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heatherjm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
adas_library's review against another edition
2.0
Reading this felt like that time I had Covid and watched Inception while I had a 41 *C fever.
catherineamerica's review against another edition
2.0
Premise was interesting but the actual book was confusing and a little dull. There wasn’t enough world building at first and things just happened and it didn’t make any sense. D could have been a cool protagonist but there were too many side stories.
hope_amanda's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bobstimemachine's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
twicomb's review
2.0
DNFed at 47%. How could such a fascinating concept manage to turn out so boring???
backdraft_bookshelf's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
(Why I almost DNFd and then what saved it)
The start of this book, say the first 50 pages, had me interested. A Dickensian period at war setting and a "conjurer" whos short story in the book reminded me of The Illusionist with Edward Norton. But I REALLLYYY found myself almost DNFing my first book ever. I was almost 280 pages in and barely any talk of what I actually wanted to know about (i.e. The conjurer, the Psykical Research organization, any war at all/even politics of it). There are many characters that you just straight up wont remember, and to me, it seems the way the story was set up. After finishing the book, I understand why certain parts were placed where they were. But, ultimately isnt the goal of the book to get a reader to 100% it and not DNF? No matter what their final conclusion of the book is? You cant bank on someone slogging through the mud to get to the good stuff (final 200 pages). This Book could have been a solid 4 star book, IMO it just focused on the wrong things to build tension and suspense.
SPOILERS*
What saved this book for me was the absolute fever dream of an ending it was. Granted it still didnt answer questions about the conjurer and barely touched the surface of Psykical Research. The bloodshed in the last 200 pages, the mystic about the Morgue Ship being stripped away, and the understanding of why "the Fairest" had its government overthrown were interesting and satisfying enough for me to give this 3.5 stars. I want to know more about not-Anthony, about the Crone, and about Simon the Gentle
(Why I almost DNFd and then what saved it)
The start of this book, say the first 50 pages, had me interested. A Dickensian period at war setting and a "conjurer" whos short story in the book reminded me of The Illusionist with Edward Norton. But I REALLLYYY found myself almost DNFing my first book ever. I was almost 280 pages in and barely any talk of what I actually wanted to know about (i.e. The conjurer, the Psykical Research organization, any war at all/even politics of it). There are many characters that you just straight up wont remember, and to me, it seems the way the story was set up. After finishing the book, I understand why certain parts were placed where they were. But, ultimately isnt the goal of the book to get a reader to 100% it and not DNF? No matter what their final conclusion of the book is? You cant bank on someone slogging through the mud to get to the good stuff (final 200 pages). This Book could have been a solid 4 star book, IMO it just focused on the wrong things to build tension and suspense.
SPOILERS*
What saved this book for me was the absolute fever dream of an ending it was. Granted it still didnt answer questions about the conjurer and barely touched the surface of Psykical Research. The bloodshed in the last 200 pages, the mystic about the Morgue Ship being stripped away, and the understanding of why "the Fairest" had its government overthrown were interesting and satisfying enough for me to give this 3.5 stars. I want to know more about not-Anthony, about the Crone, and about Simon the Gentle
waclements7's review
I didn’t get very far in this. The writing style is supposed to be in imitation of Dickens, I guess, but is already just coming across as long winded and seemingly in need of editing. I read some of the other reviews and decided it just wasn’t for me.