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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I have to say that I am still unsure of what to make of this book. I started it, stopped it and then restarted it again. I had to know what happened...
A very dark but intriguing read, this book kept me involved even when I was as confused as heck and I still don't quite understand what happened at the end!
A very dark but intriguing read, this book kept me involved even when I was as confused as heck and I still don't quite understand what happened at the end!
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The Vagrant was an ambitious book, original and thoughtful, though I wouldn’t say it totally triumphed. The Vagrant himself is sword wielding mute headed for the last safe haven for humans as demons continue to integrate and take over the population. Personally, I think that would be incredibly difficult to write a mute as a main character successfully. From a writer’s perspective, I commend Newman. I don’t think I could’ve done a better job of it at all. From a female reader’s perspective, however, it was difficult for me. I had a hard time connecting with the character because not only does he not speak, but the writing gives us little insight to his thoughts either.
Furthermore, Newman’s writing is not full of unnecessary embellishments. It was short and crispy. While most of the time I would consider this a strength in the writing, since our character is mute and conversation is sparse, the limited amount of details did not give me a good picture of what was going on and made way for unclear world building. It took me a while to understand what was going on and where the story was going.
Overall, I simply did not feel connected. It’s not that the writing or story were bad, but they didn’t move me in anyway. It didn’t sweep me up or make me feel as though I was there. I felt like the author may have bit off more than he could chew for a debut novel. The concepts however are original. I can see other readers loving this book. For instance, I would definitely recommend this book to my younger brother, who I think would like it immensely.
I also think Newman has a bright career ahead of him as an author. I enjoyed the writing style in general, and I would be interested in reading a different series or book of Newman’s in the future.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review
The Vagrant was an ambitious book, original and thoughtful, though I wouldn’t say it totally triumphed. The Vagrant himself is sword wielding mute headed for the last safe haven for humans as demons continue to integrate and take over the population. Personally, I think that would be incredibly difficult to write a mute as a main character successfully. From a writer’s perspective, I commend Newman. I don’t think I could’ve done a better job of it at all. From a female reader’s perspective, however, it was difficult for me. I had a hard time connecting with the character because not only does he not speak, but the writing gives us little insight to his thoughts either.
Furthermore, Newman’s writing is not full of unnecessary embellishments. It was short and crispy. While most of the time I would consider this a strength in the writing, since our character is mute and conversation is sparse, the limited amount of details did not give me a good picture of what was going on and made way for unclear world building. It took me a while to understand what was going on and where the story was going.
Overall, I simply did not feel connected. It’s not that the writing or story were bad, but they didn’t move me in anyway. It didn’t sweep me up or make me feel as though I was there. I felt like the author may have bit off more than he could chew for a debut novel. The concepts however are original. I can see other readers loving this book. For instance, I would definitely recommend this book to my younger brother, who I think would like it immensely.
I also think Newman has a bright career ahead of him as an author. I enjoyed the writing style in general, and I would be interested in reading a different series or book of Newman’s in the future.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot was slow and nearly nonexistent, but the unique writing style and characters were just so, so alluring.
A sword-wielding mute, a baby, and a goat cross a post-apocalyptic landscape, heading for the Shining City. But will they reach their destination before the demonic horde on their trail overtakes them?
After reading about this book on Chuck Wendig's blog, I couldn't wait to dig in. However, at the time, Harper Voyager wanted $20 for the e-book. Since everyone knows that's horseshit, I held off until I found a new hardcover and I'm quite pleased with my treeware purchase.
The story of the last of the Seraph Knights is quite good, though on the surface doesn't look all that original. At first glance, it reminded me of Jay Posey's Three and Peter Brett's The Warded Man, with heavy doses of The Gunslinger. However, The Vagrant kicked my ass.
The way the story unfolds is masterful. You don't notice how much of the text in a lot of novels is dialogue until you come across a book where the three lead characters don't speak. As a result, it seemed like I wasn't making any progress in the book a lot of the time. The reading experience was a rewarding one, though.
Peter Newman's writing was superb and having to infer the Vagrant's nature and motives from his actions elevated the reading experience quite a bit. I never thought I'd get this attached to a nameless baby and a goat. The worldbuilding was interesting, mostly through the dialogue of the characters around the Vagrant and his gang. There were some infodumps in the form of flashbacks but they were easily digestible.
I don't really have anything bad to say about this book. It's a more difficult read than most fantasy books out there but it's also more rewarding. Four out of five stars.
After reading about this book on Chuck Wendig's blog, I couldn't wait to dig in. However, at the time, Harper Voyager wanted $20 for the e-book. Since everyone knows that's horseshit, I held off until I found a new hardcover and I'm quite pleased with my treeware purchase.
