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catwithakeyboard's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
pacardullo's review against another edition
5.0
Sublime, lyrical, delightful fantasy. Any detailed description of the plot(s) would not do the book justice. This one was a joy to read.
wingedwalls's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
liszante's review
3.0
As I said in one of my updates, this book defies summary. I was glad to see that the revelation I had around page 75 was both half wrong and half right.
All right. This story fractures at the very start and slowly some of the pieces pull back together, until the story is as whole as it can be. The plots are very disjointed and episodic at first, but elongate as they merge together.
Think of a single person, split into many independent, but captive pieces and spread out across time periods and places, connecting them simply by being part of them, and then, like a draw string, pulling them back together, some pieces connecting, others not, but all still part of the whole. That is this book. That is my best attempt at a summary beyond list each story line and character contained within the text.
The story is well-written and I did enjoy reading it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone unless I knew for certain that their tastes ran toward weird.
All right. This story fractures at the very start and slowly some of the pieces pull back together, until the story is as whole as it can be. The plots are very disjointed and episodic at first, but elongate as they merge together.
Think of a single person, split into many independent, but captive pieces and spread out across time periods and places, connecting them simply by being part of them, and then, like a draw string, pulling them back together, some pieces connecting, others not, but all still part of the whole. That is this book. That is my best attempt at a summary beyond list each story line and character contained within the text.
The story is well-written and I did enjoy reading it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone unless I knew for certain that their tastes ran toward weird.
stellarya's review
1.0
I desperately wanted to like Crandolin for a variety of reasons: fascinating and unique topic, indy press, recognized for the World Fantasy award. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it. The jaunty initial chapters didn't keep my interest because they presented precious little context for cryptic goings-on. Then the next chapter would be in a completely different setting with different characters and no clear relation to the preceding chapters.
At any rate, I have to go with one star for "did not like it." I think it may be basically a bit post-post-modern for my taste.
I also found the typeface a bit hard to read. The lines of the letters are so thin that it makes the text look a bit faint overall. Usually I don't give the typeface of a book a second thought, but this stuck out in my mind because it required an unusual amount of concentration.
At any rate, I have to go with one star for "did not like it." I think it may be basically a bit post-post-modern for my taste.
I also found the typeface a bit hard to read. The lines of the letters are so thin that it makes the text look a bit faint overall. Usually I don't give the typeface of a book a second thought, but this stuck out in my mind because it required an unusual amount of concentration.
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