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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
after briefly skimming some reviews, it seems clear that this is a book you either love or hate. what is clearer: your enjoyment of the book will depend vastly on how you react to gideon and her weird, eccentric brand of humour and narrative. i usually have very little patience for Quirky and/or Quippy narrative voices and i was fully bracing myself to find gideon grating.
i could not have been more wrong.
a narrative voice that is funny and soulful and genuinely, absurdly likeable despite an anachronistic sense of humour? check. a large cast of characters who are weird and enigmatic and absurdly interesting once you get to recognise their names? check. necromancy???? check! one of the more interesting and unnerving and intense and heart-pulping relationship dynamics i've read recently in gideon and harrow? 100% check.
actually, i find myself disagreeing so vehemently with a lot of negative reviews here which goes to show how much i enjoyed this book. maybe it is because i don't read much sci-fi, but i was more than happy to read the book without understanding the minutiae of the world and its mechanisms; quite a few of the characters had sketched motivations at best but i found that more than enough to satisfy my imagination; it didn't bother me in the slightest that there wasn't a load of Up Front action because i found gideon's interactions with people and her explorations and her strange tensions with harrow to be profoundly compelling.
muir's prose is excellent. her action scenes are impressively vivid (i found myself thinking throughout what a good video game this would make). it was a bit twist-y for my tastes but there were several moments where i was genuinely startled & one ill-fated trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night while reading about a terrible bone construct that made me very uneasy. and, i mean, 'terrible bone construct' alone should convince you to read this. the things muir does with skeletons!
i need everyone i know to read this book!! i am desperate to dissect it!
i could not have been more wrong.
a narrative voice that is funny and soulful and genuinely, absurdly likeable despite an anachronistic sense of humour? check. a large cast of characters who are weird and enigmatic and absurdly interesting once you get to recognise their names? check. necromancy???? check! one of the more interesting and unnerving and intense and heart-pulping relationship dynamics i've read recently in gideon and harrow? 100% check.
actually, i find myself disagreeing so vehemently with a lot of negative reviews here which goes to show how much i enjoyed this book. maybe it is because i don't read much sci-fi, but i was more than happy to read the book without understanding the minutiae of the world and its mechanisms; quite a few of the characters had sketched motivations at best but i found that more than enough to satisfy my imagination; it didn't bother me in the slightest that there wasn't a load of Up Front action because i found gideon's interactions with people and her explorations and her strange tensions with harrow to be profoundly compelling.
muir's prose is excellent. her action scenes are impressively vivid (i found myself thinking throughout what a good video game this would make). it was a bit twist-y for my tastes but there were several moments where i was genuinely startled & one ill-fated trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night while reading about a terrible bone construct that made me very uneasy. and, i mean, 'terrible bone construct' alone should convince you to read this. the things muir does with skeletons!
i need everyone i know to read this book!! i am desperate to dissect it!
adventurous
dark
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
The narrator is so good.
The real joy of the book is that it will stab you in the heart. The last fifteen percent of this book will, if you have had the same sorts of queer experiences as I have, make you feel most connected to these characters and, because of it, make you crumble. The idea of forgiveness, forgiving someone for crimes they didn’t commit and crimes that they did, for letting it all go to love them completely. The idea of doing something past the point of no return for the person that you love most. The idea of being even willing to die to make sure that they are okay - that hit me in the gut and is truly a highlight of this book.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-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
this book had me feeling like "HECK YEAHH" and then had me feeling like "FUCK NOOO". anyways, absolutely loved it but it destroyed me.
I think the timing is off for me with this book. I think the world building is fascinating and the characters interesting but I just can’t bring myself to read/listen. This book unfortunately feels like such a slog for me and I can’t seem to make to the last couple chapters where something will happen.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
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
Not a perfect book but a delicious reread.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book has a lot going on, a bit too much for my personal taste. However, the world-building was strong and the storyline unique, packed with interesting characters.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes