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qalminator's review
4.0
Oh, this was a lot of fun. It puts me in mind of the 13th Age RPG, where each character can specify "one unique thing". Well, here we have a character whose one unique thing is that she is helping out some homunculi living in the attic by making new bodies for them. Of course, one thing leads to another, and there's a giant homunculus made of precious metals, which isn't ripe for the stealing, as it turns out, and it proceeds from there.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
tzurky's review
3.0
3.5 stars
This isn’t mind blowing by any means but it’s a welcome diversion, if you’re looking for that and has Tchaikovsky’s familiar blend of sweetness and significant bite. The setting is downright dystopia, but he still manages to wring some goodness and humanity out of it. And once again hammer home the point that acting humane is open to all, be they human or not and similarly, it’s not only the non-human that are inhumane.
Yea the magic system isn’t well thought out or described (and my benchmark is fucking Sanderson, so this is basically at the opposite end of the spectrum) and the world is rendered impressionistically, in broad strokes rather than details. But the point of the story are the character arcs and they’re completed and well done so I’m going to be generous and round up.
This isn’t mind blowing by any means but it’s a welcome diversion, if you’re looking for that and has Tchaikovsky’s familiar blend of sweetness and significant bite. The setting is downright dystopia, but he still manages to wring some goodness and humanity out of it. And once again hammer home the point that acting humane is open to all, be they human or not and similarly, it’s not only the non-human that are inhumane.
Yea the magic system isn’t well thought out or described (and my benchmark is fucking Sanderson, so this is basically at the opposite end of the spectrum) and the world is rendered impressionistically, in broad strokes rather than details. But the point of the story are the character arcs and they’re completed and well done so I’m going to be generous and round up.
breenmachine's review
2.0
Interesting story, the author's imagination is so unique. I never know what I'm going to get when I read his books, which I love - such variety and imagination. However, this story ended quicker than I wanted it to and I felt like it could have gone more places than it did. It felt like the author was playing around with an idea, but wasn't sure what to do with it in the actual plot. This book is my least favorites of Tchaikovsky's that I've read so far, but I'm still a huge fan.
nickyxxx's review
2.0
Do you remember the story of when you found a book with an awesome premise, which you thought you’d really love, and… then you didn’t?
I am a huge fan of everything steampunk. And I saw this book and I was like, TAKE MY MONEY. Tiny little dolls, made of wood, iron and other materials and their human counterpart who lies and steals – that’s really right up my alley.
But the harder I tried to get into the story, the less I could feel the characters and the world.
Let’s start at the beginning. There are so many characters, all with names that I’m supposed to remember, and the entire opening scene feels as chaotic as the actual world it is taking place in. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like boring opening scenes either, but Tchaikovsky just threw everything in my face at the same time. I can’t grasp the entire world at once, alright?
Not to mention that none of the characters seem to have their own voice, their own flaws and talents. If you really want to confuse the hell out of me, this surely is the way to go. I mean, I don’t even know what the main character is like – being an orphan isn’t a trait, after all, and it really isn’t what makes a character stand out.
I’ve said it before, a book without any interesting characters is inherently flawed. But it seems to be a trend among authors to just toss a name into a story and think they’re done. Please, write me some interesting, fucked-up misfits, not this kind of, uhm… boring stuff (I’ll keep it somewhat civil).
The story itself had great potential, really, with its puppets and magical world and slum-like neighbourhoods. If you want to get immersed in the setting – hear the buzz of a chatting crowd on the street and smell the stench of dog shit under your shoes – please look further, because this book won’t cut it.
It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it: Tchaikovsky attempted (please mind my choice of words here) to write a book about bringing inanimate things to life, but couldn’t do it himself.
Okay, so we’ve got our overwhelmingly large cast of characters and an empty-feeling world – are we done ranting now?
I wish I could say yes, but here we are. Might as well keep going.
So the story could’ve been really engaging, but it seemed as if it just, never… took off. Sure, some things happen, but I failed to grasp their significance. At one point I realized I was already 70% in, and… I still didn’t know what the story was about.
The heroine didn’t seem to have any goal in the book: she just got dragged on a mission by her friend, and found herself in a peculiar situation which she couldn’t escape from. Main characters who don’t actively pursue some sort of goal, do not in any way help the story forward. If there’s no main mission, it’s going to be be a crappy story. Just sayin’.
