Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
Unique world building but that's about it for me.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't do this often, but felt compelled to on this occasion. This is the first book in an incredibly long time that I have started and have not finished. I don't know what the author was going for, maybe out of my own ignorance I missed his creativity, but there was nothing I enjoyed about the 200 pages I read. I was excited to read this book, and the high rating gave me hope, but in the end it was a very poorly written, lacklustre piece. The end
I started out with the expectation that I was back in my much-loved fantasy genre. Well, demons and magical swords are fantastical. Space-ship style transport, technology, body-moulding plastic? Not so much!
The main protagonist is mute, glimpses into the past show us this was not always the case, and as we don't even have his thoughts shared with us, he remains a man of mystery! He travels with a baby and gathers others to him, drawn by his goodness.
There is a theme of loyalty and a strength of will to do the right thing throughout this book. In fact, it is this goodness of our hero that spreads and makes a truly, interesting read. Plus, it is our only insight into him. He's mute remember?
My copy is 404 pages long but I couldn't put it down, finishing in one sitting. Excellent!
The main protagonist is mute, glimpses into the past show us this was not always the case, and as we don't even have his thoughts shared with us, he remains a man of mystery! He travels with a baby and gathers others to him, drawn by his goodness.
There is a theme of loyalty and a strength of will to do the right thing throughout this book. In fact, it is this goodness of our hero that spreads and makes a truly, interesting read. Plus, it is our only insight into him. He's mute remember?
My copy is 404 pages long but I couldn't put it down, finishing in one sitting. Excellent!
I managed to finish it!
I'm not gonna be brutal or petty in this review because the book wasn't terrible. I can see why people love it, but also why people dislike it, like I do. For me, I just had major issues getting into the plot, the worldbuilding. I couldn't feel the characters and after a while decided I didn't like the writing. The writing, I feel, is very special and the kind that you either love and feel like it's written directly on your soul, or you will hate it. I belong to the latter.
I'm kinda impressed with my stubborness with finishing the book because parts of me do regret wasting 4 days worth of commute to/from university on this one. Finished it on the way in and then gave it to a friend in hopes they would enjoy it more.
I'm not gonna be brutal or petty in this review because the book wasn't terrible. I can see why people love it, but also why people dislike it, like I do. For me, I just had major issues getting into the plot, the worldbuilding. I couldn't feel the characters and after a while decided I didn't like the writing. The writing, I feel, is very special and the kind that you either love and feel like it's written directly on your soul, or you will hate it. I belong to the latter.
I'm kinda impressed with my stubborness with finishing the book because parts of me do regret wasting 4 days worth of commute to/from university on this one. Finished it on the way in and then gave it to a friend in hopes they would enjoy it more.
This one's been on my "to do" list for a while now. Glad I got around to reading it. I'll be picking up the sequels on my next book run.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
i actually ended up enjoying this despite how long we all know it took me to get into itđł i still have absolutely no idea what happened lmao but i enjoyed the small moments and interactions between characters. the relationships are really cute, found family for the winnn :)
being told in first person definitely threw me off a bit, and i feel like the author didn't explain things/world-build very well. like he tried to show not tell but i wasn't shown anything. idk it's so hard to explain but i was lost for the majority of it lol. i'm still gonna try and finish the series, maybe the other two will be better.
definitely deserves 3.75 stars for the characters and relationships alone, but the story was way too hard to follow so i probably wouldn't recommend it.
being told in first person definitely threw me off a bit, and i feel like the author didn't explain things/world-build very well. like he tried to show not tell but i wasn't shown anything. idk it's so hard to explain but i was lost for the majority of it lol. i'm still gonna try and finish the series, maybe the other two will be better.
definitely deserves 3.75 stars for the characters and relationships alone, but the story was way too hard to follow so i probably wouldn't recommend it.
This review is for all three books in The Vagrant trilogy.