The story of the last of the Seraph Knights is quite good, though on the surface doesn't look all that original. At first glance, it reminded me of Jay Posey's Three and Peter Brett's The Warded Man, with heavy doses of The Gunslinger. However, The Vagrant kicked my ass.
The way the story unfolds is masterful. You don't notice how much of the text in a lot of novels is dialogue until you come across a book where the three lead characters don't speak. As a result, it seemed like I wasn't making any progress in the book a lot of the time. The reading experience was a rewarding one, though.
Peter Newman's writing was superb and having to infer the Vagrant's nature and motives from his actions elevated the reading experience quite a bit. I never thought I'd get this attached to a nameless baby and a goat. The worldbuilding was interesting, mostly through the dialogue of the characters around the Vagrant and his gang. There were some infodumps in the form of flashbacks but they were easily digestible.
I don't really have anything bad to say about this book. It's a more difficult read than most fantasy books out there but it's also more rewarding. Four out of five stars.
Read more reviews like this on my blog.
A debut novel needs to do only one thing – it should firmly cement its author’s name in the minds of readers and within the genre itself, a physical prophecy that foreshadows the author’s future success. THE VAGRANT by Peter Newman is one such novel – a teaser at the brilliance that surely likes ahead in Newman’s career as a professional author.
Set in a a post-apocalyptic world following a demonic invasion from the ‘Breach’, we follow the titular Vagrant on his quest to deliver a legendary sword to the far-off bastion of humanity, the Shining City. Accompanying him is a baby, a stubborn goat, and a young man desperate for repentance.
Dialogue often forms the heart of a novel, but not so in THE VAGRANT. The Vagrant himself – one of the last Seraph Knights, near-mythical warriors of an old knightly order that once stood watch over the Breach – is a mute. He cannot speak, but his gestures and actions convey far more emotion than any sentence could. The Vagrant is a mysterious man, driven by a sense of obligation and duty, conflicted by his own personal morals, in constant battle against the decrepit, decaying world around him.
The world itself is painted quite well. This is a very bleak future world, and I couldn’t help but draw parallels between THE VAGRANT and the film, The Book of Eli. Although books and films are usually separate mediums, these two shared a similar concept of a powerful, almost unstoppable warrior on a quest to deliver a holy artifact in a world tainted with evil and decay. This isn’t a criticism – in fact, I enjoyed THE VAGRANT more because of these similarities.
Peter Newman’s real genius lies in making the reader sympathize with the villains. And not just feel mildly sorry for them, but actually connected with the supposed antagonists. The powerful demon hordes that streamed through the Breach are not unified, but constantly shifting alliances. The ‘big bad’, the Usurper, was responsible for killing one of the holy Seven, angel-like beings who governed the world and were worshiped by the Seraph Knights of the Winged Eye. The Usurper did not, however, manage to stamp complete control over his demonic subjects – the Uncivil, an abomination of death and reanimation, has been plotting against him in the eight years since the Breach; and the nomadic First of the Undead scattered quickly, evading the Usurper’s control.
These uneasy alliances and minor conflicts gradually escalate throughout the book, coupled with flashbacks and scene breaks that force the reader to accept a difficult truth – not everything demonic is completely evil. These infernal creatures are grappling with concepts of identity, purpose, allegiance, obligation, and freedom – all remarkably human concepts that blur the line between ‘evil demon’ and ‘anti-hero’.
That might be THE VAGRANT’s most powerful message – it proves that not even a demonic apocalypse can extinguish the flickering flame that is mankind’s hope of a better world. The Vagrant’s unshakable love for the baby is tangible and endearing, and the platonic bond he builds with the young man, Harm, is not there just to make up the numbers, but because they need eachother beyond mere convenience.
With all of this said, however, there’s a catch. If you have scrolled ahead already, you might be wondering why there is a star missing at the end of this review. With all this praise, you might think a 5-star review was in order.
THE VAGRANT’s prose takes a little while to get used to. Not because it’s present-tense (a style that is apparently bleeding from YA into fantasy these days), but because everything is very vague. The demons are described in a method not unlike painting a portrait with a feather dipped in ink – you get a vague outline, but nothing concrete.
This problem extends in the world’s lore, too. Exactly what The Seven are is never convincingly explained; how the mythical swords work is left for the reader to guess at; and the nature of ‘essence’ (the soul) is purposefully ignored. Although I can understand loose description for the demons, skipping over the mechanics of the world’s magic makes it difficult to fully grasp the whole scope of the novel.
The ending is another puzzle – at this stage, I haven’t heard whether there will be sequels in this series. I hope there are, because there are too many unanswered questions by the final page; and despite a tiny plot twist at the end, it’s easy to feel a little ‘cheated’ by the ending.
These are all, however, very minor problems.
