Scan barcode
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Blood, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, War, Sexual assault, Medical content, Sexism, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, and Alcoholism
night3aven's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
- Nevernight - review
Overall, "Nevernight" is a well-done book: excellent world-building, unconventional characters and with the characteristics of everything that could be considered a good novel.
But all these features remain only embellishments, trivial tasks carried out to conceal (often unsuccessfully) a plot without any spine and any essence, characters with banal motivations and flat characterisations, who appear alternative only to diversify from the prototype of clichés already seen numerous times.
The first chapters are confusing and it is not easy to understand what is happening. However, as you get used to the frequent flashbacks and pay attention, the plot becomes more comprehensible, despite some gaps and the use of neologisms that are almost never explained.
The side notes are interesting, perhaps present in excessive quantity but certainly useful for understanding the history and conformation of the world created by Kristoff, as well as the customs of its inhabitants. The ironic undertone present in the work (and often contained in the aforementioned margin notes) is at times appreciable and entertaining for the reader, but at other times uses a childish and almost stupid humour, breaking the rhythm of the reading.
For the most part the writing style is just trying to be really edgy and it always seems so uselessly melodramatic and so overwritten.
Some secondary characters although, even if poorly characterised, manage to be interesting for their strangeness and sometimes even manage to entertain the reader: I immediately think of Daniio the Fat (owner of the inn where Mia goes after her first murder and after the boat trip to Ultima Spes) , who certainly looks funny because of his speech and his behaviour and lightens the reading experience in a positive way, or the chronicler Aelius, a ghost addicted to cigarettes trapped within the walls of a castle and forced to work for his entire life as a librarian .
However, the character of Mia, the protagonist, is not particularly characterised, definitely sexualised and mostly follows the line of the classic 'chosen one' found in many fantasy stories, though the author tries hard to make her seem like an original and totally different protagonist from the others, sometimes even excessively so.
Similarly, the plot may appear interesting and the reading may be smooth, but the whole thing is simply banal and predictable.
An excellent addition, however, is the character of Mister Kindly (the tenebris, a cat made of shadow, who accompanies Mia on her journey and helps her along the way ).
Let's move on to the plot: undoubtedly the weakest point of the book.
The book is not bad and the world-building is certainly good, but the plot is trivially average (if not even a little below) and the author's attempts to magnify the story and make it an epic feat (which it is not at all) simply seem excessive and unnecessary.
Good, however, are the descriptions of the action scenes and the relationships between the various characters, even if they present numerous clichés and are quite marginal.
Great credit must be given to the final part of the book, in which the action scenes are well described and the final twist (Ashlin and Osrik are actually spies in the name of Itreya and fight against the Red Church ) is unexpected.
For better or for worse although, the protagonist always remains a teenager and is characterised by youthful behaviour, so there is no point in painting her as a heroine (or anti-heroine) with a jagged past. Our protagonist has suffered a lot and certainly has a strong personality, but her characterisation certainly does not go in depth.
Despite their poor characterisation, however, I find it senseless to eliminate characters with a lot of potential (such as Tric, who endures many misadventures, but apparently dies due to a simple, unexpected stab ) just because their ties with the protagonist are now scarcely usable or evolvable without repeating dynamics already seen.
Moreover, I found myself rooting for the villains several times in the book:they have certainly unjustly harmed and hurt Mia's family and many other kids and are not exactly positive figures, but compared to the Red Church, a group of fanatical murderers who are willing to torture their pupils and kill innocents; the Luminatii Itreyani, even if corrupt and cruel, almost appear as the heroes of this story.
It is also strange how Mia asks so many questions about the sudden deaths within the Red Church and questions its interest in finding the murderer, but accepts without great reservations the deaths of some of the Red Church's pupils and the inhuman torture to which all the pupils are continuously subjected .
The theme of revenge, as mentioned earlier, is the key theme (and the only real theme present) of the book:I only hope that in the next volumes (which I will probably not read, though) Mia will realise that fighting against the republic of Itreya and being part of the Red Church cause her pain in the same way. Perhaps it is necessary to accept the past, instead of becoming part of an endless war that will have no winner .
All in all, there is a very good basic work, but it all seems to be just a well-executed task, which follows the rules to try to attract the reader but which, in my case, has no effect.
It lacks that something extra, that hint of brilliance; no doubt the author can be creative, but overall, for a book almost 500 pages long, the plot should be beyond gripping.
But this is not the case in "Nevernight", where every detail is well constructed, but never justified, never motivated, where there is no logical engine to kick-start the plot, which, except for a banal quest for revenge, does not really seem to have much motivation.
The characters also appear to have sufficient characterisation, but which never dares, never attempts to go higher.
The style may also be fluent, but by the end of the reading one wonders whether this has really served any purpose. It is not a book with great pretensions, of course, but it should at least seem useful and sensible and not make me think it was pointless to read it.
