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wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
3.0
This was quiet enjoyable once I got into it. I found the beginning a bit slow, but that could just as well have been me and not the book. The imagery evoked Fallen London (the game) in my mind and that added a whole layer of fun to it. For the first in a series, it wraps up tidily - which is always a plus in my mind. Cari, Rat, and Aleena were probably my favorite characters. It'll be interesting to see where the series goes next.
lacavernadelu's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kenlaan's review against another edition
2.0
There's a lot of good things about this book, that are belied by my giving it a two-star rating.
Hanrahan, when he is not writing novels, also creates tabletop RPG books, and that makes a lot of sense to me, because the world-building in The Gutter Prayer is extremely well-done and there is a lot of originality amongst those he conceived of to inhabit it. From the creepy Tallowmen - somewhat mindless servants of the Alchemists' Guild, who are waxen golem-like creatures remade from corpses of the unfortunate - to the Stone Men - those inflicted with a plague that slowly calcifies their bodies, but gives them immense strength as it progresses - to the Crawling Ones - sentient hive-mind mages created of corpse-eating worms - there's a lot of unique concepts to be found in this book.
Unfortunately, I just never really cared much about the characters or the plot, which meant I forced myself to finish this book more out of stubbornness than a desire to see what happened at the end.
The book starts in media res, a technique I'm usually fond of as a reader, since things move quickly. There's a few trade-offs though, namely that the reader might be a little lost and that the reader will not have formed connections with the characters involved. That was certainly the case for me, especially the latter. The book largely follows Cari, the orphaned daughter of a formerly powerful family, Spar, a Stone Man and the son of the former leader of the Thieves Guild, and Rat, a Ghoul who lives amongst the surface and works with the Thieves Guild. I liked the idea of these three, but they are quickly split up due to the events of the beginning and there was never enough characterization for me to grow attached to them. There's a couple of side characters, Jare and Aleena, who I actually liked more, but they aren't the focus.
And since I didn't really care about the characters involved in the plot, the story was hard to be interested in, either. There's some pretty cool ideas here concerning gods and saints that reminded me somewhat of [b:City of Stairs|20174424|City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394545220l/20174424._SY75_.jpg|28030792], but it never grabbed me for whatever reason.
Hanrahan, when he is not writing novels, also creates tabletop RPG books, and that makes a lot of sense to me, because the world-building in The Gutter Prayer is extremely well-done and there is a lot of originality amongst those he conceived of to inhabit it. From the creepy Tallowmen - somewhat mindless servants of the Alchemists' Guild, who are waxen golem-like creatures remade from corpses of the unfortunate - to the Stone Men - those inflicted with a plague that slowly calcifies their bodies, but gives them immense strength as it progresses - to the Crawling Ones - sentient hive-mind mages created of corpse-eating worms - there's a lot of unique concepts to be found in this book.
Unfortunately, I just never really cared much about the characters or the plot, which meant I forced myself to finish this book more out of stubbornness than a desire to see what happened at the end.
The book starts in media res, a technique I'm usually fond of as a reader, since things move quickly. There's a few trade-offs though, namely that the reader might be a little lost and that the reader will not have formed connections with the characters involved. That was certainly the case for me, especially the latter. The book largely follows Cari, the orphaned daughter of a formerly powerful family, Spar, a Stone Man and the son of the former leader of the Thieves Guild, and Rat, a Ghoul who lives amongst the surface and works with the Thieves Guild. I liked the idea of these three, but they are quickly split up due to the events of the beginning and there was never enough characterization for me to grow attached to them. There's a couple of side characters, Jare and Aleena, who I actually liked more, but they aren't the focus.
And since I didn't really care about the characters involved in the plot, the story was hard to be interested in, either. There's some pretty cool ideas here concerning gods and saints that reminded me somewhat of [b:City of Stairs|20174424|City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394545220l/20174424._SY75_.jpg|28030792], but it never grabbed me for whatever reason.
mcfade28's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent debut novel from Gareth Hanrahan. The world building is exceptional and unique in this fantasy book. We are introduced to world of ghouls, guards made from candles, and sorcerous worm-men. Our three protagonists are downtrodden members of a thieves guild, who get caught in a heist gone wrong in the opening pages, and soon get catapulted into a plot surrounding a war between Gods.
I found this very intriguing from the beginning and liked most of the characters. I was able to guess some of the plots twists and turns but enjoyed the payoff.
I'll definitely check out the sequels.
I found this very intriguing from the beginning and liked most of the characters. I was able to guess some of the plots twists and turns but enjoyed the payoff.
I'll definitely check out the sequels.
vsn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition
100 pages in and I should be more invested... but I found myself zoning out and having no idea what was happening. I was not attached to any of the characters and they all seemed very dull. Shame, cause it started off with an interesting idea. Just not for me.
jorgefernandez's review against another edition
3.0
Aprobado por ser una primera novela. La idea es sencilla, la lucha del bien contra el mal que es más vieja que la tierra, pero enrevesar una historia hasta unos límites caóticos de no saber que está pasando no convierte la novela en más interesante, al contrario. Muy bien la ciudad pero le hace falta un mapa de forma urgente. No soporto que me describan las calles, los giros, los mercados, los barrios...y aún así estar perdido. Y de los personajes lo que más me ha sorprendido es que algunos de ellos de repente 'desaparecen' y... no pasa nada... La historia sigue si rumbo, sin más consecuencias.
Hay mimbres. Me costará pero espero leer la segunda de la saga cuanda salga traducida.
Hay mimbres. Me costará pero espero leer la segunda de la saga cuanda salga traducida.
bookishmey_'s review against another edition
3.0
Si me hubieran dicho que este libro era una mezcla entre Arcane y Six of Crows, lo habría comprado inmediatamente. Pero como me lo regaló mi hermana, os lo vendo a vosotros así.
En La Plegaria de la Calle nos encontramos con uno de los worldbuildings más complejos que he leído hasta el momento. Se basa sobre todo en la política y la religión para entender la historia de la ciudad, Guerdon, pero es todo tan detallado que hay momentos en los que te explota la cabeza con tanta información. Además, hay que añadirle la magia y todos los seres fantásticos, así que el libro está bastante cargadito y completito. Al principio esto desanima un poco, pero una vez pasadas las primeras 200 páginas tienes más idea del mundo y empiezas a enterarte de todo mejor, por lo que las ganas de seguir leyendo aumentan. Por ello, aunque complejo y rico en matices, es un mundo super interesante y poco común.
No puedo decir que haya conectado con los personajes, siento que esto ha sido solo una “breve” introducción y que les queda mucho desarrollo en la continuación de la saga, que el autor solo nos da una pincelada de su potencial y posibilidades.
Una cosa que me ha llamado mucho la atención es que, a pesar del ser el primer libro de una saga, se puede leer como autoconclusivo. No estoy muy de acuerdo teniendo en cuenta el final, pero definitivamente creo que es un punto a favor para darle una oportunidad, ya que si lo terminas y no te gusta, puedes no seguir con la saga.
Y la única decepción… la edición. Este libro viene de manos de una nueva y pequeña editorial, por lo que se puede justificar un poco para pasarlo por alto, pero necesita un tremendo trabajo de revisión y reedición, lo cual tampoco ayuda a la ya tediosa lectura debido al worldbuilding.
Sinceramente, no sé si seguiré con la saga, pero me ha parecido un libro increíble y con mucho potencial.
En La Plegaria de la Calle nos encontramos con uno de los worldbuildings más complejos que he leído hasta el momento. Se basa sobre todo en la política y la religión para entender la historia de la ciudad, Guerdon, pero es todo tan detallado que hay momentos en los que te explota la cabeza con tanta información. Además, hay que añadirle la magia y todos los seres fantásticos, así que el libro está bastante cargadito y completito. Al principio esto desanima un poco, pero una vez pasadas las primeras 200 páginas tienes más idea del mundo y empiezas a enterarte de todo mejor, por lo que las ganas de seguir leyendo aumentan. Por ello, aunque complejo y rico en matices, es un mundo super interesante y poco común.
No puedo decir que haya conectado con los personajes, siento que esto ha sido solo una “breve” introducción y que les queda mucho desarrollo en la continuación de la saga, que el autor solo nos da una pincelada de su potencial y posibilidades.
Una cosa que me ha llamado mucho la atención es que, a pesar del ser el primer libro de una saga, se puede leer como autoconclusivo. No estoy muy de acuerdo teniendo en cuenta el final, pero definitivamente creo que es un punto a favor para darle una oportunidad, ya que si lo terminas y no te gusta, puedes no seguir con la saga.
Y la única decepción… la edición. Este libro viene de manos de una nueva y pequeña editorial, por lo que se puede justificar un poco para pasarlo por alto, pero necesita un tremendo trabajo de revisión y reedición, lo cual tampoco ayuda a la ya tediosa lectura debido al worldbuilding.
Sinceramente, no sé si seguiré con la saga, pero me ha parecido un libro increíble y con mucho potencial.
merrysociopath's review against another edition
2.0
Meno male che oggi ho passato tutta la mattina in ospedale altrimenti non l'avrei mai finito. Tanto interessante la città di Guerdon, quanto scontati e già visti (e, in almeno un caso, estremamente irritanti) i personaggi. Alla fine c'è scritto "to be continued in book two..." ma onestamente non credo mi prenderò la briga di leggerlo.