THE VAGRANT is a must-read debut novel for anybody with even a passing interest in fantasy. Grimdark is a curious sub-genre of fantasy, but Peter Newman has gone beyond an ordinary tale of a knight on a mission of holy salvation, instead painting a more complex picture that muddies the boundary between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The demons are clearly vile and corrupt, but then again, humanity allowed their world to be corrupted, and many times throughout the novel, we see humans making horrible decisions that end up with many hundreds or thousands of lives being lost.
Shining out of the darkness is a heart-warming tale about one man, his baby and his goat, on a mission to make a difference in the world, no matter how small. Despite the depravity and cruelty of the world, there are still small beacons of hope shining, proof that even in the worst of situations, humanity can survive and become better – as long as they’re willing to try.
The Good:
A gripping narrative set in a grimdark post-apocalypse, with complex characters and moral dilemmas that will stay with you for a long time after.
The Bad:
The prose takes a while to adapt to, and the world-building – while interesting – lacks the concrete details to build a complete picture.
The Verdict:
A memorable debut from a clearly exceptional author. Proof that humanity can hold on even in the darkest of times and against the greatest of odds, with the power of love and the spirit of kindness.
A debut novel needs to do only one thing – it should firmly cement its author’s name in the minds of readers and within the genre itself, a physical prophecy that foreshadows the author’s future success. THE VAGRANT by Peter Newman is one such novel – a teaser at the brilliance that surely likes ahead in Newman’s career as a professional author.
Set in a a post-apocalyptic world following a demonic invasion from the ‘Breach’, we follow the titular Vagrant on his quest to deliver a legendary sword to the far-off bastion of humanity, the Shining City. Accompanying him is a baby, a stubborn goat, and a young man desperate for repentance.
Dialogue often forms the heart of a novel, but not so in THE VAGRANT. The Vagrant himself – one of the last Seraph Knights, near-mythical warriors of an old knightly order that once stood watch over the Breach – is a mute. He cannot speak, but his gestures and actions convey far more emotion than any sentence could. The Vagrant is a mysterious man, driven by a sense of obligation and duty, conflicted by his own personal morals, in constant battle against the decrepit, decaying world around him.
The world itself is painted quite well. This is a very bleak future world, and I couldn’t help but draw parallels between THE VAGRANT and the film, The Book of Eli. Although books and films are usually separate mediums, these two shared a similar concept of a powerful, almost unstoppable warrior on a quest to deliver a holy artifact in a world tainted with evil and decay. This isn’t a criticism – in fact, I enjoyed THE VAGRANT more because of these similarities.
Peter Newman’s real genius lies in making the reader sympathize with the villains. And not just feel mildly sorry for them, but actually connected with the supposed antagonists. The powerful demon hordes that streamed through the Breach are not unified, but constantly shifting alliances. The ‘big bad’, the Usurper, was responsible for killing one of the holy Seven, angel-like beings who governed the world and were worshiped by the Seraph Knights of the Winged Eye. The Usurper did not, however, manage to stamp complete control over his demonic subjects – the Uncivil, an abomination of death and reanimation, has been plotting against him in the eight years since the Breach; and the nomadic First of the Undead scattered quickly, evading the Usurper’s control.
These uneasy alliances and minor conflicts gradually escalate throughout the book, coupled with flashbacks and scene breaks that force the reader to accept a difficult truth – not everything demonic is completely evil. These infernal creatures are grappling with concepts of identity, purpose, allegiance, obligation, and freedom – all remarkably human concepts that blur the line between ‘evil demon’ and ‘anti-hero’.
That might be THE VAGRANT’s most powerful message – it proves that not even a demonic apocalypse can extinguish the flickering flame that is mankind’s hope of a better world. The Vagrant’s unshakable love for the baby is tangible and endearing, and the platonic bond he builds with the young man, Harm, is not there just to make up the numbers, but because they need eachother beyond mere convenience.
With all of this said, however, there’s a catch. If you have scrolled ahead already, you might be wondering why there is a star missing at the end of this review. With all this praise, you might think a 5-star review was in order.
THE VAGRANT’s prose takes a little while to get used to. Not because it’s present-tense (a style that is apparently bleeding from YA into fantasy these days), but because everything is very vague. The demons are described in a method not unlike painting a portrait with a feather dipped in ink – you get a vague outline, but nothing concrete.
This problem extends in the world’s lore, too. Exactly what The Seven are is never convincingly explained; how the mythical swords work is left for the reader to guess at; and the nature of ‘essence’ (the soul) is purposefully ignored. Although I can understand loose description for the demons, skipping over the mechanics of the world’s magic makes it difficult to fully grasp the whole scope of the novel.
The ending is another puzzle – at this stage, I haven’t heard whether there will be sequels in this series. I hope there are, because there are too many unanswered questions by the final page; and despite a tiny plot twist at the end, it’s easy to feel a little ‘cheated’ by the ending.
