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canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
What happens in a world where sin and desire literally stain you? That's the question explored here. You'd think an author wouldn't be able to get far with such and conceit but Vyleta with a perfect tone that describes a world more shadowy than our own for more reasons than just the extra smoke.
Cinematic scenes help add to the heavy weight of everything our characters endure as they struggle against society and themselves.
Also in pure serendipity this was the second book I've read this year that used historical fiction from this time period to explore questions of reason and faith. The other book was the excellent Essex Serpent. In Smoke the language is more contemporary than the setting might suggest but what it lacks is pastiche it makes up for in style.
The book is moody and dark but also seductive and hints at a great heat. All qualities of Smoke as well.
Cinematic scenes help add to the heavy weight of everything our characters endure as they struggle against society and themselves.
Also in pure serendipity this was the second book I've read this year that used historical fiction from this time period to explore questions of reason and faith. The other book was the excellent Essex Serpent. In Smoke the language is more contemporary than the setting might suggest but what it lacks is pastiche it makes up for in style.
The book is moody and dark but also seductive and hints at a great heat. All qualities of Smoke as well.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
#OUABC 2023 Reading Challenge: 40 Prompts (24. An ebook or audiobook)
Speculative • Dickensian • Atmospheric • Suspenseful • 4 Stars
First published in May 2016, this novel is set in an alternate historical England where people who are wicked in thought or deed are marked by the Smoke that pours forth from their bodies, a sign of their fallen state. The aristocracy do not smoke, proof of their virtue and right to rule, while the lower classes are drenched in sin and soot.
The novel follows the lives of three young people who learn everything they’ve been taught is a lie - knowledge that could cost them their lives. The story is a combination of thriller, fantasy, and historical novel with a dash of horror. It’s chilling and complex and amazingly imaginative. The novel has been described as a narrative tour de force, a tale of Dickensian intricacy and ferocious imaginative power, richly atmospheric and intensely suspenseful.
#DarkAcademia #Smoke #DanVyleta #4Stars
Speculative • Dickensian • Atmospheric • Suspenseful • 4 Stars
First published in May 2016, this novel is set in an alternate historical England where people who are wicked in thought or deed are marked by the Smoke that pours forth from their bodies, a sign of their fallen state. The aristocracy do not smoke, proof of their virtue and right to rule, while the lower classes are drenched in sin and soot.
The novel follows the lives of three young people who learn everything they’ve been taught is a lie - knowledge that could cost them their lives. The story is a combination of thriller, fantasy, and historical novel with a dash of horror. It’s chilling and complex and amazingly imaginative. The novel has been described as a narrative tour de force, a tale of Dickensian intricacy and ferocious imaginative power, richly atmospheric and intensely suspenseful.
#DarkAcademia #Smoke #DanVyleta #4Stars
carolyn0613's review against another edition
2.0
This book wasn't for me. I started reading it but couldn't get into it at all. i gave up reading it after a short time
nderiley's review against another edition
3.0
Great premise, but the book was slow to progress and the ending not very satisfying
clearly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A strong premise, but I wasn’t really clear on what the point of it all was or what the villains were trying to do. Maybe the second book has more answers?
grayjay's review against another edition
2.0
The idea was fun and mysterious, and the characters were okay, but the ending was very frustrating. It was as if the author came upon the ending unprepared and was forced to wrap it up quickly. The most interesting strands, like how the smoke began, were left untied.
beckimoody29's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this book. The premise was very interesting with a realistic setting. I liked the characters and wanted them to succeed. The problem is that I wasn't always sure what the "quest" was. I liked the first half of the book very much as we met the characters and learned more about Smoke. But I think it dragged too much once they got to London, and I am still not completely sure if they "won" or not. I was very confused about much of the ending. It may be just me -- we are reading this as part of a book club so I am interested to see what other people got out of it.
doritobabe's review against another edition
2.0
I rate this book: 2.5 - 3 stars out of 5. But I still marked it as 2 because, to me, "it was okay".
MAN, WHAT A SLOG of a book to get through.
This book took literal weeks to finish, and I wasn't even excited to keep reading it when I did finally come back to it.
TLDR;
Writing: 4/5 stars
Plot: 2.5/5 stars (crazy unnecessary middle portion that could have been removed and the book better; the denouement was a let down; reasoning for smoke + sin = sucked)
Characters: 2/5 stars (there were way too many POV's and unnecessary characters to express Vyleta's world)
Dan Vyleta's Smoke was oft advertised to lovers of Harry Potter. WHAT?! WHY!? This book is dubbed a 'fantasy' when really could just pass for general fiction (maybe magical realism) as it takes place in an alternate universe of 19th Century England. Socioeconomic class differences run rampant in this world, and characters/people are judged on their rank by the amount that their body secretes smoke. Smoke, in all its forms and colours, is an indicator of one's sin and thus their lot in life.
The book itself revolves around three young people (ages not really disclosed): two gentleman, one of which is a tyrant, and a rebellious girl of gentry; finally, their main antagonists are several adults, and one mad Tom-Riddle-like student (in keeping with the Harry Potter analogy).
Smoke starts off very exciting and interesting, but peters out by the half way point -- as many previous reviewers point out. It picks up once again at about the 75% point, but even though it gets EXCITING again, the plot and climax is weak, barely making sense. Ultimately, the book kind of devolves into a socialist treatise about the nature of humanity and the debasedness of class-systems.
Additionally, the explanations and ruminations about smoke + sin = half the time didn't even make sense. Maybe it's because I am generally NOT religious? I don't know; just could not get behind the explanations.
Hats off to a weird love triangle that ends in I was NOT expecting that.
MAN, WHAT A SLOG of a book to get through.
This book took literal weeks to finish, and I wasn't even excited to keep reading it when I did finally come back to it.
TLDR;
Writing: 4/5 stars
Plot: 2.5/5 stars (crazy unnecessary middle portion that could have been removed and the book better; the denouement was a let down; reasoning for smoke + sin = sucked)
Characters: 2/5 stars (there were way too many POV's and unnecessary characters to express Vyleta's world)
Dan Vyleta's Smoke was oft advertised to lovers of Harry Potter. WHAT?! WHY!? This book is dubbed a 'fantasy' when really could just pass for general fiction (maybe magical realism) as it takes place in an alternate universe of 19th Century England. Socioeconomic class differences run rampant in this world, and characters/people are judged on their rank by the amount that their body secretes smoke. Smoke, in all its forms and colours, is an indicator of one's sin and thus their lot in life.
The book itself revolves around three young people (ages not really disclosed): two gentleman, one of which is a tyrant, and a rebellious girl of gentry; finally, their main antagonists are several adults, and one mad Tom-Riddle-like student (in keeping with the Harry Potter analogy).
Smoke starts off very exciting and interesting, but peters out by the half way point -- as many previous reviewers point out. It picks up once again at about the 75% point, but even though it gets EXCITING again, the plot and climax is weak, barely making sense. Ultimately, the book kind of devolves into a socialist treatise about the nature of humanity and the debasedness of class-systems.
Additionally, the explanations and ruminations about smoke + sin = half the time didn't even make sense. Maybe it's because I am generally NOT religious? I don't know; just could not get behind the explanations.
Hats off to a weird love triangle that ends in
Spoiler
polyamory/polygamy, though.libwinnie's review against another edition
3.0
In London during the late 19th century, people emit smoke when they commit criminal or morally questionable acts. Thomas and Charlie have to fight for their lives as they question the validity of smoke and try to uncover the truth about it. A strange premise, but it works as a conversation about morality and its relativity. The setting is enveloping and there is a lot of action.