Then all of a sudden there was some sort of rescue mission and a really awkward fight scene, both of which could’ve been engaging – if the author had only remembered to include some high stakes and a good amount of tension. But no, how stupid of me to expect that *facepalm*. Not once did I feel the need to just keep turning the pages – well, I did, but only because I wanted to get it over with.
It’s never a good sign when I’m just rushing through the story just to be done with it. I want to be swept off my feet, I want to be sucked into the story – with characters that come to life and feel like real, flawed people to me. I want to be so invested that I physically twinge whenever they make some stupid decision or say something idiotic.
With an increasing amount of books that feel so bland and contain hardly any descriptions of the setting - actual descriptions of what it looks, sounds and smells like, which make me feel like I’m actually there – I’m starting to get concerned of what the sci-fi literature world is growing into. Tchaikovsky certainly didn’t help ease those worries.
This book could’ve been a delightful read, with an enjoyable world and great characters, but in my honest opinion it feels more like a first, very rough draft that hasn’t had any revisions yet.
I am a huge fan of everything steampunk. And I saw this book and I was like, TAKE MY MONEY. Tiny little dolls, made of wood, iron and other materials and their human counterpart who lies and steals – that’s really right up my alley.
But the harder I tried to get into the story, the less I could feel the characters and the world.
Let’s start at the beginning. There are so many characters, all with names that I’m supposed to remember, and the entire opening scene feels as chaotic as the actual world it is taking place in. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like boring opening scenes either, but Tchaikovsky just threw everything in my face at the same time. I can’t grasp the entire world at once, alright?
Not to mention that none of the characters seem to have their own voice, their own flaws and talents. If you really want to confuse the hell out of me, this surely is the way to go. I mean, I don’t even know what the main character is like – being an orphan isn’t a trait, after all, and it really isn’t what makes a character stand out.
I’ve said it before, a book without any interesting characters is inherently flawed. But it seems to be a trend among authors to just toss a name into a story and think they’re done. Please, write me some interesting, fucked-up misfits, not this kind of, uhm… boring stuff (I’ll keep it somewhat civil).
The story itself had great potential, really, with its puppets and magical world and slum-like neighbourhoods. If you want to get immersed in the setting – hear the buzz of a chatting crowd on the street and smell the stench of dog shit under your shoes – please look further, because this book won’t cut it.
It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it: Tchaikovsky attempted (please mind my choice of words here) to write a book about bringing inanimate things to life, but couldn’t do it himself.
Okay, so we’ve got our overwhelmingly large cast of characters and an empty-feeling world – are we done ranting now?
I wish I could say yes, but here we are. Might as well keep going.
So the story could’ve been really engaging, but it seemed as if it just, never… took off. Sure, some things happen, but I failed to grasp their significance. At one point I realized I was already 70% in, and… I still didn’t know what the story was about.
The heroine didn’t seem to have any goal in the book: she just got dragged on a mission by her friend, and found herself in a peculiar situation which she couldn’t escape from. Main characters who don’t actively pursue some sort of goal, do not in any way help the story forward. If there’s no main mission, it’s going to be be a crappy story. Just sayin’.
Then all of a sudden there was some sort of rescue mission and a really awkward fight scene, both of which could’ve been engaging – if the author had only remembered to include some high stakes and a good amount of tension. But no, how stupid of me to expect that *facepalm*. Not once did I feel the need to just keep turning the pages – well, I did, but only because I wanted to get it over with.
It’s never a good sign when I’m just rushing through the story just to be done with it. I want to be swept off my feet, I want to be sucked into the story – with characters that come to life and feel like real, flawed people to me. I want to be so invested that I physically twinge whenever they make some stupid decision or say something idiotic.
With an increasing amount of books that feel so bland and contain hardly any descriptions of the setting - actual descriptions of what it looks, sounds and smells like, which make me feel like I’m actually there – I’m starting to get concerned of what the sci-fi literature world is growing into. Tchaikovsky certainly didn’t help ease those worries.
This book could’ve been a delightful read, with an enjoyable world and great characters, but in my honest opinion it feels more like a first, very rough draft that hasn’t had any revisions yet.
stuckonamber's review
4.0
Enjoyable fantasy from Tchaikovsky, telling the story of a puppet maker working with living puppets in a city ruled by powerful mages.
cadillaceazy's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
4.0
ainsleym's review
5.0
Perfect execution of this topic. Loved the length for this story but would absolutely read more in this world. The visuals were top tier and I would love to see a movie of this!!