Kindle Edition
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| B000FC1KJS
| 4.15
| 443,801
| Jul 22, 1997
| Nov 13, 2001
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really liked it
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The Subtle Knife picks up almost where The Golden Compass ended, except that this second installment took a slight detour in order to introduce us to
The Subtle Knife picks up almost where The Golden Compass ended, except that this second installment took a slight detour in order to introduce us to a second main protagonist in the form of Will Parry. I quite enjoy Will, and found him a great counterpart for Lyra. Their personalities are very different, but they are both defined most by the protectiveness that fuels them and the fierceness that courses through them. Will is both more civilized and more violent than Lyra, which shines a softer light on our original protagonist than we saw in her first book. The two children on the cusp of their adolescence are quite obviously being set up as either the salvation or damnation of the countless worlds they now know exist. “It’s like having to make a choice: a blessing or a curse. The one thing you can’t do is choose neither.” I enjoyed how Pullman made some of these alternate worlds so similar, with just enough differences to be jarring. The further implications of the importance of dæmons, whether they be externally expressed or contained within a person, are fascinating, as is the relation of Dust to dark matter in our own world. Even though I enjoyed these philosophical elements, this book felt far more like a thriller than the adventure story found in The Golden Compass. And yet, I also felt this book was a good deal slower, suffering in places from middle-book syndrome. There’s no was that this book could stand well on its own, at least in my opinion. The events of the previous book are absolutely necessary knowledge in order to understand what’s going on in The Subtle Knife, and the cliffhanger ending would have been infuriating had I not been able to immediately pick up the final installment. “I found folly everywhere, but there were grains of wisdom in every stream of it.” Besides the philosophical questions and wonderfully fleshed out child protagonists, my favorite elements of this series are the title objects. The Golden Compass, or aliethiometer, of the first book was a fascinating concept and was so well described that I could almost feel the weight of it in my palms. The namesake of The Subtle Knife is just was intriguing and easy to visualize. I’m already excited to find out the significance of the finale’s title, The Amber Spyglass. As a side note, I was also taken with the adult characters from The Golden Compass who have developed a love for Lyra and determined within themselves to do all they can to stand in for her parents. They’re lovely individuals, and the hard choices they made were so incredibly worthy of respect. “Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.” I didn’t love The Subtle Knife as much as I did its predecessor, but I still enjoyed it and found myself excited to pick up the final installment. While I definitely don’t share the worldview conveyed in this series, I don’t feel at all like Pullman was trying to preach through his trilogy; he’s just telling a good story that feels both vastly different and sometimes similar to series that shaped my childhood. As much as I love Narnia, it’s definitely a series that pushes its worldview, because that was the intention behind its authorship. I’m interested to see how I feel about The Amber Spyglass, and if I can maintain my objectivity in the face of the events that were spoiled for me so many years ago. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 29, 2019
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Aug 31, 2019
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Aug 29, 2019
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Kindle Edition
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my rating |
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| 3.34
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really liked it
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Jan 30, 2024
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Jan 23, 2024
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| 4.08
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liked it
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Jan 04, 2024
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Jul 06, 2023
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| 3.30
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liked it
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Dec 20, 2022
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Dec 13, 2022
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| 4.10
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really liked it
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Oct 04, 2022
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Aug 06, 2022
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| 4.09
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liked it
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Apr 18, 2022
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Mar 18, 2022
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| 4.32
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it was amazing
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Dec 31, 2022
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Feb 03, 2022
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| 4.05
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it was amazing
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Dec 20, 2021
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Dec 15, 2021
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| 4.03
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really liked it
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Oct 14, 2021
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Sep 24, 2021
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| 4.32
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it was amazing
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Nov 30, 2021
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Jun 27, 2021
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| 3.80
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really liked it
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Dec 23, 2020
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Dec 20, 2020
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| 4.19
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liked it
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Nov 11, 2020
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Nov 08, 2020
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| 4.14
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really liked it
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Nov 08, 2020
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Nov 04, 2020
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| 4.26
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it was amazing
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Oct 09, 2020
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Oct 03, 2020
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| 4.25
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it was amazing
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Sep 26, 2020
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Sep 18, 2020
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| 4.19
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it was amazing
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Nov 28, 2021
Dec 02, 2020
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Jul 27, 2020
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| 4.11
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really liked it
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May 2020
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Apr 24, 2020
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| 3.85
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liked it
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Nov 23, 2019
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Nov 07, 2019
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| 4.04
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really liked it
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Oct 28, 2019
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Oct 18, 2019
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| 4.10
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it was amazing
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Sep 03, 2019
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Aug 31, 2019
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| 4.15
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really liked it
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Aug 31, 2019
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Aug 29, 2019
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