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faitelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bing999's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
siletta's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sorchakeano's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cwbillings's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
alsnwlkr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A quick and effective "sporror" retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Kingfisher/Vernon manages an imaginative take on not one, but two over-saturated concepts. The narrative prioritizes world building over character development, which is fine since they're already iconic characters, but I do think more time could have been spent adding nuance to the nonbinary narrator, Alex Easton. Of course, just giving them a name is more nuance than Poe wrote, so I'm mostly happy with what we got. Recommended.
ktsimpson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
charlienicole8's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.25
akookieforyou's review against another edition
DNF at 35%
This feels kind of bad, because this book is so short, and the author is beloved, but this was boring me SO much, and it's a resolution this year to stop forcing myself through things I'm not enjoying.
I will say, I think it's great that T. Kingfisher intentionally made a non binary/genderqueer protagonist, it's so important for everyone to see themselves in stories.
My issues were due to the overly long explanations of fungus, a fictional country's history (wild to include in a novella lol), and war stories, none of which were very interesting at all, let alone creepy or foreboding.
The prose also left something to be desired for my personal tastes. I just found the language to be too flowery, and grating. I know that's a preference thing, but it bothered me and I wanted to mention it.
The only thing that interested me in that 35% I read, was the bit the butchers mentioned about the odd and unsettling behavior of the rabbits near the manor. I wanted more of that, and I wish it could've been there from the start. But it was only a few paragraphs of intrigue, with the rest being unengaging.
I will try another T. Kingfisher novel in the future, because she writes a variety of things, so I'm sure I'll find something enjoyable by her, just sucks this wasn't one of them.
This feels kind of bad, because this book is so short, and the author is beloved, but this was boring me SO much, and it's a resolution this year to stop forcing myself through things I'm not enjoying.
I will say, I think it's great that T. Kingfisher intentionally made a non binary/genderqueer protagonist, it's so important for everyone to see themselves in stories.
My issues were due to the overly long explanations of fungus, a fictional country's history (wild to include in a novella lol), and war stories, none of which were very interesting at all, let alone creepy or foreboding.
The prose also left something to be desired for my personal tastes. I just found the language to be too flowery, and grating. I know that's a preference thing, but it bothered me and I wanted to mention it.
The only thing that interested me in that 35% I read, was the bit the butchers mentioned about the odd and unsettling behavior of the rabbits near the manor. I wanted more of that, and I wish it could've been there from the start. But it was only a few paragraphs of intrigue, with the rest being unengaging.
I will try another T. Kingfisher novel in the future, because she writes a variety of things, so I'm sure I'll find something enjoyable by her, just sucks this wasn't one of them.