These are all, however, very minor problems.
THE VAGRANT is a must-read debut novel for anybody with even a passing interest in fantasy. Grimdark is a curious sub-genre of fantasy, but Peter Newman has gone beyond an ordinary tale of a knight on a mission of holy salvation, instead painting a more complex picture that muddies the boundary between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The demons are clearly vile and corrupt, but then again, humanity allowed their world to be corrupted, and many times throughout the novel, we see humans making horrible decisions that end up with many hundreds or thousands of lives being lost.
Shining out of the darkness is a heart-warming tale about one man, his baby and his goat, on a mission to make a difference in the world, no matter how small. Despite the depravity and cruelty of the world, there are still small beacons of hope shining, proof that even in the worst of situations, humanity can survive and become better – as long as they’re willing to try.
The Good:
A gripping narrative set in a grimdark post-apocalypse, with complex characters and moral dilemmas that will stay with you for a long time after.
The Bad:
The prose takes a while to adapt to, and the world-building – while interesting – lacks the concrete details to build a complete picture.
The Verdict:
A memorable debut from a clearly exceptional author. Proof that humanity can hold on even in the darkest of times and against the greatest of odds, with the power of love and the spirit of kindness.
This book reminds me of Japanese manga stories and a fantasy version of "The Road". I admire how the author can write a book about someone who doesn't speak.
The story and world building is interesting although I wished the author had provided more information about the Seven.
All in all, it's an interesting read.
The story and world building is interesting although I wished the author had provided more information about the Seven.
All in all, it's an interesting read.
This book is quite good, and very different, with some great characters. Very descriptive writing, and I'm looking forward to learning more about the world and how it will all turn out.
I purchased this to take into hospital so that I would have a "nice, relaxing fantasy" novel to soothe myself with (rather than The Three Body Problem which was what I was struggling through at the time).
I literally didn't understand the first third of the book. I totally lost track of whose essence had done what, to who, to spawn the various evil characters. I gave up.
In retrospect this may have been the pethidine.
I picked it up again a week later - post opiates, although still with large amounts of codeine and grumpiness in my system - and it was kinda okay, but not great.
I tried again a week after that and had a couple of moments of actual enjoyment and even surprise.
So good things about this book:
1. In the end the story really comes together quite well
2. Sometimes the writing (which is not nice and relaxing and fantastical) is really beautiful and literary. This man knows his colons :P
3. One of the main characters is a goat.
Bad things about this book:
1. The first half makes absolutely no sense*
2. Sometimes the writing is really annoying and unnecessarily convoluted and strange.
3. The goat doesn't have a speaking part.
I guess the key takeout here is that this book is an unsuitable hospital companion. Hopefully that was your burning question :P
* May or may not be due to drugs.
I literally didn't understand the first third of the book. I totally lost track of whose essence had done what, to who, to spawn the various evil characters. I gave up.
In retrospect this may have been the pethidine.
I picked it up again a week later - post opiates, although still with large amounts of codeine and grumpiness in my system - and it was kinda okay, but not great.
I tried again a week after that and had a couple of moments of actual enjoyment and even surprise.
So good things about this book:
1. In the end the story really comes together quite well
2. Sometimes the writing (which is not nice and relaxing and fantastical) is really beautiful and literary. This man knows his colons :P
3. One of the main characters is a goat.
Bad things about this book:
1. The first half makes absolutely no sense*
2. Sometimes the writing is really annoying and unnecessarily convoluted and strange.
3. The goat doesn't have a speaking part.
I guess the key takeout here is that this book is an unsuitable hospital companion. Hopefully that was your burning question :P
* May or may not be due to drugs.
I ended up really enjoying this book, but it wasn't an easy one.
It was very difficult to get into, mostly because I listened to the audiobook. That is not to say the narrator does a bad job, he is pretty good, but the story is just very confusing to follow in an audio format. Zoning out for even a moment makes you miss pretty critical details, and for the first third of the book I barely knew what was going on.
Even now, I think I probably missed a lot of the plot. But I don't think that really matters to me. The heart of the story, the relationships between the main characters, and the general feeling make it a four star to me. It had an incredible atmosphere and the relationships in this book were excellent and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed it, despite being confused occasionally throughout.
It was very difficult to get into, mostly because I listened to the audiobook. That is not to say the narrator does a bad job, he is pretty good, but the story is just very confusing to follow in an audio format. Zoning out for even a moment makes you miss pretty critical details, and for the first third of the book I barely knew what was going on.
Even now, I think I probably missed a lot of the plot. But I don't think that really matters to me. The heart of the story, the relationships between the main characters, and the general feeling make it a four star to me. It had an incredible atmosphere and the relationships in this book were excellent and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed it, despite being confused occasionally throughout.