Scan barcode
bridge_enginerd's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
yehudit_r's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great read from start to finish. All the characters were so well developed. The mythology was obviously very well researched. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
everybody's review against another edition
This is the slowest novel I've read in a long time.
I liked following the lives of the protagonists but I couldn't stand waiting endlessly for the obvious to happen.
This is the reason I dropped the book. I got sick and tired of waiting for the plot, which is obviously being set up, to happen. I would've loved reading the same world, same protagonists but without this painfully slow plot.
I haven't actually seen much of the plot itself yet but the basic setup is incredibly obvious and I found the suspense very tiring beyond a certain point.
It felt like dying of thirst while only being able to drink through an absurdly thin straw.
The main bad guy was introduced early on and revealed as the antagonist sometime later, but up to the 50% mark there didn't actually happen ANYTHING. We know who he is, we know what he wants, and a few very cheap plot conveniences have been put in place early on to provide him with the means. I've listened to 10 hours of very enjoyable nothing but I am not willing to wait another 8 hours for the plot to finally happen.
Something I loved about this book is how things are complicated. This is something most books I've read fail at miserably and which is one of the main reasons a lot of writing appears so cheap and clichéed.
Even if the only way of saving the universe is to accomplish some impossible task, things just seem too simple, too neat most of the time.
The world is messy and convoluted. Things just don't align nicely.
On one hand, this book nails this in regards to the cast and their individual backstories but on the other hand, it very much fails at this exact hurdle in regards to the actual plot.
The protagonists are complex and flawed enough to be interesting and the author managed to give an amazing sense of time and place.
I enjoyed the various philosophical discussions that characters had with each other and the author had with the reader or whatnot.
Maybe I am just damaged by the fast-food of fantasy I'm reading most of the time.
I liked following the lives of the protagonists but I couldn't stand waiting endlessly for the obvious to happen.
This is the reason I dropped the book. I got sick and tired of waiting for the plot, which is obviously being set up, to happen. I would've loved reading the same world, same protagonists but without this painfully slow plot.
I haven't actually seen much of the plot itself yet but the basic setup is incredibly obvious and I found the suspense very tiring beyond a certain point.
It felt like dying of thirst while only being able to drink through an absurdly thin straw.
The main bad guy was introduced early on and revealed as the antagonist sometime later, but up to the 50% mark there didn't actually happen ANYTHING. We know who he is, we know what he wants, and a few very cheap plot conveniences have been put in place early on to provide him with the means. I've listened to 10 hours of very enjoyable nothing but I am not willing to wait another 8 hours for the plot to finally happen.
Something I loved about this book is how things are complicated. This is something most books I've read fail at miserably and which is one of the main reasons a lot of writing appears so cheap and clichéed.
Even if the only way of saving the universe is to accomplish some impossible task, things just seem too simple, too neat most of the time.
The world is messy and convoluted. Things just don't align nicely.
On one hand, this book nails this in regards to the cast and their individual backstories but on the other hand, it very much fails at this exact hurdle in regards to the actual plot.
The protagonists are complex and flawed enough to be interesting and the author managed to give an amazing sense of time and place.
I enjoyed the various philosophical discussions that characters had with each other and the author had with the reader or whatnot.
Maybe I am just damaged by the fast-food of fantasy I'm reading most of the time.
salston's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book. I lived it. a great kix of historical fiction and fantacy, with well developed characters.
avidreadr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
Magical, rich in mythology and arcana. This book really swept me away. This books is “fantasy” but very literary. The author took her time in building the characters’ personas, and that helped me connect deeply with the story. Plus there is so much imagery and sensory detail that you feel you are really there.
I loved how the flashbacks of the past were intermixed throughout, with both storylines coming to a head at the same time.
Loved also that every chapter and section added to either a characters motivation or to move the plot ahead. This book is pretty dark at times but loooveedd how it ended.
I loved how the flashbacks of the past were intermixed throughout, with both storylines coming to a head at the same time.
Loved also that every chapter and section added to either a characters motivation or to move the plot ahead. This book is pretty dark at times but loooveedd how it ended.
charlote_1347's review against another edition
4.0
It is easiest to start with the few things that confounded or displeased me about this book, and they are few. Schaalman's entrapment in the copper tin, for example, perplexes me. Maybe I'm labouring under the delusion that only a djinni can be contained, and that's where the problem originates? Regardless, that aspect of the ending proved unsatisfying, and seemed the littlest bit rushed. The only other thing I had issue with was Saleh's significance as a character. He was interesting, and I sympathised with him, but his place in the novel wasn't justified, at least in my opinion. Every other character had a purpose; they were a cog in the mechanical clockwork that kept the plot functioning and advancing, but Saleh's purpose seemed...purposeless. Then again, both these issues are entangled, so my dissatisfaction with them might be explained away with a second read. But on to the amazing aspects of this book, which there are many. So many more than the negatives. The setting, to begin with, is marvellously unique, brilliant, authentic - several scenes had me closing my eyes and believing I was there, standing on the streets, inhaling the sea air, immersing myself in cultures. And that's another element I was astounded by - the rich diversity of cultures, religions and races that Helene Wrecker explores in this book. She doesn't hide from the unknown, from the supernatural and mystical, and the deeply emotional. The Golem and the Djinni is a fairy tale, but one set so starkly in reality, that it translates to every aspect of human life, as well as to fantasy. The mythology in this book evoked a similar fascination and excitement as 1899 New York. Chava and Ahmad were distinct opposites, and their interactions were so...heartfelt, so honest, so...truthful, that I almost cried towards the end, when their freedom is threatened. They tear human nature, faith and belief apart, and question everything. It's an awakening, a demand for justification, a yearning for understanding, for enlightenment, to belong. The Golem and the Djinni is not simply a paperback novel, written in a magical realistic style, with good reviews and a fresh take on a new subject; it is a work of art, a pioneering piece of psychology, a take on history from a perspective so far in its infancy that the sheer essence of its outlook, its philosophies and ideologies, can send us wild with its originality and transparency. I would recommend this to anyone looking to read a book - genre, audience, length, author, setting...none of it matters. This is a book that will change lives, but it will affect each one in its own way.
wurdmann's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
odin45mp's review against another edition
5.0
This book grabbed me and sucked me into its world. I had a difficult time putting it down to do other things in my life. I was captivated by the language, the characters, and the setting. The author managed to recreate another time and place and dropped me in the middle of it. I found a few faults with the novel, but they pale in comparison to what it does right. Read this if you want to be transported away from your daily life and live in the shoes of another person who is not very human at all.
attackofthetitans's review against another edition
4.0
Slow start. Not a lot of action in the beginning. But it picks up.