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serar's review
adventurous
dark
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
vailynst's review
4.0
Kudos to Veronica for putting this serial + Serial Box on my radar. =)
Bookburners starts off with ordinary horror. Severed fingers haunt Sal's mind and leaks into everything she does. It was a rough day at work. She's a detective in NYC. The day doesn't get better when her brother shows up unexpectedly. Then the world turns inside out and upside down. Yet, it still looks the same. Only there's more.
Magic is real.
The serial starts off with a flash of jumbled images, conflicting feelings and no time to process. It's a great start. In Volume One of Season One, there are four authors and each of them write a few of the episodes. I am familiar with [a:Max Gladstone|3405346|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1440009008p2/3405346.jpg]. It was cool to be introduced to the rest: [a:Brian Francis Slattery|42411|Brian Francis Slattery|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372435656p2/42411.jpg], [a:Margaret Dunlap|7516300|Margaret Dunlap|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1436990253p2/7516300.jpg] & [a:Mur Lafferty|97284|Mur Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314461906p2/97284.jpg].
My favorite Episodes in Vol.1:
Ep1 Badge, Book and Candle by Gladstone
Ep7 Now and Then by Gladstone
Ep8 Under My Skin by Lafferty
It was nice to experience Gladstone's writing in this serial because it's a pared down version of what I have read in the Craft Sequence series. He has a great way of getting the reader into the setting, plot and characters.
As odd as it may sound, I found Slattery's episodes to be the most removed and yet vividly bizarre landscapes and actions. Right. How can it be so bright and yet feel distant? The way he writes these episodes, I felt like I was watching an up and close encounter from a safe place. Like it was all happening within arm's reach but there's the strongest glass keeping the horrors at bay.
Nothing is normal in this serial, but Dunlap has a way with making it all seem normal. Then there's the strong emotional pull that I felt was very present in Lafferty's work.
Each piece continues from the one before. It's obvious that there's an overall plan and great communication between the writers on this series. Each writer writes about the various characters that make up the story. It felt very jarring when I started. Towards the end, it started to blend in better because there were more pieces to the puzzle being filled in and a clearer picture of what's going on.
I may change my mind but, for now, Bookburners is a derogatory catcall for the secret organization deep within the Catholic bureaucracy. This group is charged with protecting the world from magic. Each person has a different viewpoint of magic and what should be done about it.
Magic is powerful and most magic users function on very little knowledge. More often than not, magic goes beyond the control of the person trying to use it and there are always consequences. Each member of the team has personal experience with magic going nuts. Each of them work to protect people from the ill-effects of uncontrolled magic.
What if magic could be controlled? Sure. That's the hope. And if you can't control it, then it must be chained away from temptation. Or does it?
For a while, I was grumpy because where were the answers to the big questions? How could anyone read a story and only be lured the whole time and get only bare hints without any resolution? I think someone must have felt my pain cause there are answers and that satisfied my greedy soul. Enough meat to chew on that I will definitely continue reading the serial.
I know Season 2 is out. I hope there's going to be a Season 3? Don't spoil it for me. I'll find out soon. =P
Bookburners starts off with ordinary horror. Severed fingers haunt Sal's mind and leaks into everything she does. It was a rough day at work. She's a detective in NYC. The day doesn't get better when her brother shows up unexpectedly. Then the world turns inside out and upside down. Yet, it still looks the same. Only there's more.
Magic is real.
The serial starts off with a flash of jumbled images, conflicting feelings and no time to process. It's a great start. In Volume One of Season One, there are four authors and each of them write a few of the episodes. I am familiar with [a:Max Gladstone|3405346|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1440009008p2/3405346.jpg]. It was cool to be introduced to the rest: [a:Brian Francis Slattery|42411|Brian Francis Slattery|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372435656p2/42411.jpg], [a:Margaret Dunlap|7516300|Margaret Dunlap|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1436990253p2/7516300.jpg] & [a:Mur Lafferty|97284|Mur Lafferty|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314461906p2/97284.jpg].
My favorite Episodes in Vol.1:
Ep1 Badge, Book and Candle by Gladstone
Ep7 Now and Then by Gladstone
Ep8 Under My Skin by Lafferty
It was nice to experience Gladstone's writing in this serial because it's a pared down version of what I have read in the Craft Sequence series. He has a great way of getting the reader into the setting, plot and characters.
As odd as it may sound, I found Slattery's episodes to be the most removed and yet vividly bizarre landscapes and actions. Right. How can it be so bright and yet feel distant? The way he writes these episodes, I felt like I was watching an up and close encounter from a safe place. Like it was all happening within arm's reach but there's the strongest glass keeping the horrors at bay.
Nothing is normal in this serial, but Dunlap has a way with making it all seem normal. Then there's the strong emotional pull that I felt was very present in Lafferty's work.
Each piece continues from the one before. It's obvious that there's an overall plan and great communication between the writers on this series. Each writer writes about the various characters that make up the story. It felt very jarring when I started. Towards the end, it started to blend in better because there were more pieces to the puzzle being filled in and a clearer picture of what's going on.
I may change my mind but, for now, Bookburners is a derogatory catcall for the secret organization deep within the Catholic bureaucracy. This group is charged with protecting the world from magic. Each person has a different viewpoint of magic and what should be done about it.
Magic is powerful and most magic users function on very little knowledge. More often than not, magic goes beyond the control of the person trying to use it and there are always consequences. Each member of the team has personal experience with magic going nuts. Each of them work to protect people from the ill-effects of uncontrolled magic.
What if magic could be controlled? Sure. That's the hope. And if you can't control it, then it must be chained away from temptation. Or does it?
For a while, I was grumpy because where were the answers to the big questions? How could anyone read a story and only be lured the whole time and get only bare hints without any resolution? I think someone must have felt my pain cause there are answers and that satisfied my greedy soul. Enough meat to chew on that I will definitely continue reading the serial.
I know Season 2 is out. I hope there's going to be a Season 3? Don't spoil it for me. I'll find out soon. =P
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