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mellhay's review
5.0
I read the free first chapter with the narration. There was so much information and hints placed here that I was drawn to the story. I didn't want to miss anything! Then the second chapter opened a door in my mind with all sorts of possibilities flowing in and out. All about Glass Town, Eleanor, Seth, and Isaiah then what could Joshua find? I was sold without pause on this book. There was a mystery presented, someone seeming to want to hide something, and then we get hints of a magic that created some place. Yep, I was quickly hooked.
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****
reflectiverambling_nalana's review
4.0
A highly entertaining fantastical mystery. While there is a supernatural element at play, the strength is in the answers, ties, and connections being far closer to traditional mysteries. But what truly made it shine was the superb audio performance. Steve West is given the opportunity to flex his greatest strength, character work, on a set of distinct narrative voices. Usually this is only on full display for audiences of younger ages or with writing styles that lean more towards niche than the tradition of many mysteries to lean in a more classical literary style. "mature" if you will, though that is not to dismiss other genres which I myself am a fan of.
glendareads39's review
4.0
A psychological thrilling, mind-bending, magic and mystery. Glass Town is about two brothers obsessed with an actress named Eleanor Raines, who goes missing during the filming of Alfred Hitchcock's Number 13. There are Dark secrets throughout the book about Joshua's family and London.
bronrogers's review against another edition
Foul language and porno level sex described. Not something I want to read or listen to.
saevers's review
2.0
Sloppy and clumsily written, with flimsy, unsympathetic characters behaving senselessly. Perpetually contradicting itself and breaking its own rules in ways that range from minor (a seated character continuing to smoke a cigar that he had only paragraphs before thrown across the room and destroyed) to major (a character spends 20+ minutes in a place that dilates time, which previously cost him a week, but those effects do not occur). Full of unexplained conveniences. Sexist. It’s even poorly edited and, in addition to the inconsistencies described above, has typos.
I’ve given it two stars because it was interesting enough that I read it mostly in a single sitting, but it had few other redeeming qualities that differentiate it from trash.
I’ve given it two stars because it was interesting enough that I read it mostly in a single sitting, but it had few other redeeming qualities that differentiate it from trash.
achay91's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Gore, Death of parent, Sexism, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Suicide and Alcohol
kylielovesbooks's review
4.0
If you like gansters, movie stars and murder mysteries, this book is for you. But it's not your typical who-dun-it book. It's about one families obsession to find the missing love of Josh Raines' great grandfather Isaiah's life. She disappeared 90 years ago and Isaiah never gave up looking for her. He believes Eleanor is still alive, looking like she did the day she disappeared. And he believes his brother, the ganster Seth Lockwood is behind whole thing.
I honestly didn't read the synopsis before I started reading this book. The thing that drew me in the most was the cover. It is so different and beautiful.
When I first started reading this book, it took me a while to get into. I thought it was just because it was a hard to get into book, but I think it was because I didn't have a lot of time to read so I was only reading small amounts here and there. Once I got time to read, I read it fairly quickly.
I was also a little confused as to what direction the story was going. The very beginning is a letter to Josh from his grandfather Boone about Eleanor and her disappearance. But the whole beginning is about Boone's funeral and it took a while to come back to Eleanor.
As I got into the book, I found myself thinking about the mystery of Glass Town just like Josh even when I wasn't reading. When I didn't have time to read, I really wanted to dive back in and unravel the mysteries. The author made Eleanor sound like someone anyone would die trying to find and fully root for Josh to find her.
This book was so descriptive, I could easily imagine myself alongside Josh trying to figure out how to get into Glass Town. There was also a lot of foreshadowing.
There were several characters in this book that started out having separate story lines. As the story went on, all the characters connected into the mystery that is Eleanor and Glass Town.
One of my favorite parts was that there was a flashback in the middle of the book instead of the beginning. Usually the prologue is the flashback to the rest of the story, but I liked having it in the middle. When the flashback is in the beginning, it's very confusing to make sense of when it immediately jumps into the present of the story. Having it in the middle made it so easy to make sense of because we already had a lot of the story to work with.
I really liked Josh's character. He was very easy to relate to. He didn't immediately believe everything he was seeing and he didn't expect the people he told to immediately believe him either.