The Vagrant trilogy starts strong. It has a unique style and voiceâŚcreepy, disturbing, weird and intense. Itâs a surreal dystopian fantasy that lands somewhere between The Road and Spawn. I did enjoy it throughout, but as the series progresses it begins to lose steam stylistically and the weirdness becomes less inspired and the style more traditional. Of the three books, the first part The Vagrant really captured me, but then each subsequent book was a bit less compelling.
The worldbuilding establishes a human world (Is it Earth? Possibly.) in the aftermath of a huge confrontation between demonic spirits that emerged from a crack in reality, and an âangelicâ force called The Seven of immortal silver beings with wings and living, singing swords. When the crack burst open, one of The Seven, Gamma, was sent to destroy the demons, however she was killed while her sword survived. The demons won and seep into the worldâcorrupting, absorbing, and twisting humans forms with âa taintâ that mutates them. The remaining six immortals go into isolation after the loss of their sister.
The Vagrant himself is a human warrior who takes up the destroyed angelâs sword and sets out on a quest with his only companion an ornery goat to defeat the current leader of the demonic forces. Over time, it becomes clearer that these forces while appearing as angels and demons arenât really representations of heaven or hell per se. They may have other-dimensional and magical abilities, but their aspects are by no means so black and white. The angelic immortals arenât all-good but they do generally represent âlawâ (and conformity) while the demons represent more chaos than evil.
The Vagrant is mute and never speaks, but he can sing and when he does it enhances the power of Gammaâs sword allowing it to generate enough energy to block projectiles or emit forces. He travels through a surreal world that morphs around him encountering bizarre creatures that hybridize human and demonic aspects. The atmosphere is dark and post-apocalyptic, which is quite literally true here as it takes place after the demonic apocalypse that infected most of the entire planet. The sun itself above was split into two halvesâa yellow sun and a blood red sun. Newman does a very nice job developing a disturbing atmosphere that lies somewhere between horror and fantasy. It has a knowing ambiguity, as if there is much behind the scenes we cannot understand. Book one ends with a satisfying conclusion and the unique style and atmosphere drove me immediately on to the rest of the series.
As the second book begins, Gammaâs sword is taken up by The Vagrantâs daughter who in similar fashion to her father goes on a quest against demonic forces. Like her father, she is noble and kind-hearted, but whereas he often seemed reluctant and dragged into doing the right thingâŚshe is rather painfully naĂŻve. Her character grated on me at times because she was so innocent.
As book two moves into book three, we find the story continues to focus on The Vagrantâs daughter Vesper. Her mission at this point grows even larger as she takes sides in a final confrontation between the remaining immortal angels and the forces of the demons. The story in part three has evolved to combine singular heroics and warfare with political and cultural struggles. Vesperâs role becomes a figure infrequently seen in fantasy, a socio-political actorâsomething more than just a hero who defeats a great evil in combat. Itâs an interesting evolution but technically, as a story it all becomes a bit less interesting. The story has lost some of its edge, and I also attribute that partially to the lack of depth of Vesper and the world becoming too set and established in its nature. Itâs no longer as surprising and twisted as it was in book one.
I had a few additional nigglesâŚsome of the characters, particularly Vesperâs âlove interest,â are grating and their relationship seems hardly justified. And Vesperâs story becomes too didactic by the conclusion. But overall, The Vagrant trilogy is a unique contribution to the fantasy genre and especially book 1 comes recommended to fans for surreal, near-horror dystopias.
The Vagrant trilogy starts strong. It has a unique style and voiceâŚcreepy, disturbing, weird and intense. Itâs a surreal dystopian fantasy that lands somewhere between The Road and Spawn. I did enjoy it throughout, but as the series progresses it begins to lose steam stylistically and the weirdness becomes less inspired and the style more traditional. Of the three books, the first part The Vagrant really captured me, but then each subsequent book was a bit less compelling.
