Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Wanted to love it...aspired to love it...encouraged myself to love it....but in the end, I just liked it. This is such a cool book in theory. The setting is right up my alley - a post-apocalyptic land where demons roam looking to feed on the innocent, a cool back-history, amazing secondary characters etc. What I ultimately couldn't get past was the fact that the main character had zero lines of dialogue. At first it was kind of unique and original and then when I continued to read it became a bit annoying, which then became distracted indifference. I just didn't care anymore. Which is quite a shame because this story could have been so much more. Maybe the second book will grab me more than this one did but I'm not rushing to crack that one open in the near future. Some people may enjoy this type of book, but it is not my style unfortunately. Three stars simply for the incredible world-building and of course - THE DEMONS.
It is important to note that I listened to this book. I think I would have had a very different experience (and probably a less enjoyable one) had I read it myself rather than had it read to me.
Some of that was the interaction between narrative and narrator - the weirdness of the landscape, the absence of names and speech from the main character, the number of characters who are just "the ______" could be frustrating when read, but the rhythm of the prose works when encountered aurally. It has that odd, folklore-esque feel wherein the definite article serves to both particularize the narrative and cut it loose in space and time, so hearing it read made the story almost soothing rather than disconcerting.
The actual voice of the narrator probably helped a lot with that.
It reminds me in some ways of China Mieville in terms of dark weirdness (and someone should tell the author's wife that I said so), but hews much more closely to a traditional fantasy narrative. I didn't expect the combination of the two to work for me as well as it did, but I really did enjoy The Vagrant far more than I expected to.
Very glad I had the good sense to get it in audio format, though. Clearly the right choice for me and this.
Also, the baby and the goat. Both of them absolutely made the book for me.
Some of that was the interaction between narrative and narrator - the weirdness of the landscape, the absence of names and speech from the main character, the number of characters who are just "the ______" could be frustrating when read, but the rhythm of the prose works when encountered aurally. It has that odd, folklore-esque feel wherein the definite article serves to both particularize the narrative and cut it loose in space and time, so hearing it read made the story almost soothing rather than disconcerting.
The actual voice of the narrator probably helped a lot with that.
It reminds me in some ways of China Mieville in terms of dark weirdness (and someone should tell the author's wife that I said so), but hews much more closely to a traditional fantasy narrative. I didn't expect the combination of the two to work for me as well as it did, but I really did enjoy The Vagrant far more than I expected to.
Very glad I had the good sense to get it in audio format, though. Clearly the right choice for me and this.
Also, the baby and the goat. Both of them absolutely made the book for me.
I think I could have gone to 4 stars on this, but the truth is that I enjoyed the ride but most of the time had no clue WTF was going on in this world.
Admittedly I listened to the audiobook and it's quite possible I missed important bits. For example the timeline jumps around a good bit and often I realized I didn't know what was going on, then realized it had jumped back in time and I'd missed the notification that it had done so. I am the sort of person that reads every single word when I'm reading a book, but I listen to audiobooks with half a head paying attention to whatever else I'm doing at the time. Sometimes I miss things, and I felt like I'd missed a lot all the way through this book. In reading other reviews perhaps I didn't miss as much as I thought, perhaps it was just the author's writing style.
Either way, it was dark and gritty and hopeful and weird and confusing. I wouldn't have minded spending a bit of time in the MC's head, particularly since he was mute, but the author didn't give us that kind of insight.
The end felt a bit abrupt, though. I'm undecided about listening to the next.
ETA: The goat was really a great character, though. I've glimpsed at the next book and I think I'll have a listen to it. At least the MC is a hold over from the first book and can speak.
Admittedly I listened to the audiobook and it's quite possible I missed important bits. For example the timeline jumps around a good bit and often I realized I didn't know what was going on, then realized it had jumped back in time and I'd missed the notification that it had done so. I am the sort of person that reads every single word when I'm reading a book, but I listen to audiobooks with half a head paying attention to whatever else I'm doing at the time. Sometimes I miss things, and I felt like I'd missed a lot all the way through this book. In reading other reviews perhaps I didn't miss as much as I thought, perhaps it was just the author's writing style.
Either way, it was dark and gritty and hopeful and weird and confusing. I wouldn't have minded spending a bit of time in the MC's head, particularly since he was mute, but the author didn't give us that kind of insight.
