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geekraver's review against another edition
1.0
Admittedly I could only take two chapters of this. Incredibly violent and seemingly pointless. Not a good combination.
mackle13's review against another edition
While I will leave this book on my Nook with the possibility that I might return to it - I really, really doubt I will, so I'm marking it quits.
It's not the gore or violence or profanity or overweening hypocrisy (which I'm thinking might be a sort of satire) or anything in particular aside from that fact that I'm bored.
So very, very bored...
And there's nothing to root for or reason to continue trudging forward except for the possibility of a. But even that hope isn't enough to kept me to continue currently, especially as I'm sitting here at work and I'd actually rather to do work - at lunchtime - than go back to this book.
So, yeah. I'm done.
It's not the gore or violence or profanity or overweening hypocrisy (which I'm thinking might be a sort of satire) or anything in particular aside from that fact that I'm bored.
So very, very bored...
And there's nothing to root for or reason to continue trudging forward except for the possibility of a
Spoiler
truly spectacular comeuppance for the brothersSo, yeah. I'm done.
silverthane's review against another edition
2.0
This is unquestionably the most disgusting, violent and profane book I have ever read but that is counterbalanced by its ridiculous nature. It is difficult to be offended in any meaningful way by something so fundamentally silly.
Manfried and Hegel Grossbart are two peasant brothers journeying through the landscapes of medieval Europe seeking their fortune in the treasure filled tombs of Egypt. On their travels they encounter witches, demons, monsters, bandits and mercenaries all of which are intent on killing them but none of whom are as evil or disgusting as the brothers themselves.
Jesse Bullington got straight down to business having the Grossbarts murder an entire family (including four children) in cold blood within the first few pages and from then on it is a novel of extreme violence and gore. The Grossbarts spend the rest of the book threatening, assaulting, robbing, mutilating, murdering and generally ruining the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths. They utter the foulest profanities and blasphemies I have ever read on paper and cause mayhem wherever they go. Barely a page goes by when a character wasn’t cursing or leaking vomit, blood or excrement. In general the story is poorly put together with ridiculous, unconvincing dialogue and two dimensional cardboard characters I cared little or nothing about.
Because the brothers are so monumentally evil and stupid I found it impossible to feel any pity or kind feelings towards them, I couldn’t wait for them to get their just deserts which never seemed to come. I feel Bullington was trying too hard to shock and offend rather than focusing on developing the characters or story in any significant way. As a Christian I found the blasphemy in the book particularly unpleasant to read but the book is so fundamentally silly I was able to overlook it and try to enjoy the book for what it is; a gloriously over the top fantasy adventure story.
It’s not all bad; because the book clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously it is easy to read and I found myself making a significant dent in it quite early on. In their first encounter with a beast in the forest I was quite impressed with the feeling of horror and suspense Bullington created. Some of the fights are pretty exciting and dramatic but sadly all of this is overshadowed by the book’s faults of which there are many. One thing Bullington has definitely achieved is to have created two of the most despicable figures to come out of recent literary works.
Towards the end the book completely lost its thread and became quite difficult to follow with too many new (and arguably quite pointless) characters introduced near the end of the book when it would have been best left as it was before.
Manfried and Hegel Grossbart are two peasant brothers journeying through the landscapes of medieval Europe seeking their fortune in the treasure filled tombs of Egypt. On their travels they encounter witches, demons, monsters, bandits and mercenaries all of which are intent on killing them but none of whom are as evil or disgusting as the brothers themselves.
Jesse Bullington got straight down to business having the Grossbarts murder an entire family (including four children) in cold blood within the first few pages and from then on it is a novel of extreme violence and gore. The Grossbarts spend the rest of the book threatening, assaulting, robbing, mutilating, murdering and generally ruining the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths. They utter the foulest profanities and blasphemies I have ever read on paper and cause mayhem wherever they go. Barely a page goes by when a character wasn’t cursing or leaking vomit, blood or excrement. In general the story is poorly put together with ridiculous, unconvincing dialogue and two dimensional cardboard characters I cared little or nothing about.
Because the brothers are so monumentally evil and stupid I found it impossible to feel any pity or kind feelings towards them, I couldn’t wait for them to get their just deserts which never seemed to come. I feel Bullington was trying too hard to shock and offend rather than focusing on developing the characters or story in any significant way. As a Christian I found the blasphemy in the book particularly unpleasant to read but the book is so fundamentally silly I was able to overlook it and try to enjoy the book for what it is; a gloriously over the top fantasy adventure story.
It’s not all bad; because the book clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously it is easy to read and I found myself making a significant dent in it quite early on. In their first encounter with a beast in the forest I was quite impressed with the feeling of horror and suspense Bullington created. Some of the fights are pretty exciting and dramatic but sadly all of this is overshadowed by the book’s faults of which there are many. One thing Bullington has definitely achieved is to have created two of the most despicable figures to come out of recent literary works.
Towards the end the book completely lost its thread and became quite difficult to follow with too many new (and arguably quite pointless) characters introduced near the end of the book when it would have been best left as it was before.
misakattack's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty good book. It's amusing and gruesome, but it drags quite a bit. The ending is sudden and anti-climactic, which is kind of funny in the context of the rest of the story, but I feel like there really wasn't enough of a payoff, unfortunately.
dylanclifford's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
octavia_cade's review against another edition
2.0
This gets two stars instead of one because I appreciate the amount of research that went into it, but how is it possible to have 400+ pages, positively stuffed with characters, and I don't give a damn about a single one of them? Seriously, I don't.
This wouldn't be such a problem if there was a plot that got me really involved with the story, but there isn't. The Brothers Grossbart, deeply unpleasant, meet up with a) people as unpleasant as themselves, or b) thinly drawn redshirts. They kill the lot, and it's rinse and repeat.
I mean, I understand that they're not meant to be heroes, and the deaths are consistently gory and repulsive, but... it put me in mind of de Sade. Some years back I read all his stuff, and for the first half hour you're shocked and disgusted and then you just get bored, like you're stuck in a Halloween joke that's gone on too long. The desire to shock is not enough to sustain a narrative.
Nearly did not finish. Had to force myself.
This wouldn't be such a problem if there was a plot that got me really involved with the story, but there isn't. The Brothers Grossbart, deeply unpleasant, meet up with a) people as unpleasant as themselves, or b) thinly drawn redshirts. They kill the lot, and it's rinse and repeat.
I mean, I understand that they're not meant to be heroes, and the deaths are consistently gory and repulsive, but... it put me in mind of de Sade. Some years back I read all his stuff, and for the first half hour you're shocked and disgusted and then you just get bored, like you're stuck in a Halloween joke that's gone on too long. The desire to shock is not enough to sustain a narrative.
Nearly did not finish. Had to force myself.
lacifaeria's review against another edition
4.0
This took a bit longer than I originally anticipated and purely because I took my sweet ass time reading it but it was pretty fun. I have to say that the demise of the Brothers Grossbart was not as fantastical as I had hoped AT ALL but that seems to be some of the saddest parts: the denial of that glorious end. Still, it was a really fun read! I really like the way Bullington writes--and I have to say that his grotesque descriptions honestly made me gag and physically shrink back on more than one occasion. He has a really great handle on writing really gross stuff!!!
So yeah--too much to go into. There were lots of twists and turns, from Barousse to the Martyn to Ennio and even poor Heimlich. Even the vile witch's tale were expertly told and maintained great tension and suspense. I have "Folly of the World" which I'll get to once I take a little break from Bullington. Don't get me wrong--he's one of my new favorite authors and I really like the cut of his jib. But I need a break. Something less putrid and horrifying. At least for the next 2 books. :D
So yeah--too much to go into. There were lots of twists and turns, from Barousse to the Martyn to Ennio and even poor Heimlich. Even the vile witch's tale were expertly told and maintained great tension and suspense. I have "Folly of the World" which I'll get to once I take a little break from Bullington. Don't get me wrong--he's one of my new favorite authors and I really like the cut of his jib. But I need a break. Something less putrid and horrifying. At least for the next 2 books. :D
lbolesta's review against another edition
2.0
I really like the idea of this book (fake fairy tales presented as one narrative) but the vast majority of this book was incredibly tedious. The tales told by the other characters (Nicolette, etc) were good--I wanted the entire book to have that feel to it.
emryal's review against another edition
2.0
https://emryal.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/the-sad-tale-of-the-brothers-grossbart/