The worldbuilding establishes a human world (Is it Earth? Possibly.) in the aftermath of a huge confrontation between demonic spirits that emerged from a crack in reality, and an âangelicâ force called The Seven of immortal silver beings with wings and living, singing swords. When the crack burst open, one of The Seven, Gamma, was sent to destroy the demons, however she was killed while her sword survived. The demons won and seep into the worldâcorrupting, absorbing, and twisting humans forms with âa taintâ that mutates them. The remaining six immortals go into isolation after the loss of their sister.
The Vagrant himself is a human warrior who takes up the destroyed angelâs sword and sets out on a quest with his only companion an ornery goat to defeat the current leader of the demonic forces. Over time, it becomes clearer that these forces while appearing as angels and demons arenât really representations of heaven or hell per se. They may have other-dimensional and magical abilities, but their aspects are by no means so black and white. The angelic immortals arenât all-good but they do generally represent âlawâ (and conformity) while the demons represent more chaos than evil.
The Vagrant is mute and never speaks, but he can sing and when he does it enhances the power of Gammaâs sword allowing it to generate enough energy to block projectiles or emit forces. He travels through a surreal world that morphs around him encountering bizarre creatures that hybridize human and demonic aspects. The atmosphere is dark and post-apocalyptic, which is quite literally true here as it takes place after the demonic apocalypse that infected most of the entire planet. The sun itself above was split into two halvesâa yellow sun and a blood red sun. Newman does a very nice job developing a disturbing atmosphere that lies somewhere between horror and fantasy. It has a knowing ambiguity, as if there is much behind the scenes we cannot understand. Book one ends with a satisfying conclusion and the unique style and atmosphere drove me immediately on to the rest of the series.
As the second book begins, Gammaâs sword is taken up by The Vagrantâs daughter who in similar fashion to her father goes on a quest against demonic forces. Like her father, she is noble and kind-hearted, but whereas he often seemed reluctant and dragged into doing the right thingâŚshe is rather painfully naĂŻve. Her character grated on me at times because she was so innocent.
As book two moves into book three, we find the story continues to focus on The Vagrantâs daughter Vesper. Her mission at this point grows even larger as she takes sides in a final confrontation between the remaining immortal angels and the forces of the demons. The story in part three has evolved to combine singular heroics and warfare with political and cultural struggles. Vesperâs role becomes a figure infrequently seen in fantasy, a socio-political actorâsomething more than just a hero who defeats a great evil in combat. Itâs an interesting evolution but technically, as a story it all becomes a bit less interesting. The story has lost some of its edge, and I also attribute that partially to the lack of depth of Vesper and the world becoming too set and established in its nature. Itâs no longer as surprising and twisted as it was in book one.
I had a few additional nigglesâŚsome of the characters, particularly Vesperâs âlove interest,â are grating and their relationship seems hardly justified. And Vesperâs story becomes too didactic by the conclusion. But overall, The Vagrant trilogy is a unique contribution to the fantasy genre and especially book 1 comes recommended to fans for surreal, near-horror dystopias.
The Vagrant was his name. The Vagrant does not talk, he walks with a baby, he fights infernals, he is a good guy. People is saved by the Vagrant, and other people talk by the Vagrant.
I thought I was going to enjoy this book. I did not.
It is slow, and the narrative is kind of telegrammatic; it seems like since the Vagrant does not talk then the book is written with the less amount of words possible.
I need to say, though, than there are many metaphors which are really good, and enhance the imagery of what is being described.
There are no raising actions, where you get excited of what is going to happen, the story is so ... linear and kind of dull. Sometimes things happen and that's it.
It seems like this is just book #1, since the ending does not really end. However, I don't think I'll be reading any more books from this story.
I thought I was going to enjoy this book. I did not.
It is slow, and the narrative is kind of telegrammatic; it seems like since the Vagrant does not talk then the book is written with the less amount of words possible.
I need to say, though, than there are many metaphors which are really good, and enhance the imagery of what is being described.
There are no raising actions, where you get excited of what is going to happen, the story is so ... linear and kind of dull. Sometimes things happen and that's it.
It seems like this is just book #1, since the ending does not really end. However, I don't think I'll be reading any more books from this story.