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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I waited to review this book until I had finished the series, because it's one of those series where the books on their own are not terribly satisfying. Heap House asks more questions than it answers, and alone it would be an irritating puzzle of a book.
There's a lot to get used to in Carey's imagined world, not just "birth objects" and the setting of alternate-Victorian-era dystopian London and it's suburbs, but also social structures and hierarchies within the Iremonger family and the world they inhabit. Social hierarchies are a theme in a lot of British literature, and you've got to get the sorted out, or the plot of the series will be fairly nonsensical.
Actually, a lot of the Iremonger series is pretty nonsensical, but it's coherent nonsense, rather than a bunch of disjointed nonsense, so it manages to be reasonably engrossing and entertaining.
The only thing I'd actively criticize is the fractured narrative and abruptly short chapters at the beginning of book three. But even that sorts itself out in the end, and the series finishes with reasonable flow and a suitably weird conclusion.
There's a lot to get used to in Carey's imagined world, not just "birth objects" and the setting of alternate-Victorian-era dystopian London and it's suburbs, but also social structures and hierarchies within the Iremonger family and the world they inhabit. Social hierarchies are a theme in a lot of British literature, and you've got to get the sorted out, or the plot of the series will be fairly nonsensical.
Actually, a lot of the Iremonger series is pretty nonsensical, but it's coherent nonsense, rather than a bunch of disjointed nonsense, so it manages to be reasonably engrossing and entertaining.
The only thing I'd actively criticize is the fractured narrative and abruptly short chapters at the beginning of book three. But even that sorts itself out in the end, and the series finishes with reasonable flow and a suitably weird conclusion.
That was weird. Very unique. Good characters and the strangest setting.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
It was fine. Cool premise, but quite boring. I won't be reading the sequel.
Born in England, Edward Carey now lives in Austin, Texas, where he wrote the Iremonger Trilogy because he missed feeling cold and gloomy. On these scorching summer days, I too missed the cold and gloom.
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2015/01/review-heap-house.html
After finishing one of my 2 part #bigcommittmentbooks I thought I'd read something light. This is not how I'd describe Heap House. It reminds me of Gormanghast. Very gothic. And there's a bit of swearing at the end so not for under 8s. I'll continue the series only because of the cliffhanger at the end and hoping it gets better.