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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Loved it like I love Edward Abbey. Glorious, rambling, subversive.
Ugh this book was such a painful read. The things that happen to the protagonists as children and adults and the terrible people in their lives, (sometimes they themselves) made it a stomach clenching read for me. What makes it sad is, in the end I thought all that unpleasantness was unnecessary, unlike The Magicians, where it was way too close to what unpleasantness you can wreak on yourself in real life. Also, there are a bunch of things that annoyed me with how stupid they were. Honestly the only thing that made this worthwhile to me, and the reason it gets three stars, is Peregrine.
Well. That was underwhelming. After all the buzz I was expecting something truly original and revelatory, but instead I got a book that had a poorly developed magical system that completely robbed the book of tension, because if you never learn about the limitations of magic, then they can do anything and of course they'll figure out something because it's magic. Add to that a bunch of speculative science as reality, and I was without any investment in what was happening. The prose was good. There were interesting characters and interesting concepts, but it didn't pay off in a story that I would recommend. It's okay, but there are better books out there.
Couldn't get into this. Finished the first two chapters before the stilted language drove me away.
A decent book but nothing greatly profound. The two main characters were appealing but a bit thin. I still don't understand why the girl always has to be excessively "pretty" in scifi novels, while the guy is a geeky nerd. I mean, I do understand - if we believe scifi is predominantly read by nerds who can't get dates. The thing is, I don't believe this, so don't buy into the trope. Otherwise, good story that did it's best to jump the line between scifi/fantasy and lit fic. Didn't quite make it, so landed squarely in the pop fic bin. Still, a good attempt.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
That was chaotic...and I'm sure a lot went over my head. (I have read other books by Charlie Jane Anders, and enjoyed them immensely.)
Definitely an original story, but there was just way too much going on.
I wanted to like this more than I did. And at times I really did. But mostly I didn't.
Part Harry Potter, part The Magicians, part Seveneves. Magic and technology, nature and institutions, love and destruction. I think the first part goes a little too long, creating a distinctively YA feeling, but once Patricia and Laurence are adults, the story has a much greater impact.