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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
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
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Harris’s Honeycomb is folklore reimagined. Whilst very slow placed, as the work is compiled from short stories which gradually begin to interlink, there is a clear sense to try and inspire the reader and spark their imagination. Incredibly creative and ultimately worth the patience and time to read.
It's a hit and a miss with this one for me. A rollercoaster ride, but not as thrilling, just ups and downs ridden without too much excitement attached to it.
The first book made me restless and impatient, thinking, okay already aren't we done with all these introductions yet? Though, intriguing enough to want to read on.
The second book it did eventually come together. I guess like a spider's web, the outer lines more spaciously woven and coming more and more to the center of the web, the threads follow up more closely and packed together.
This packing of the threads did make the stories that did not follow the trail fall out of tune even more. And with that I did get more and more annoyed by the over the top morals and the fact that these where written in a childlike manner didn't help.
I find that I would have loved it more if it was written more as a whole, not a honeycomb of woven stories, single planets 'loosely' connected. I would have loved to immerse myself into the whole of all worlds. More emphasis on world building, less on moral.
Overall, I did enjoy this, and yes the moral of the book as a whole can be a bit much, I do appreciate it. Even more so having read the thanks at the end of the book. It put things into perspective knowing the origin story of this book and the choices made seem logical knowing this.
So. I, for now, land on a 3,45 stars... maybe more. We'll see if I change it in the future.
The first book made me restless and impatient, thinking, okay already aren't we done with all these introductions yet? Though, intriguing enough to want to read on.
The second book it did eventually come together. I guess like a spider's web, the outer lines more spaciously woven and coming more and more to the center of the web, the threads follow up more closely and packed together.
This packing of the threads did make the stories that did not follow the trail fall out of tune even more. And with that I did get more and more annoyed by the over the top morals and the fact that these where written in a childlike manner didn't help.
I find that I would have loved it more if it was written more as a whole, not a honeycomb of woven stories, single planets 'loosely' connected. I would have loved to immerse myself into the whole of all worlds. More emphasis on world building, less on moral.
Overall, I did enjoy this, and yes the moral of the book as a whole can be a bit much, I do appreciate it. Even more so having read the thanks at the end of the book. It put things into perspective knowing the origin story of this book and the choices made seem logical knowing this.
So. I, for now, land on a 3,45 stars... maybe more. We'll see if I change it in the future.
Once upon a time—or as the story begins here, Long ago and far away—there were the Silken Folk. Normal humans can’t see these fantastical, magical insects. The many (mostly linked) stories in Honeycomb, by Joanne M. Harris, tell the story of the Lacewing King, the High King of the Silken Folk, and his long path towards redemption for his early cruelty. More stories interrupt the main narrative to reinforce lessons about common sense, kindness, karma, and being able to see things as they really are. Harris doesn’t quite capture the sound of Grimm and Perrault’s tales, but she definitely nailed the essence of a good fairy tale...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
In the mood for a good fantasy yarn and this fit the bill quite nicely. A lattice of a hundred short fantasy stories about entomological Silken Folk, their encounters with the Sightless Folk (that's us), their wars, enmity and fateful interactions with each other interspersed with unrelated barnyard anthropomorphic talking animals grappling with sociological power hierarchical structures in the vein of Orwell's Animal Farm. Diverting and different, these stories were first incubated as Twitter story posts which explains their brevity. While they don't endear me to insects in real life, I followed the exploits of the Lacewing King, Spider Queen, Honeycomb Queen, Clockwork Princess, Barefoot Princess, Harlequin, two Dragonfly Queens etc avidly. Some of the stories are feminist and about following one's dreams; I especially liked 'Clockwork,' 'The Bookworm Princess,' 'The Bookworm Princess' and 'The Old Woman and The Rocking-Horse' of this category. Others are thinly veiled observations on human nature and society. Joanne Harris is the author of Chocolat, I haven't read the book but did watch the movie years ago. Honeycomb has a similar quirky whimsical feel. The stories which falter IMHO are those few that attempt to reflect Middle East and Asian culture. The illustrations by Charles Vess are lovely and add to the experience.
