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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
This was a book really quite different to anything I’ve ever read before in the fantasy genre. I really enjoyed it but it took me forever to get through. The story centering around the Jesters in the castle was really interesting but the whole thing was also incredibly far-fetched. Which, I guess, isn’t always bad for a fantasy book.
Full review to come
Full review to come
I was predisposed to enjoy this book, given my love of jesters. It makes the second book this year I read that involved royal children being entrapped, but Mimus was definitely darker than Tuesdays at the Castle. I really expected Mimus and Benzo to be killed by Theodo at or near the end, but they weren't, so I guess it wasn't too dark. Oh well!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is so criminally underrated. I've had this book on my shelf for over three years and I only got it on a whim in the first place.
Mimus has a very strange tone, perhaps something was lost -or gained- in the process of translation that made this book so different. It doesn't read like typical English books. Translators are rarely given their dues but John Brownjohn deserves a tip of the hat here. There were so many poems and songs and witty pieces of dialogue that I absolutely loved, and not once did I feel like I was missing out on the original text. For a story that has a jester and a prince-turned-jester as the main characters, getting the right nuances and wordplays is the most important thing in the story.
This was a pretty enjoyable read overall. I think it's better to dig into this book knowing the least amount of info and discovering the characters for yourself. Now I'm going to wallow in a puddle of tears because this is the only English-translated book by this author.
Mimus has a very strange tone, perhaps something was lost -or gained- in the process of translation that made this book so different. It doesn't read like typical English books. Translators are rarely given their dues but John Brownjohn deserves a tip of the hat here. There were so many poems and songs and witty pieces of dialogue that I absolutely loved, and not once did I feel like I was missing out on the original text. For a story that has a jester and a prince-turned-jester as the main characters, getting the right nuances and wordplays is the most important thing in the story.
This was a pretty enjoyable read overall. I think it's better to dig into this book knowing the least amount of info and discovering the characters for yourself. Now I'm going to wallow in a puddle of tears because this is the only English-translated book by this author.
The language was a little stiff, which I blame on the book being a translation, but in some scenes it worked to give a nicely medieval feel. A prince is captured and forced to become a jester's apprentice. It's enjoyable, but the ending was too pat.
listening to this one - it's great! highly recommended.
I loved the storytelling style of this book - very Old World European.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Two mighty kingdoms are engaged in endless, merciless war, but change appears imminent. King Philip is meeting his archenemy, King Theodo, to sign a peace treaty. But King Philip and his men are tricked and consigned to the squalid dungeons of King Theodo's castle. Soon, his son, 12-year-old Prince Florin, is lured to the castle, where the same horror awaits him.
On a whim, King Theodo decides to make the captive crown prince his second Fool, trained by Mimus, an enigmatic, occasionally spiteful, and unpredictable court jester. To add to Florin's misery, he and Mimus are fed a daily portion of gruel, forced to live in a dark, damp tower, and required to entertain the court on demand. But events ultimately turn for Florin and the other captives. They escape and it is Mimus's intervention that helps make it possible.”
I love this book and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. This medieval fairytale was as charming as it was captivating. Prince Florin is lured to the enemy’s kingdom by a letter, supposedly from his father, telling him to come join in the celebrations for a successful peace treaty. Upon arrival, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and Florin is left speechless at the sight of his Father, and his fellow noblemen, in shackles. Theodo gives Florin to the Jester Mimus to train, with the threat of punishment for his father if he doesn’t comply with the twisted Kings demands. Over the coming months, Florin is humiliated, whipped and starved by his captor, but the seemingly grumpy Jester manages to keep him from severe harm. When Florins subjects infiltrate the castle, things start to look a little brighter for the little Mimus. Can he really escape the daily toil of life as a Jester and constant threat of execution, or will the rescue attempt fail and leave them all dead.
This book was beautifully written. However, the formal language can be quite tiresome and sometimes the endless descriptions slowed down the pace of the book a little too much. It took me a while to be sucked into the storyline, as the beginning is incredibly slow, but once it took off it was hard to put down. Mimus is a fabulously complex character whose motives, even after reading the book, I don’t fully understand. At first, he seems like a grumpy old man who simply didn’t want a young apprentice. As time went on, I began to wonder if he just didn’t want to see another young boy be subjected to the same fate as he was. Mimus worked Florin hard, but ultimately he stopped him being whipped. He stroked his head when he had nightmares and eventually helped him escape. Mimus sees a little boy on the path he is very familiar with. He needs to train him quickly in-order to help Florin avoid the hard lessons that he suffered. He isn’t a man with very many social skills, which makes him seem quite difficult at times, but he is a product of his isolated upbringing as a Jester. At times Florin does do things that the Jester struggles to cope with, but as a man used to being alone, having his fate depend on the behaviour of a small child irks him a little.