I recognise the merits attributed to the author by many readers, and I also recognise that perhaps this book was not for me, but I still reiterate a lack of depth in the whole: everything tries to be embellished and often even manages to be interesting, but nothing more, because the core of the plot is absent, the cause that moves all the events unfolded is simply trivial and insufficient.
In "Nevernight", Jay Kristoff appears to be an excellent author, with an unusual and creative writing style and numerous skills, but it seems that his talents stop at mere aesthetic characteristics: there seems to be no real motive behind the writing of this work, which, minus the ornaments and pageantry, appears banal and dull, without really any good reason to be told or to be read.
But all these features remain only embellishments, trivial tasks carried out to conceal (often unsuccessfully) a plot without any spine and any essence, characters with banal motivations and flat characterisations, who appear alternative only to diversify from the prototype of clichés already seen numerous times.
The first chapters are confusing and it is not easy to understand what is happening. However, as you get used to the frequent flashbacks and pay attention, the plot becomes more comprehensible, despite some gaps and the use of neologisms that are almost never explained.
The side notes are interesting, perhaps present in excessive quantity but certainly useful for understanding the history and conformation of the world created by Kristoff, as well as the customs of its inhabitants. The ironic undertone present in the work (and often contained in the aforementioned margin notes) is at times appreciable and entertaining for the reader, but at other times uses a childish and almost stupid humour, breaking the rhythm of the reading.
For the most part the writing style is just trying to be really edgy and it always seems so uselessly melodramatic and so overwritten.
Some secondary characters although, even if poorly characterised, manage to be interesting for their strangeness and sometimes even manage to entertain the reader:
However, the character of Mia, the protagonist, is not particularly characterised, definitely sexualised and mostly follows the line of the classic 'chosen one' found in many fantasy stories, though the author tries hard to make her seem like an original and totally different protagonist from the others, sometimes even excessively so.
Similarly, the plot may appear interesting and the reading may be smooth, but the whole thing is simply banal and predictable.
An excellent addition, however, is the character of Mister Kindly (
Let's move on to the plot: undoubtedly the weakest point of the book.
The book is not bad and the world-building is certainly good, but the plot is trivially average (if not even a little below) and the author's attempts to magnify the story and make it an epic feat (which it is not at all) simply seem excessive and unnecessary.
Good, however, are the descriptions of the action scenes and the relationships between the various characters, even if they present numerous clichés and are quite marginal.
Great credit must be given to the final part of the book, in which the action scenes are well described and the final twist (
For better or for worse although, the protagonist always remains a teenager and is characterised by youthful behaviour, so there is no point in painting her as a heroine (or anti-heroine) with a jagged past. Our protagonist has suffered a lot and certainly has a strong personality, but her characterisation certainly does not go in depth.
Despite their poor characterisation, however, I find it senseless to eliminate characters with a lot of potential (
Moreover, I found myself rooting for the villains several times in the book:
It is also strange how Mia asks so many questions about the sudden deaths within the Red Church and questions its interest in finding the murderer, but accepts without great reservations the deaths of some of the Red Church's pupils and the inhuman torture to which all the pupils are continuously subjected
The theme of revenge, as mentioned earlier, is the key theme (and the only real theme present) of the book:
All in all, there is a very good basic work, but it all seems to be just a well-executed task, which follows the rules to try to attract the reader but which, in my case, has no effect.
It lacks that something extra, that hint of brilliance; no doubt the author can be creative, but overall, for a book almost 500 pages long, the plot should be beyond gripping.
But this is not the case in "Nevernight", where every detail is well constructed, but never justified, never motivated, where there is no logical engine to kick-start the plot, which, except for a banal quest for revenge, does not really seem to have much motivation.
The characters also appear to have sufficient characterisation, but which never dares, never attempts to go higher.
The style may also be fluent, but by the end of the reading one wonders whether this has really served any purpose. It is not a book with great pretensions, of course, but it should at least seem useful and sensible and not make me think it was pointless to read it.
I recognise the merits attributed to the author by many readers, and I also recognise that perhaps this book was not for me, but I still reiterate a lack of depth in the whole: everything tries to be embellished and often even manages to be interesting, but nothing more, because the core of the plot is absent, the cause that moves all the events unfolded is simply trivial and insufficient.
In "Nevernight", Jay Kristoff appears to be an excellent author, with an unusual and creative writing style and numerous skills, but it seems that his talents stop at mere aesthetic characteristics: there seems to be no real motive behind the writing of this work, which, minus the ornaments and pageantry, appears banal and dull, without really any good reason to be told or to be read.
Never flinch" A cold whisper in her ear. "Never fear. And never, ever forget.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
Minor: War and Vomit
emesfiz_28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Torture, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Vomit
More...