Forgot to mention that the worldbuilding is based on Norse mythology - nine worlds/nine realms https://skjalden.com/nine-realms-in-norse-mythology/ with Hel featured in the later stories. The worlds are stacked like a honeycomb, there are worlds between worlds and the bees carry the stories.....
Forgot to mention that the worldbuilding is based on Norse mythology - nine worlds/nine realms https://skjalden.com/nine-realms-in-norse-mythology/ with Hel featured in the later stories. The worlds are stacked like a honeycomb, there are worlds between worlds and the bees carry the stories.....
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
"Long ago, and far away,
Far way and long ago.
The worlds are honeycomb, we know;
The world's our honeycomb."
I like to say these words, it's kind of magic and mysterious like you're going to see a goup of bees appearing behind you!
Well this book was so long with so many short stories, there is book one, then book two but the main story divided into many short adventures is the one about The Lacewing king.
I loved the story of the Lacewing king and his adventures and misadventures, it was so long, really I don't see why the author didn't give it its own book. The stories were kind of dark about and with plenty of characters which some were important for the story of the Lacewing king like the Clockwork Princess and the watchmaker's boy and the Harlequin and some characters ,with their stories, were irrelevant. Sometimes, I felt like the author was just writing whatever came in her head and created some sort of a story to add in this book.
The story of the Lacewing king was what made me carry on which was pretty interesting with a crazy developement, the author took her time to finish it and between each adventure of the lacewing king you have a number of short stories that you must read because it could be related to the main story of the Lacewing king. That's why I really took my time reading this book and the ending was not what I expected.
I'm giving 4 stars because the process of creating such a number of short stories and trying to relate them with each other, I'm sure it wasn't easy for the author and also because I liked the Lacewing king and some of the other stories. I loved the author's style and her nice story telling ways. The illustrations were just amazing, I just hoped for much more.
"Long ago, and far away,
Far way and long ago.
The worlds are honeycomb, we know;
The world's our honeycomb."
I like to say these words, it's kind of magic and mysterious like you're going to see a goup of bees appearing behind you!
Well this book was so long with so many short stories, there is book one, then book two but the main story divided into many short adventures is the one about The Lacewing king.
I loved the story of the Lacewing king and his adventures and misadventures, it was so long, really I don't see why the author didn't give it its own book. The stories were kind of dark about and with plenty of characters which some were important for the story of the Lacewing king like the Clockwork Princess and the watchmaker's boy and the Harlequin and some characters ,with their stories, were irrelevant. Sometimes, I felt like the author was just writing whatever came in her head and created some sort of a story to add in this book.
The story of the Lacewing king was what made me carry on which was pretty interesting with a crazy developement, the author took her time to finish it and between each adventure of the lacewing king you have a number of short stories that you must read because it could be related to the main story of the Lacewing king. That's why I really took my time reading this book and the ending was not what I expected.
I'm giving 4 stars because the process of creating such a number of short stories and trying to relate them with each other, I'm sure it wasn't easy for the author and also because I liked the Lacewing king and some of the other stories. I loved the author's style and her nice story telling ways. The illustrations were just amazing, I just hoped for much more.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book can be pretty well divided into 2 parts - the first 50 chapters are short stories and original fairy tales, with some reoccurring characters. The second half still has a few stand alone stories, but the majority focus on those reoccurring characters and places, wrapping up a much larger story. I preferred the first half to the second, but altogether this was a lovely book I'll pick up again.
Minor spoiler/complaint- There's 2 short stories that feature girls wearing veils or headscarves of some kind. Both of those stories focus on the girls being oppressed by their families. It doesn't sit right with me to use this trope twice, especially considering that many modern veiled woman have been trying to share their veiling stories as a matter of choice and empowerment.
Minor spoiler/complaint- There's 2 short stories that feature girls wearing veils or headscarves of some kind. Both of those stories focus on the girls being oppressed by their families. It doesn't sit right with me to use this trope twice, especially considering that many modern veiled woman have been trying to share their veiling stories as a matter of choice and empowerment.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes