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sophieannalysa's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. Too long & had a few too many ridiculous moments by the end, but I liked the characters and the first half was really good.
highlanderajax's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
This was...fine. Solidly fine, without a huge amount to particularly recommend it. Feels like a less-impressive Lies of Locke Lamora. The plot is great through most of the book - high-stakes fantasy crime, con and righteousness. The world is very interesting, the central "Grit" concept feels innovative and interesting, and the characters are, if nothing incredible and fairly typical of the genre, perfectly serviceable for the task at hand.
Unfortunately, two big weak points.
1) the writing frequently (to me) feels clunky and awkward. Author has opted to simply state things about characters, motivations, etc. in a way that makes the prose feel stilted and jerky - emotions, motivations and thoughts are often spelled out in fairly simplistic terms, even when the perspective seems to be from a character who has no reason to think or know those things. Not great.
2) the ending is, as with most caper-type plots, convoluted, with multiple schemes colliding in on each other. Unfortunately, here, it feels like too many in too short a time - there's never much time for each development to actually settle with you before it's overturned or reversed or just changed. Left me feeling unsure as to what I was supposed to be believing or feeling, and I'm not sure that was the intention.
Verdict...fine. Not great. An interesting world and a mostly-compelling plot is great, but from a story perspective the characters aren't interesting enough to fully catch my attention, and the ending is rather a jumbled mess that robs a lot of developments of their full emotional impact. From a reading perspective the narrative feels like too much tell and not enough show, the voice of the author often drowning out the voices of the characters he's written.
Would maybe consider reading the sequel, but wouldn't seek it out.
Unfortunately, two big weak points.
1) the writing frequently (to me) feels clunky and awkward. Author has opted to simply state things about characters, motivations, etc. in a way that makes the prose feel stilted and jerky - emotions, motivations and thoughts are often spelled out in fairly simplistic terms, even when the perspective seems to be from a character who has no reason to think or know those things. Not great.
2) the ending is, as with most caper-type plots, convoluted, with multiple schemes colliding in on each other. Unfortunately, here, it feels like too many in too short a time - there's never much time for each development to actually settle with you before it's overturned or reversed or just changed. Left me feeling unsure as to what I was supposed to be believing or feeling, and I'm not sure that was the intention.
Verdict...fine. Not great. An interesting world and a mostly-compelling plot is great, but from a story perspective the characters aren't interesting enough to fully catch my attention, and the ending is rather a jumbled mess that robs a lot of developments of their full emotional impact. From a reading perspective the narrative feels like too much tell and not enough show, the voice of the author often drowning out the voices of the characters he's written.
Would maybe consider reading the sequel, but wouldn't seek it out.
kevinscorner's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning of The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn didn’t really grab my attention as much as I would have wanted, but once the actual ruse started, it became much easier to get into. The banter between Ard and Raek felt a bit forced and comes across disingenuous with its wittiness because it just wasn’t written as naturally as it could have been. The intricate con jobs were pretty fun but unbelievable in its execution. I was afraid that I wouldn’t like the twist in the end that was teased throughout because I generally do not like the use t*** t***** as a plot point or plot device, but it worked really well in this case and was used effectively and seamlessly. I will definitely read the sequels soon.
subspacetachyon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
snapcrackle's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
This book was recommended to me by a family member and after nearly 3 years I finally decided to buy it on Kindle and give it a read. I was not disappointed.
The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn left we with a feeling of satisfaction while also making me impatient to read the next two books of the trilogy. It is a fun, quick paced read that is probably targeted towards high school aged kids or a little older.
Ardor Benn excels in a few categories that I really appreciate. Tyler Whitesides, while a great middle school age author, is not known for very serious or intense books, but this one may have been the most intense books that I have ever read. There is enough material in the 750 pages to fill 3 full books of the same size. Whitesides’ pacing is unrivaled. There is very little “sitting room dialogue” and plenty of action. The characters are developed very well, especially the three main ones. There are a couple of side characters that I never cared about but they fulfilled their purpose so I can’t complain too much. The world that is built is pretty interesting, however you never leave the main city except for a couple hundred pages.
There are very few critiques I have, but one of them (about 80% of the way through the book) I had a hard time with. There is a reveal about that point in the book that made me a little frustrated. It felt like a cop out that a lot of authors use when they need a way out of a sticky situation. However, by the end, Whitesides had covered it up pretty well and I was happy with the way it ended.
All in all, I think most readers would enjoy this book if they gave it a good shot.
This book was recommended to me by a family member and after nearly 3 years I finally decided to buy it on Kindle and give it a read. I was not disappointed.
The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn left we with a feeling of satisfaction while also making me impatient to read the next two books of the trilogy. It is a fun, quick paced read that is probably targeted towards high school aged kids or a little older.
Ardor Benn excels in a few categories that I really appreciate. Tyler Whitesides, while a great middle school age author, is not known for very serious or intense books, but this one may have been the most intense books that I have ever read. There is enough material in the 750 pages to fill 3 full books of the same size. Whitesides’ pacing is unrivaled. There is very little “sitting room dialogue” and plenty of action. The characters are developed very well, especially the three main ones. There are a couple of side characters that I never cared about but they fulfilled their purpose so I can’t complain too much. The world that is built is pretty interesting, however you never leave the main city except for a couple hundred pages.
There are very few critiques I have, but one of them (about 80% of the way through the book) I had a hard time with. There is a reveal about that point in the book that made me a little frustrated. It felt like a cop out that a lot of authors use when they need a way out of a sticky situation. However, by the end, Whitesides had covered it up pretty well and I was happy with the way it ended.
All in all, I think most readers would enjoy this book if they gave it a good shot.
marcherlady's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Showed promise, but too long, too complicated and Scott Lynch already wrote a better version.
thexgrayxlady's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This is what your mom means when she says, "We have the Lies of Locke Lamora at home." It's really hard for me to read this book without thinking about how most things it's doing, The Gentleman Bastards series did so much better. And TBCH it made me appreciate that Locke Lamora is a cringe fail loser who would get his ass kicked in a fight in moments if he wasn't cheating. Like, one of the few fights we see him win, he's sucker punching an octogenarian. Ardor Benn would not sucker punch an octogenarian. He would refuse to sucker punch the octogenarian and moralize for several paragraphs about why sucker punching an old lady is wrong.
Most of the characters are a bit too flat for a book this long. Quarrah starts out interesting, but she very quickly becomes an Ardor simp and the romance subplot does not feel organic or earned. Raek should have had a stronger presence on the page for what happens in the fifth act to have any significant impact. The antagonist is just so dumb. The leverage crew would take one look at him, and take him for all he's got in a matter of hours as the intro to an episode. The best characters in the whole novel are the fucked up little freaks who help the main crew with disguises. They're hilarious and deeply messed up and I love them. They are expertly used in the exact right amount and never overstay their welcome.
The book is over seven hundred pages long and could be easily trimmed down to five or a very tight four hundred. The magic system is explained way too many times in the trxt, in addition to an appendix at the end. That being said, I really appreciated the appendices, diagrams, and maps. The plot is straightforward, but there is an appropriate amount of complications for a heist. However, the complications are not treated with an appropriate gravity and are too easily resolved, and ultimately put the crew in the same endpoint they were aiming for, which leads to the book feeling like it's wasting your time. There's an entire subplot about a traitor on the crew that is resolved in a way that is both unsatisfying and makes the main characters look very stupid. The length and bloat, unfortunately, led to me picking up inconsistencies and that in a tighter book, I may not have noticed. This might just be a me thing, but in one chapter, a dragon calling horn is described as having a reed mouthpiece like an oboe, but in another, it's described as being like a trombone. I fixated on that for way too long.
All that being said, when I could appreciate it on its own merits, it is a pretty fun book. The magic system is interesting and very unique. The dragons are appropriately horrifying forces of nature, and I loved them.
Most of the characters are a bit too flat for a book this long. Quarrah starts out interesting, but she very quickly becomes an Ardor simp and the romance subplot does not feel organic or earned. Raek should have had a stronger presence on the page for what happens in the fifth act to have any significant impact. The antagonist is just so dumb. The leverage crew would take one look at him, and take him for all he's got in a matter of hours as the intro to an episode. The best characters in the whole novel are the fucked up little freaks who help the main crew with disguises. They're hilarious and deeply messed up and I love them. They are expertly used in the exact right amount and never overstay their welcome.
The book is over seven hundred pages long and could be easily trimmed down to five or a very tight four hundred. The magic system is explained way too many times in the trxt, in addition to an appendix at the end. That being said, I really appreciated the appendices, diagrams, and maps. The plot is straightforward, but there is an appropriate amount of complications for a heist. However, the complications are not treated with an appropriate gravity and are too easily resolved, and ultimately put the crew in the same endpoint they were aiming for, which leads to the book feeling like it's wasting your time. There's an entire subplot about a traitor on the crew that is resolved in a way that is both unsatisfying and makes the main characters look very stupid. The length and bloat, unfortunately, led to me picking up inconsistencies and that in a tighter book, I may not have noticed. This might just be a me thing, but in one chapter, a dragon calling horn is described as having a reed mouthpiece like an oboe, but in another, it's described as being like a trombone. I fixated on that for way too long.
All that being said, when I could appreciate it on its own merits, it is a pretty fun book. The magic system is interesting and very unique. The dragons are appropriately horrifying forces of nature, and I loved them.
books_and_sorcery's review against another edition
Ich habe dieses Buch nach 30% abgebrochen, es war leider nichts für mich.
Gut gefallen hat mir das Setting: Ein Insel-Archipel, das voll von Kultur ist! Der Autor ist selbst klassischer Musiker und baut das sein Fachgebiet in das World Building ein - Kunst und vor allem Musik in dieser High Fantasy-Welt sind authentisch und vielfältig, was ich als musikbegeisterte Person natürlich großartig finde. Religion spielt ebenfalls eine tragende Rolle, was mir ebenfalls super gut gefällt.
Meine Gründe für den Abbruch nach 30% lassen sich nicht so leicht runterbrechen, aber ich versuchs: Ich kam mit dem Magiesystem nicht klar. Ich werde wohl nie ein Fan von harten, komplizierten Systemen sein und dieses hier beruht auf Chemie und Physik. Das Lesen der Actionszenen hat mir Kopfschmerzen bereitet, sich nicht natürlich angefühlt. So bin ich die meiste Zeit ins schnelle Überfliegen dieser Passagen abgerutscht, was dem Buch nicht gerecht wird. Ein Fauxpas für mich ist, dass in der deutschen Ausgabe das Glossar fehlt. In der englischen gibt es Tabellen und Erklärungen, was für mich ein Muss bei so einem Magiesystem ist.
Am wichtigsten sind mir Charaktere und diese Protagonist*innen hier fand ich furchtbar. Ardor Benn, ein “Gentleman”-Gauner, war mir unfassbar unsympathisch - obwohl intendiert ist, ihn als “Gentleman” wahrzunehmen. Er ist bevormundend und paternalistisch, vor allem in Bezug unsere Protagonistin Quarrah - was mir besonders unangenehm war.
Quarrah ist eigentlich eine coole, badass Diebin, wird aber immer, wenn sie mit Ardor zusammen ist, zu einem verschüchterten Mädchen, dass ständig errötet. Selbst in diesen mageren 30% des Buches habe ich viel zu oft die Augen gerollt. Sie vergöttert unseren Gentleman Ardor von der ersten Minute an und ich wusste echt nicht, warum. Beim Satz “Er ist nicht wie andere Männer” ist mir mein Gedultsfaden entgültig geplatzt. Als bis zu dem Punkt einzige ausgearbeitete Frauenfigur ist mir so eine Charakterisierung sauer aufgestoßen; von einem aktuellen Adult Fantasy Buch erwarte ich da mehr Feingefühl.
Sprachlich konnte es mich auch nicht mitreißen; es gab viele, viele exposition dumps, bei denen ich meine Aufmerksamkeit nicht habe Aufrecht erhalten können. Für mich fühlte es sich total gekünstelt an, wie das World Building rübergebracht wurde. Ohne abwertend sein zu wollen, es liest sich recht "jung" / eher YA, manches Mal fast comichaft, aber ohne witzig zu sein (für mich zumindest). Wenn das komplizierte Magiesystem nicht wäre, wäre es wahrscheinlich ein Jugendbuch - was nicht negativ gemeint ist, aber habe mich auf eine Adult Fantasy Diebes-Geschichte eingestellt und das hat mir das Buch leider nicht gegeben. Mir fehlte der Witz, die Schnelligkeit und eine gewisse Raffinesse, die glaube ich gewollt, aber für mich nicht gut umgesetzt war.
Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass es was für Fans der Nebelgeborenen-Trilogie sein könnte, so vom Feeling und Schreibstil her; auch wer sich für harte Magiesysteme begeistern kann und sich da aufmerksam reinfuchst, könnte Spaß haben. Der Autor war übrigens sogar Student bei Brandon Sanderson, man sieht den Einfluss da auf jeden Fall. Aber ich mochte die Nebelgeborenen ja leider auch nicht...
Das Cover von Ben Zweifel ist absolut obergenial. Ich liebe es, dass Panini die originalen Cover übernimmt. Auch die Cover der nächsten Bände sind unglaublich schick.
Danke trotzdem an das Rezensionsexemplar von Lovelybooks.
Gut gefallen hat mir das Setting: Ein Insel-Archipel, das voll von Kultur ist! Der Autor ist selbst klassischer Musiker und baut das sein Fachgebiet in das World Building ein - Kunst und vor allem Musik in dieser High Fantasy-Welt sind authentisch und vielfältig, was ich als musikbegeisterte Person natürlich großartig finde. Religion spielt ebenfalls eine tragende Rolle, was mir ebenfalls super gut gefällt.
Meine Gründe für den Abbruch nach 30% lassen sich nicht so leicht runterbrechen, aber ich versuchs: Ich kam mit dem Magiesystem nicht klar. Ich werde wohl nie ein Fan von harten, komplizierten Systemen sein und dieses hier beruht auf Chemie und Physik. Das Lesen der Actionszenen hat mir Kopfschmerzen bereitet, sich nicht natürlich angefühlt. So bin ich die meiste Zeit ins schnelle Überfliegen dieser Passagen abgerutscht, was dem Buch nicht gerecht wird. Ein Fauxpas für mich ist, dass in der deutschen Ausgabe das Glossar fehlt. In der englischen gibt es Tabellen und Erklärungen, was für mich ein Muss bei so einem Magiesystem ist.
Am wichtigsten sind mir Charaktere und diese Protagonist*innen hier fand ich furchtbar. Ardor Benn, ein “Gentleman”-Gauner, war mir unfassbar unsympathisch - obwohl intendiert ist, ihn als “Gentleman” wahrzunehmen. Er ist bevormundend und paternalistisch, vor allem in Bezug unsere Protagonistin Quarrah - was mir besonders unangenehm war.
Quarrah ist eigentlich eine coole, badass Diebin, wird aber immer, wenn sie mit Ardor zusammen ist, zu einem verschüchterten Mädchen, dass ständig errötet. Selbst in diesen mageren 30% des Buches habe ich viel zu oft die Augen gerollt. Sie vergöttert unseren Gentleman Ardor von der ersten Minute an und ich wusste echt nicht, warum. Beim Satz “Er ist nicht wie andere Männer” ist mir mein Gedultsfaden entgültig geplatzt. Als bis zu dem Punkt einzige ausgearbeitete Frauenfigur ist mir so eine Charakterisierung sauer aufgestoßen; von einem aktuellen Adult Fantasy Buch erwarte ich da mehr Feingefühl.
Sprachlich konnte es mich auch nicht mitreißen; es gab viele, viele exposition dumps, bei denen ich meine Aufmerksamkeit nicht habe Aufrecht erhalten können. Für mich fühlte es sich total gekünstelt an, wie das World Building rübergebracht wurde. Ohne abwertend sein zu wollen, es liest sich recht "jung" / eher YA, manches Mal fast comichaft, aber ohne witzig zu sein (für mich zumindest). Wenn das komplizierte Magiesystem nicht wäre, wäre es wahrscheinlich ein Jugendbuch - was nicht negativ gemeint ist, aber habe mich auf eine Adult Fantasy Diebes-Geschichte eingestellt und das hat mir das Buch leider nicht gegeben. Mir fehlte der Witz, die Schnelligkeit und eine gewisse Raffinesse, die glaube ich gewollt, aber für mich nicht gut umgesetzt war.
Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass es was für Fans der Nebelgeborenen-Trilogie sein könnte, so vom Feeling und Schreibstil her; auch wer sich für harte Magiesysteme begeistern kann und sich da aufmerksam reinfuchst, könnte Spaß haben. Der Autor war übrigens sogar Student bei Brandon Sanderson, man sieht den Einfluss da auf jeden Fall. Aber ich mochte die Nebelgeborenen ja leider auch nicht...
Das Cover von Ben Zweifel ist absolut obergenial. Ich liebe es, dass Panini die originalen Cover übernimmt. Auch die Cover der nächsten Bände sind unglaublich schick.
Danke trotzdem an das Rezensionsexemplar von Lovelybooks.