I would definitely recommend this to not only fantasy lovers, but for lovers of mystery and historical fiction. It was a great read that went quickly once it got exciting and a real page turner!
I honestly didn't read the synopsis before I started reading this book. The thing that drew me in the most was the cover. It is so different and beautiful.
When I first started reading this book, it took me a while to get into. I thought it was just because it was a hard to get into book, but I think it was because I didn't have a lot of time to read so I was only reading small amounts here and there. Once I got time to read, I read it fairly quickly.
I was also a little confused as to what direction the story was going. The very beginning is a letter to Josh from his grandfather Boone about Eleanor and her disappearance. But the whole beginning is about Boone's funeral and it took a while to come back to Eleanor.
As I got into the book, I found myself thinking about the mystery of Glass Town just like Josh even when I wasn't reading. When I didn't have time to read, I really wanted to dive back in and unravel the mysteries. The author made Eleanor sound like someone anyone would die trying to find and fully root for Josh to find her.
This book was so descriptive, I could easily imagine myself alongside Josh trying to figure out how to get into Glass Town. There was also a lot of foreshadowing.
There were several characters in this book that started out having separate story lines. As the story went on, all the characters connected into the mystery that is Eleanor and Glass Town.
One of my favorite parts was that there was a flashback in the middle of the book instead of the beginning. Usually the prologue is the flashback to the rest of the story, but I liked having it in the middle. When the flashback is in the beginning, it's very confusing to make sense of when it immediately jumps into the present of the story. Having it in the middle made it so easy to make sense of because we already had a lot of the story to work with.
I really liked Josh's character. He was very easy to relate to. He didn't immediately believe everything he was seeing and he didn't expect the people he told to immediately believe him either.
I would definitely recommend this to not only fantasy lovers, but for lovers of mystery and historical fiction. It was a great read that went quickly once it got exciting and a real page turner!
williemeikle's review
5.0
Steve S has excelled even by his standards. A masterful piece of work that reminded me of Tim Powers filtered through a particularly British perspective. Memorable characters, a great premise, and as tightly plotted as we've come to expect from Steve.
Lovely stuff.
Lovely stuff.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review
4.0
3 1/2 Stars
Glass Town is a standalone novel written by Steven Savile (you may recognize the name from the credits of Doctor Who, Torchwood, or Stargate). It’s about a young man who inherits a mystery from his father, who inherited it from his own father. The mystery? Eleanor Raines’ disappearance. The elder Raines’ (yes, you read the name correctly) never got over her going missing, and he passed the obsession down through the generations. Now it is Josh’s turn to try and figure out the puzzle left for him.
Glass Town is absolutely full to the brim of good ideas; the application is where I found it to be lacking. I love the concept of Glass Town, how it got to be there, the mystery that got handed down for generations, all of that is brilliant. Despite these wonderful moments though, Glass Town is a relatively slow paced read, sometimes going on for chapters before another revelation or break in the plot occurs.
I loved the characters introduced here, with few exceptions. The obsession the Raines men have for Eleanor Raines is fascinating. First we have Isaiah, whom stared it all. He was so obsessed with this woman, that when it became clear she was never coming back, he married her sister and took her name (how messed up is that?). He never stopped looking for Eleanor, and bid Boone to do the same. So upon Isaiah’s (early) death, Boone picked up the hunt, adding new pieces of information to the puzzle, which he then passed off to Josh upon his death. The cycle they have is really quite fascinating, and I imagine had Seth Lockwood (our antagonist, more on him later) not acted rashly, it likely would have continued on in this manner for countless more generations. At least in theory.
Seth is a pretty impulsive antagonist, all things considered. He doesn’t take the time to think things out, to see the ultimate repercussions to his actions. For example, had he left Josh alone there’s a chance that he may have let the whole mystery drop. But by going after him he forced Josh into action, thus putting everything he was hoping to gain at risk. Pretty silly, when you think about it. Still, he’s a classic mobster type, where he lets his emotions rule over everything. He makes for a pretty good foil, when you think about it (after all, can’t we argue that all of the Raines men were likewise fueled by their emotions? What else is obsession?).
There is one character that I feel was sorely underdeveloped, Eleanor Raines. I know, how ironic? To all the men in this novel she’s seen as nothing more than an object, so she’s simply represented as just that. If it weren’t for the fact that she was one of the only females in this novel, I might not have picked up on it so quickly. But she’s one of four (and that’s if you count a non-human succubus creature as a woman). It’s ironic, she’s the whole reason for this plot, but I feel like I barely know her (other than to know that she’s so beautiful men can’t stop thinking about her).
My final complaint is one I’m going to have to dance around, as I don’t want it to be too big of a spoiler. I feel like the promise for this novel was broken. From the start, everything in this novel had been about Eleanor Raines, Seth Lockwood, and Glass Town. Certain expectations/promises are made because of this, and I feel like they just were not met by the end. It was disappointing for me, to say the least.
I still can’t get over some of the core concepts for this novel; they’re so intriguing and different from what I’ve read and seen before. If the direction had gone slightly any other way, I think I would have enjoyed this novel a lot more than I did.
.For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Glass Town is a standalone novel written by Steven Savile (you may recognize the name from the credits of Doctor Who, Torchwood, or Stargate). It’s about a young man who inherits a mystery from his father, who inherited it from his own father. The mystery? Eleanor Raines’ disappearance. The elder Raines’ (yes, you read the name correctly) never got over her going missing, and he passed the obsession down through the generations. Now it is Josh’s turn to try and figure out the puzzle left for him.
Glass Town is absolutely full to the brim of good ideas; the application is where I found it to be lacking. I love the concept of Glass Town, how it got to be there, the mystery that got handed down for generations, all of that is brilliant. Despite these wonderful moments though, Glass Town is a relatively slow paced read, sometimes going on for chapters before another revelation or break in the plot occurs.
I loved the characters introduced here, with few exceptions. The obsession the Raines men have for Eleanor Raines is fascinating. First we have Isaiah, whom stared it all. He was so obsessed with this woman, that when it became clear she was never coming back, he married her sister and took her name (how messed up is that?). He never stopped looking for Eleanor, and bid Boone to do the same. So upon Isaiah’s (early) death, Boone picked up the hunt, adding new pieces of information to the puzzle, which he then passed off to Josh upon his death. The cycle they have is really quite fascinating, and I imagine had Seth Lockwood (our antagonist, more on him later) not acted rashly, it likely would have continued on in this manner for countless more generations. At least in theory.
Seth is a pretty impulsive antagonist, all things considered. He doesn’t take the time to think things out, to see the ultimate repercussions to his actions. For example, had he left Josh alone there’s a chance that he may have let the whole mystery drop. But by going after him he forced Josh into action, thus putting everything he was hoping to gain at risk. Pretty silly, when you think about it. Still, he’s a classic mobster type, where he lets his emotions rule over everything. He makes for a pretty good foil, when you think about it (after all, can’t we argue that all of the Raines men were likewise fueled by their emotions? What else is obsession?).
There is one character that I feel was sorely underdeveloped, Eleanor Raines. I know, how ironic? To all the men in this novel she’s seen as nothing more than an object, so she’s simply represented as just that. If it weren’t for the fact that she was one of the only females in this novel, I might not have picked up on it so quickly. But she’s one of four (and that’s if you count a non-human succubus creature as a woman). It’s ironic, she’s the whole reason for this plot, but I feel like I barely know her (other than to know that she’s so beautiful men can’t stop thinking about her).
My final complaint is one I’m going to have to dance around, as I don’t want it to be too big of a spoiler. I feel like the promise for this novel was broken. From the start, everything in this novel had been about Eleanor Raines, Seth Lockwood, and Glass Town. Certain expectations/promises are made because of this, and I feel like they just were not met by the end. It was disappointing for me, to say the least.
I still can’t get over some of the core concepts for this novel; they’re so intriguing and different from what I’ve read and seen before. If the direction had gone slightly any other way, I think I would have enjoyed this novel a lot more than I did.
.For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
lollypopzoo's review
4.0
I really liked this book, but I wanted more from the end! The end satisfyingly ties up the plot, but I wanted a longer goodbye with these characters. I’m guessing that the author may write more about these characters. Their stories don’t feel finished.