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cupiscent's review against another edition
2.0
Hmm. HMM. Frankly, I was disappointed with this, but for various reasons I went in really hopeful about it, so perhaps the letting down of my high hopes evens out at not bad really.
My feeling, though, is that the plot lacked power and significance (by which I mean it didn't build itself solidly, or have big damn consequences front and centre keeping one's attention riveted), the storytelling was too caught up in minutiae and justifications (by which I mean there were a lot of little scenes of characters doing little things for little reasons that were too closely explained), and the prose was workmanlike and not sufficiently elevated by its Elizabethan gracenotes.
Mostly, I was just hoping for more - more skullduggery, more magic, more machinations, more breathtaking scope - and mostly this was concerned with theatre and personal issues.
My feeling, though, is that the plot lacked power and significance (by which I mean it didn't build itself solidly, or have big damn consequences front and centre keeping one's attention riveted), the storytelling was too caught up in minutiae and justifications (by which I mean there were a lot of little scenes of characters doing little things for little reasons that were too closely explained), and the prose was workmanlike and not sufficiently elevated by its Elizabethan gracenotes.
Mostly, I was just hoping for more - more skullduggery, more magic, more machinations, more breathtaking scope - and mostly this was concerned with theatre and personal issues.
denizyildiz's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! Lyle created a parallel world set in Elizabethan Era.
Brilliant world building, intriguing story... cant wait for the next book!
Review:
To be honest I kind of stumbled over this book, mainly picked it up in the first place because i liked the cover… yes sometimes i am just a simple cover slut!
I did like the summary as well. The book however was for a long time in my shelf unread. When I finally picked it up, I was astounded! Lyle created an alternate universe set in Elizabethan London added some shakespearean characters and a dash of fantasy. And all of it was done very well! I am so glad now that I liked the cover!! Sometimes being a cover slut pays off obviously ;)
While the summary might give one the impression that this is an action packed fantasy. Well, it's not. It does however move in a pleasant past, lots of its action involve intrigue and deception, there are mysteries (that are partly solved) and even a bit of romance. It's a subtle book, where characters are defined more by their actions than by their expressing their feelings and the fantasy is so well incorporated in a pseudo historical England that one can believe in it.
The plot in itself is cleverly woven and has a couple of twists. It's not unpredictable but it's thoroughly enjoyable. A somewhat classic daggers and cloak tale. It is not an especially fast-paced story, but it is an entrancing one; I just couldn't stop turning page.
However, the romance, while it was sweet, it also was a bit clumsy and lacked a bit of chemistry. My biggest critic though is that I was left with a lot of questions- many to do with Mal's past- despite the fact that the book was ended quite neatly, no cliffhanger or such at the end.
It took me a while to be able to connect to characters, which in my opinion is due to the third person narrator. The POV does also swap between different characters, so getting to know them take a little longer. But saying that, even though it is written in the third person, the three narrators have each their distinct voices- which in my opinion shows how good Lyle is in her craft!
But by the end of the book I was thoroughly invested in the characters. In fact I really like them.
Lyle does approach the characters rather with a subtle hand. So as reasons for their actions unfold, we get to know them and by the end of the book many questions raised about them fall into place. They are well rounded characters and felt rather realistic. Lyle gave them each the world view a person of their status and time probably would have had. Each of them has their own views on politics and religion but none of them are judged.. simply told. I think in fact these are the reason they felt so very real.
Admittedly they are very shakespearean type characters. But in my opinion that was a plus point.
I really enjoyed Mal's practical stoicism, Coby's practical romanticism, and even Ned's doubtful integrity made him more complex and real.
Mal the handsome rough with a golden heart who is the catalyst to get the others entangled in a web of espionage and intrigue. He is haunted by things that happened in his past and is probably his own worst critic. There are aspects of his past that are still not reveal by the end of this book and I hope that Lyle will reveal them in the next….
Coby the orphan girl that make her living as a tire man, posing as a boy, is brave and loyal. An immigrant to England she is acutely aware of its politics. She is also aware that her guise, while giving her freedom and a way to survive, also might be a possible barrier for any possible future. Her insecurities and worries were so one of the things I really like about Lyles writing. She manages to convey Coby's feelings in manner that make Coby extremely real. I could totally relate to Coby, I think most women will. Since many of her issues are totally universal for many girls in their late teens, Lyle just packaged it into parallel tudor times
Ned, was my least favorite character for most of the book. I never trusted him, felt he was just a spoilt wimp half to the time… and then suddenly he came through and redeemed himself. And its like I suddenly got what happened before and why he did it all. And forgave him.. yeah you read right. I forgave him. Because that's how invested I got into them!