The end felt a bit abrupt, though. I'm undecided about listening to the next.
ETA: The goat was really a great character, though. I've glimpsed at the next book and I think I'll have a listen to it. At least the MC is a hold over from the first book and can speak.
Veľmi zaujímavé fantasy. Svet je po pohrome, objavili sa dva slnká a démoni vychádzajúci z Trhliny ovládli zem cez telá ľudí, ktoré si násilím prisvojili. Svet, v ktorom sa nemý Tulák pohybuje je veľmi zaujímavý a netradičný. Stretávame sa v ňom s obyčajnými ľuďmi, posadnutými osobami, či pozliepanými mutantmi. Hlavnú postavu, ktorá nerozpráva, môžeme spoznať iba cez jej konanie a cez to, ako o nej hovoria ostatné postavy, čo je ďalším veľmi zaujímavým prvkom. Tulák je vnímavý a dobrosrdečný, i keď v istých momentoch sa musí rozhodnúť ísť ďalej, aj keby mal zanechať obete. Zo začiatku som sa trochu strácala v totožnosti démonov, no po čase som sa dosť dobre zorientovala a kniha sa u mňa zaradila medzi obľúbencov.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to rate this book higher, I did. For me it was the ambiguity of the Vagrant's relationship with Harm, a man, that stopped me. Plenty of sections in the book hint towards a budding romantic relationship, but in the end Newman seems to shy away from this family of fathers and baby he's built. It's a shame and I hope that it's something that's addressed in future books.
Otherwise, the writing wasn't something that I really gelled with. Newman writes as if the reader is an inhabitant of one of his sci-fi cities, and yes, the impact is not lost of me. Unfortunately, this often means he ignores or skips over details, making visualisation difficult at best. This is a book where you really need to take your time with every sentence so as not to miss a major development. The scene changes could happen with no heraldry and that became a little confusing at times. A great deal of this plot seems to take place in subtext.
Still the plot itself was interesting and I really liked our main cast of characters. I'll be reading the other books, but probably not immediately.
Otherwise, the writing wasn't something that I really gelled with. Newman writes as if the reader is an inhabitant of one of his sci-fi cities, and yes, the impact is not lost of me. Unfortunately, this often means he ignores or skips over details, making visualisation difficult at best. This is a book where you really need to take your time with every sentence so as not to miss a major development. The scene changes could happen with no heraldry and that became a little confusing at times. A great deal of this plot seems to take place in subtext.
Still the plot itself was interesting and I really liked our main cast of characters. I'll be reading the other books, but probably not immediately.
I would say this book is good but not great. There is an extremely interesting premise here with a silent protagonist traveling through a demon-infested world with a baby, a goat, and a mysterious sword. It reminded me of a mix between the Demon Cycle and Mad Max, but it didn't quite live up to that potential.
The best part of the book for me, by far, is the relationship between the Vagrant, the baby, Harm, and the Hammer. It felt very real and organic, which is something that's lacking in a lot of fantasy books.
The main thing I didn't like about the story was when it would shift to the POV of the demons (the Uncivil, Knights, First, and Usurper) and the Seven. For me, those characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to separate what each of their goals were. They just felt jumbled into a single group.
Still, the story is interesting enough for me to continue on.
The best part of the book for me, by far, is the relationship between the Vagrant, the baby, Harm, and the Hammer. It felt very real and organic, which is something that's lacking in a lot of fantasy books.
The main thing I didn't like about the story was when it would shift to the POV of the demons (the Uncivil, Knights, First, and Usurper) and the Seven. For me, those characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to separate what each of their goals were. They just felt jumbled into a single group.
Still, the story is interesting enough for me to continue on.
The goat was brilliant, the baby was adorable, and I loved the smack in the face to grimdark.
Could have lived without the queerbaiting.
More thoughts: http://ladybusiness.dreamwidth.org/2016/05/16/lets-get-literate-the-power-of-kindness-edition.html#thevagrant
Could have lived without the queerbaiting.
More thoughts: http://ladybusiness.dreamwidth.org/2016/05/16/lets-get-literate-the-power-of-kindness-edition.html#thevagrant
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Very grimdark world. Doesn't suit my mood right now - will revisit.