Florin is a wonderfully strong little boy. He survives by curbing his natural impulses to lash out and, quite simply, plays a very clever game. He gives Theodo exactly what he wants, no matter the price his pride takes, to keep his father safe and hope for eventual rescue. His fall in status is beautifully written, but he stayed as dignified as a Prince in his manners and attitude. Occasionally his adolescence got the better of him and he ends up in trouble (the worse being at the dungeon masters hands) but he learns fast and seems to grow up even faster. It broke my heart a little when reading the humiliation that a teenager had to suffer at the hands of a grown man. Overall, he grew from a boy into a man during the course of the story and the end narrative, telling of the nightmares that still plagued his nighttime hours, proved that no matter how unaffected he might have seemed during his ordeal, his time at the hands of Theodo left its mark.
This is a tale of a boy who is taken from his home and placed into the most humiliating servitude. The relationship that builds between him and the cantankerous Jester is borne of necessity, pity and loneliness. The ending shows that, although they were forced together, the result was a solid friendship that demanded unquestioning loyalty and self-sacrifice. I loved it – and I want to see the sequel (read it and you will see what I mean:D)
On a whim, King Theodo decides to make the captive crown prince his second Fool, trained by Mimus, an enigmatic, occasionally spiteful, and unpredictable court jester. To add to Florin's misery, he and Mimus are fed a daily portion of gruel, forced to live in a dark, damp tower, and required to entertain the court on demand. But events ultimately turn for Florin and the other captives. They escape and it is Mimus's intervention that helps make it possible.”
I love this book and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. This medieval fairytale was as charming as it was captivating. Prince Florin is lured to the enemy’s kingdom by a letter, supposedly from his father, telling him to come join in the celebrations for a successful peace treaty. Upon arrival, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and Florin is left speechless at the sight of his Father, and his fellow noblemen, in shackles. Theodo gives Florin to the Jester Mimus to train, with the threat of punishment for his father if he doesn’t comply with the twisted Kings demands. Over the coming months, Florin is humiliated, whipped and starved by his captor, but the seemingly grumpy Jester manages to keep him from severe harm. When Florins subjects infiltrate the castle, things start to look a little brighter for the little Mimus. Can he really escape the daily toil of life as a Jester and constant threat of execution, or will the rescue attempt fail and leave them all dead.
This book was beautifully written. However, the formal language can be quite tiresome and sometimes the endless descriptions slowed down the pace of the book a little too much. It took me a while to be sucked into the storyline, as the beginning is incredibly slow, but once it took off it was hard to put down. Mimus is a fabulously complex character whose motives, even after reading the book, I don’t fully understand. At first, he seems like a grumpy old man who simply didn’t want a young apprentice. As time went on, I began to wonder if he just didn’t want to see another young boy be subjected to the same fate as he was. Mimus worked Florin hard, but ultimately he stopped him being whipped. He stroked his head when he had nightmares and eventually helped him escape. Mimus sees a little boy on the path he is very familiar with. He needs to train him quickly in-order to help Florin avoid the hard lessons that he suffered. He isn’t a man with very many social skills, which makes him seem quite difficult at times, but he is a product of his isolated upbringing as a Jester. At times Florin does do things that the Jester struggles to cope with, but as a man used to being alone, having his fate depend on the behaviour of a small child irks him a little.
Florin is a wonderfully strong little boy. He survives by curbing his natural impulses to lash out and, quite simply, plays a very clever game. He gives Theodo exactly what he wants, no matter the price his pride takes, to keep his father safe and hope for eventual rescue. His fall in status is beautifully written, but he stayed as dignified as a Prince in his manners and attitude. Occasionally his adolescence got the better of him and he ends up in trouble (the worse being at the dungeon masters hands) but he learns fast and seems to grow up even faster. It broke my heart a little when reading the humiliation that a teenager had to suffer at the hands of a grown man. Overall, he grew from a boy into a man during the course of the story and the end narrative, telling of the nightmares that still plagued his nighttime hours, proved that no matter how unaffected he might have seemed during his ordeal, his time at the hands of Theodo left its mark.
This is a tale of a boy who is taken from his home and placed into the most humiliating servitude. The relationship that builds between him and the cantankerous Jester is borne of necessity, pity and loneliness. The ending shows that, although they were forced together, the result was a solid friendship that demanded unquestioning loyalty and self-sacrifice. I loved it – and I want to see the sequel (read it and you will see what I mean:D)