Reviews

The Cobbler's Boy by Elizabeth Bear, Katherine Addison

linekgh's review

mysterious 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? No

3.5

qalminator's review

4.0

Enjoyable little mystery, set in a time when Protestant and Catholic ideas were not allowed to coexist in England. The language is slightly antiquated, particularly in dialogue (thees and thous, and some word usage), but not as antiquated as, say, Shakespeare (who was born in the same year as Christopher Marlowe, the playwright upon whom "Kit" Marlowe is presumably based).

usuallyhats's review

5.0

Kit Marlowe, boy detective! Friends, I loved this. The writing was captivating (I wasn't sure about the thees and thous at first, but once I got into it they started working for me) and Kit's burgeoning romance with his friend Ginger was very sweet and well done. I also really loved the portrayal of his sisters. It's definitely the kind of historical fiction that feels lived in, where the authors have clearly done their research but wear it lightly. I hope there will be more.

rach_eb's review

5.0

4.5/5. This book did a triple job: it kept me wrapped up in a fast-paced mystery with a sweet early romance, reminded me how much I love Marlowe, and made me nostalgic for my time in Canterbury. I loved it!

benehime's review

4.0

Quite cute, lots of characters for a short story, but the writing is as pretty as ever.
I didn't quite buy Ginger and Christopher, but they are bot 15 and very sheltered, so I'll give it a pass! It's cute.
The story itself was interesting!

plbmso's review

4.0

I liked this book, but was surprised it was a novella and not longer (kindle book: didn't see the page count). the writing is amazing and the research and knowledge of 16th century Canterbury is great. And the family and characters are great, but the plot is short. It all makes sense but I wanted more.

charliescapades's review

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.0

danibeliveau's review

4.0

In under 200 pages, Bear and Addison create a fully-developed story complete with action, intrigue, drama, and romance. What impressed me in particular was how much trouble I had discerning where one author stopped and the other picked up - their voices and styles mesh together so seamlessly. I really enjoyed this little novella and I am eager to read more by both authors.

redheadbeans's review

4.0

An interesting read in Monette's back catalogue, if a kind of depressing one. I can't speak for how much this reflects on Bear, because I haven't read much of her work, but it reads enough like "The Goblin Emperor" that Monette's influence is obvious. It's also the most Christian of Monette's works I've read. Not in the sense that you'd have to be a believer to enjoy it, or that it's trying to convert you, but that it's the most set in the real world and focusing on what it's like to be a Christian in a heavily Christian world. I'm not Christian, so at times it was a Bit Much, but I was able to push past it.

Monette writes a lot of fiction that involves gay men dealing with homophobic worlds, and that's present here, and well-written, as usual. CW references to spoilers for "The Doctrine of Labyrinths", "The Witness for the Dead", and "The Bone Key"

Spoiler

It's also oddly the most positive of her works about gay men: Kit does end up with his lover, with the potential for future trysts, and no evidence that they'll break up or hate each other. This is in contrast with her other queer male leads that I've read: Felix, Booth, and Thara, all of whom end up alone. I say oddly because it just had a kind of... sad air about it? Kit has a hopeful future, but he's still shackled to his father, and his hopes of being more intimate with his boyfriend are ground to dust under having to support his family, which is really only his problem because his father nearly murdered his own apprentice. Yes, he'd still have to support his family anyway, but it's... frustrating that so much of his life will be shackled to his abusive father. So in that sense, despite the hopefulness of the end of the story, I find "Corambis" far less depressing than this, despite the fact that Felix is alone (with hints of maybe being with Murtagh in the future), than this, where Kit is still with Ginger, because at least Felix is free of his abusers.

The cast is fun, and the plot itself is mostly enjoyable. I'm not a fan of detective fiction, but this does a neat job of making a mystery.

If you're a fan of "The Doctrine of Labyrinths" or "The Goblin Emperor" and want more Monette/Addison, this might be for you. It's a nice little read, but a bit depressing and VERY Christian.

curgoth's review

4.0

Kit Marlowe as a queer teen discovering the world of espionage in a world that hates and fears him!