The world building. WELL! Let me tell you, its probably the best part of the book! It's brilliant. Lyle did not only create an entire parallel Elizabethian England.. she created an entire new species, the skrylings (a term taken from the norse sagas), complete with their own cultures, histories and believes. And its done absolutely flawlessly! Absolutely brilliant.
The historical part of the novel is just as amazing, it is so well crafted that it makes everything else seem completely real. Lyle brought the Tudor times back to life in every minute detail. She is obviously well acquainted with that time of history. Did I mention its brilliant?
The prose is definitely another favorite part of this book for me. Its simply beautiful. Lyle is fabulous at it. I enjoyed each sentence and am hoping that Lyle will produce many many more books
Brilliant world building, intriguing story... cant wait for the next book!
Review:
To be honest I kind of stumbled over this book, mainly picked it up in the first place because i liked the cover… yes sometimes i am just a simple cover slut!
I did like the summary as well. The book however was for a long time in my shelf unread. When I finally picked it up, I was astounded! Lyle created an alternate universe set in Elizabethan London added some shakespearean characters and a dash of fantasy. And all of it was done very well! I am so glad now that I liked the cover!! Sometimes being a cover slut pays off obviously ;)
While the summary might give one the impression that this is an action packed fantasy. Well, it's not. It does however move in a pleasant past, lots of its action involve intrigue and deception, there are mysteries (that are partly solved) and even a bit of romance. It's a subtle book, where characters are defined more by their actions than by their expressing their feelings and the fantasy is so well incorporated in a pseudo historical England that one can believe in it.
The plot in itself is cleverly woven and has a couple of twists. It's not unpredictable but it's thoroughly enjoyable. A somewhat classic daggers and cloak tale. It is not an especially fast-paced story, but it is an entrancing one; I just couldn't stop turning page.
However, the romance, while it was sweet, it also was a bit clumsy and lacked a bit of chemistry. My biggest critic though is that I was left with a lot of questions- many to do with Mal's past- despite the fact that the book was ended quite neatly, no cliffhanger or such at the end.
It took me a while to be able to connect to characters, which in my opinion is due to the third person narrator. The POV does also swap between different characters, so getting to know them take a little longer. But saying that, even though it is written in the third person, the three narrators have each their distinct voices- which in my opinion shows how good Lyle is in her craft!
But by the end of the book I was thoroughly invested in the characters. In fact I really like them.
Lyle does approach the characters rather with a subtle hand. So as reasons for their actions unfold, we get to know them and by the end of the book many questions raised about them fall into place. They are well rounded characters and felt rather realistic. Lyle gave them each the world view a person of their status and time probably would have had. Each of them has their own views on politics and religion but none of them are judged.. simply told. I think in fact these are the reason they felt so very real.
Admittedly they are very shakespearean type characters. But in my opinion that was a plus point.
I really enjoyed Mal's practical stoicism, Coby's practical romanticism, and even Ned's doubtful integrity made him more complex and real.
Mal the handsome rough with a golden heart who is the catalyst to get the others entangled in a web of espionage and intrigue. He is haunted by things that happened in his past and is probably his own worst critic. There are aspects of his past that are still not reveal by the end of this book and I hope that Lyle will reveal them in the next….
Coby the orphan girl that make her living as a tire man, posing as a boy, is brave and loyal. An immigrant to England she is acutely aware of its politics. She is also aware that her guise, while giving her freedom and a way to survive, also might be a possible barrier for any possible future. Her insecurities and worries were so one of the things I really like about Lyles writing. She manages to convey Coby's feelings in manner that make Coby extremely real. I could totally relate to Coby, I think most women will. Since many of her issues are totally universal for many girls in their late teens, Lyle just packaged it into parallel tudor times
Ned, was my least favorite character for most of the book. I never trusted him, felt he was just a spoilt wimp half to the time… and then suddenly he came through and redeemed himself. And its like I suddenly got what happened before and why he did it all. And forgave him.. yeah you read right. I forgave him. Because that's how invested I got into them!
The world building. WELL! Let me tell you, its probably the best part of the book! It's brilliant. Lyle did not only create an entire parallel Elizabethian England.. she created an entire new species, the skrylings (a term taken from the norse sagas), complete with their own cultures, histories and believes. And its done absolutely flawlessly! Absolutely brilliant.
The historical part of the novel is just as amazing, it is so well crafted that it makes everything else seem completely real. Lyle brought the Tudor times back to life in every minute detail. She is obviously well acquainted with that time of history. Did I mention its brilliant?
The prose is definitely another favorite part of this book for me. Its simply beautiful. Lyle is fabulous at it. I enjoyed each sentence and am hoping that Lyle will produce many many more books
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
2.0
The cover got me. It really did. And two stars is a perhaps a slightly unfair rating. The idea is good. I like the world; it's an interesting what if. The problem is that the relationships between the characters is so, so flat. There is suppose to be a romance, and I just don't buy that the two characters are even in lust.
And I'm sorry, while Coby is an interesting character, she is also a very contrived character. She's seventeen so we won't feel icky, but she hasn't had her monthly yet?
Yet, Lyle really does bring the players to life and Tudor England, Tudor London is very real in this book. World building is great, but some of the characters don't work on various levels. And honestly, if the romance isn't believable don't even put it in.
Still, I'll give the second vol a chance when it comes out.
And I'm sorry, while Coby is an interesting character, she is also a very contrived character. She's seventeen so we won't feel icky, but she hasn't had her monthly yet?
Yet, Lyle really does bring the players to life and Tudor England, Tudor London is very real in this book. World building is great, but some of the characters don't work on various levels. And honestly, if the romance isn't believable don't even put it in.
Still, I'll give the second vol a chance when it comes out.
jeanne_satre's review against another edition
5.0
A well written and enjoyable period fantasy. The Skraylings are an interesting addition to the universe, and I'm interested in seeing how the author plans to develop them further in the sequels. The book stays largely to-period, with the mildly-notable exception of almost the entire main cast being gay, with the exception of the protagonist himself who is inferred to be Bi.
krisrid's review against another edition
1.0
This book had things I would normally like: an alternate England, political drama including Queen Elizabeth and Sir Francis Walsingham, a down-and-out hero, a girl pretending to be a boy, and magic. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me.
There was a feeling of disjointedness in the various aspects of the plot, it was ll over the place and seemed to jump from one thing to another with no rhyme or reason.
I also didn't connect to the characters. I didn't dislike them, I just didn't really find myself engaged with them and their stories. What happened to them just wasn't interesting enough to me to make me keep reading, especially when this paperback had over 500 pages.
The author's apparent fascination of gay male sex seemed incongruous to the rest of the story for me and unnecessary. In fairness, I didn't finish the book, so it's possible this has a reason and it becomes clear if you do, but it was just another small thing that didn't connect for me and added up all of the small things I didn't love just meant it didn't seem worth it to keep reading.
There was a feeling of disjointedness in the various aspects of the plot, it was ll over the place and seemed to jump from one thing to another with no rhyme or reason.
I also didn't connect to the characters. I didn't dislike them, I just didn't really find myself engaged with them and their stories. What happened to them just wasn't interesting enough to me to make me keep reading, especially when this paperback had over 500 pages.
The author's apparent fascination of gay male sex seemed incongruous to the rest of the story for me and unnecessary. In fairness, I didn't finish the book, so it's possible this has a reason and it becomes clear if you do, but it was just another small thing that didn't connect for me and added up all of the small things I didn't love just meant it didn't seem worth it to keep reading.
kateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
This would be 4 1/2 stars if GoodReads wasn't so fixated on whole numbers. Competent handling of a dizzying array of plots and secrets, solid characterization, and a neat re-imagining of an Alternate Elizabethan England. I was not as satisfied with the ending as I might be, but room must always be left for sequels this days, of course. Can't wait to see what the rest of this world is like, with Skraylings in it!
annastarlight's review against another edition
3.0
This alternate history set in Elizabethan England started off slow. It took about 150 pages until it really gets to the meat of the story: intricate political plots surrounding the strange skrayling race from Vinland. The individual characterisation lacks depth, but the power relations and setting are interesting. I much enjoyed the plotting in the latter half of the book, and the slow revealing of the skrayling's magic was well done.
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Trigger warnings:violence, poverty, homophobia (two characters are gay, and there are mild to medium period reactions to this), mild transphobia (a cis female character dresses up as a boy and occasionally considers this unnatural), sexual harrassment/threat of rape.
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Trigger warnings:
booksandyarniness's review against another edition
4.0
Very good world building and characterization-- It's a great first book, and I'd definitely look for the next book by this author. The only quibble I have with the book is that the blurb on the back make makes it seem like the drama should be much more sinister than what actually happens.
marcusnyahoe's review
3.0
I feel a bit bad about not finishing this as it has all the hallmarks of something I'd enjoy. The setting is well realised and there is some interesting political interplay going on, but I just lost interest.
There's something not quite right with the pacing for me. I was reading along quite merrily, but then it struck me that at some point I stopped picking it up because I was enjoying it, and more and more just to get through it. This could possibly be more down to me than the book, and I shall certainly return to it at some point in the future, but for now it has to go down as a book with unfulfilled potential.
There's something not quite right with the pacing for me. I was reading along quite merrily, but then it struck me that at some point I stopped picking it up because I was enjoying it, and more and more just to get through it. This could possibly be more down to me than the book, and I shall certainly return to it at some point in the future, but for now it has to go down as a book with unfulfilled potential.