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navayiota's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You know those books that you read and they make you think "wow, I should have read this ages ago."? This was that kind of book for me. And yet I'm so grateful to have experienced the joy of such a pick-me-up right now. Charles Soule bazooka'd this novel to my top 10 favourite books of all time with the ease of a master. The narrator (Charlie Thurston) delivered so much of the main character's sass to last me a year. An Oracle Year! And what a protagonist. This is the second time I've ever fallen in love with a character from a book- as in, stared at the wall, fantasising about romancing the fuck out of them. While still finding myself aspiring to be like him! The holy combo of a good protagonist.
I'd describe this novel as a collage consisting of the best parts of: Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Robin Sloan's Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, and a mix of the Welcome to Nightvale podcast and Alice Isn't Dead podcast/book. I was flabbergasted. I love all of these! If you do too then you'll probably enjoy the book as much as I did. I will 100% be returning to Charles Soule's books, although I must say that my standards are inhumanly high, and I feel bad for the pressure I'm putting on them (good thing then that they don't know me and probably won't see this review!) I hope to one day write a novel as captivating to someone as this book was to me. I don't often want to reread books but I'll definitely be returning to this one. If someone were trying to find a gift to buy me for my birthday, this one would be a winner! The only better thing would be a ticket for the movie adaptation! One can only wish. The thought would not stop occurring to me while I listened that it would make a phenomenal movie. (If it kept loyal to the book) If only I had the money to make it happen. Highly recommend this book !
I'd describe this novel as a collage consisting of the best parts of: Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Robin Sloan's Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, and a mix of the Welcome to Nightvale podcast and Alice Isn't Dead podcast/book. I was flabbergasted. I love all of these! If you do too then you'll probably enjoy the book as much as I did. I will 100% be returning to Charles Soule's books, although I must say that my standards are inhumanly high, and I feel bad for the pressure I'm putting on them (good thing then that they don't know me and probably won't see this review!) I hope to one day write a novel as captivating to someone as this book was to me. I don't often want to reread books but I'll definitely be returning to this one. If someone were trying to find a gift to buy me for my birthday, this one would be a winner! The only better thing would be a ticket for the movie adaptation! One can only wish. The thought would not stop occurring to me while I listened that it would make a phenomenal movie. (If it kept loyal to the book) If only I had the money to make it happen. Highly recommend this book !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, and Torture
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