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scheu's review
5.0
What a great book - the best of 2008 so far.
The basic idea: Galveston, Texas experiences a magical disaster and is cut off from the rest of the world. The city itself is divided into the mundane and real, and the never-ending twilight world of Mardi Gras.
Stewart illustrates his ideas so vividly throughout the novel; I would call his illustrative skill his greatest strength. There's so much going on, and so many facets - poker, apocalypse, Southern Gothic, gentle magic, and the flawed characters. A rich and rewarding read.
The basic idea: Galveston, Texas experiences a magical disaster and is cut off from the rest of the world. The city itself is divided into the mundane and real, and the never-ending twilight world of Mardi Gras.
Stewart illustrates his ideas so vividly throughout the novel; I would call his illustrative skill his greatest strength. There's so much going on, and so many facets - poker, apocalypse, Southern Gothic, gentle magic, and the flawed characters. A rich and rewarding read.
bookgirl4ever's review
2.0
Had a hard time relating to characters. As a result, had a difficult time getting into the story. Once into the story, lost interest by Part 3.
So sorry Ziggy! I tried for months.
So sorry Ziggy! I tried for months.
branch_c's review
4.0
I rated this book 8/10 back when I first read it in '04, and I remembered it being fantastic and intense, but somehow couldn't remember the ending. So, after a re-read, my rating stands (translated to Goodreads' more limited 4/5), but I can see why I didn't remember the ending. Up until about three quarters of the way through, I was prepared to give it a 9 or a 10. Most of the book is indeed fantastic, in the sense of being a great read as well as a near perfect example of contemporary fantasy. Yes, it reminded me a lot of my fave, Tim Powers, and not just because of the poker. The plot takes interesting turns that are unexpected and yet fitting. The characters are gritty and not entirely likeable, but that doesn't mean they aren't relatable. And I think that's what makes it so intense - there is a reality to the emotional power that's rare in this kind of story. As for the ending, well, I just wish Stewart had taken it in a slightly different direction. It's just not very memorable - a kind of a slow letdown following what's come before, with matters resolved in what seemed to me a half-hearted way, and the pun is intentional in the case of Sloane. There are a couple of brief flashes of the book's former brilliance at the very end, but it just doesn't end as powerfully as I would have preferred.
Overall, I do recommend the book, and I think it's Stewart's best - of the others I've read, I'll probably revisit Mockingbird at some point, since I also rated that one 8/10 back in '06, and I have a similar memory of it.
Overall, I do recommend the book, and I think it's Stewart's best - of the others I've read, I'll probably revisit Mockingbird at some point, since I also rated that one 8/10 back in '06, and I have a similar memory of it.
jkkb332's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this one. I liked that it was set in a location I'm a little bit familiar with, and how the magic was both light and dark. But the characters were unlikeable and unrelatable, and it took a LOT of the book for me to start getting into it. Overall pretty middle of the road for me.
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
A highly original, gritty fantasy. In the year 2004, there was a Flood -- not of water, but of magic, which has destroyed most of civilization and left twisted magical beings in its wake. The Flood hit Galveston, TX in the middle of the Mardi Gras celebration, but thanks to the work of the witch woman Odessa, the island survived. Now, half the island struggles to survive with failing technology and ever-decreasing supplies of modern medicine, eking subsistence out of the sea. In the other half of the island, it is perpetual Mardi Gras, perpetually 2004, and there is cold beer and music and magic, but once you enter Mardi Gras, you can never leave. When Sloane Gardner enters Mardi Gras to make a deal with its master and protector, Momus, it transpires that she is one of the few who can pass freely between the two worlds, and this will mean great changes for Galveston...
The world of Galveston is populated with fascinating characters, all of them flawed. This isn't a feel-good novel; people are cynical, and petty, and cruel. But there is still a sense of hope and wonder. Great stuff.
The world of Galveston is populated with fascinating characters, all of them flawed. This isn't a feel-good novel; people are cynical, and petty, and cruel. But there is still a sense of hope and wonder. Great stuff.
jyan's review against another edition
3.0
I'm of two minds on this one, but someone has to pitch this stuff to HBO.
One of Sean Stewart's biggest strengths is creating magical worlds, and then populating them with grounded, human characters. There are heartbreaking arcs here, characters go through hard, bone-broking changes and come out the otherside believably transformed.
Also, to its credit, this is a GANGBUSTERS premise. An allegory for the plight of island life as resource-poor poverty vs rich, dangerous magic is a good one. It's to the books detriment that they do so little with this idea, as we spend a very small amount of time in the magical world of Mardi Gras, and the time we do spend doesn't feel nearly whimsical or dangerous enough.
And hope you like poker, because HOO BOY, huge stretches of this book are devoted to the finer points of card sharping, one of the many elements that cause this book to slog for certain stretches.
On the whole, the book is worth the investment, as the character work and world-building are handled well, but just know that some pacing issues kind if hinder what could be a masterpiece.
One of Sean Stewart's biggest strengths is creating magical worlds, and then populating them with grounded, human characters. There are heartbreaking arcs here, characters go through hard, bone-broking changes and come out the otherside believably transformed.
Also, to its credit, this is a GANGBUSTERS premise. An allegory for the plight of island life as resource-poor poverty vs rich, dangerous magic is a good one. It's to the books detriment that they do so little with this idea, as we spend a very small amount of time in the magical world of Mardi Gras, and the time we do spend doesn't feel nearly whimsical or dangerous enough.
And hope you like poker, because HOO BOY, huge stretches of this book are devoted to the finer points of card sharping, one of the many elements that cause this book to slog for certain stretches.
On the whole, the book is worth the investment, as the character work and world-building are handled well, but just know that some pacing issues kind if hinder what could be a masterpiece.
marhill31's review
2.0
DNF.
I reached page 300 and ran out of steam. Sean Stewart is a talented writer and is good with writing characters. I really liked the Sloane character in relation to her family and the city of Galveston. However, I thought this novel was flabby and could have been tighter. I was more interested in the city of Galveston in relation to the flood and Mardi Gras and how the citizens reacted to those events than the post apocalytpic vibe that was a good part of the novel. However, I'm going to give Stewart another try with his novel, [b:Perfect Circle|23249|Perfect Circle|Sean Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354903785l/23249._SY75_.jpg|24233].
I reached page 300 and ran out of steam. Sean Stewart is a talented writer and is good with writing characters. I really liked the Sloane character in relation to her family and the city of Galveston. However, I thought this novel was flabby and could have been tighter. I was more interested in the city of Galveston in relation to the flood and Mardi Gras and how the citizens reacted to those events than the post apocalytpic vibe that was a good part of the novel. However, I'm going to give Stewart another try with his novel, [b:Perfect Circle|23249|Perfect Circle|Sean Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354903785l/23249._SY75_.jpg|24233].
cindywho's review
3.0
This one is set in the same world-premise as Stewart's Resurrection Man and The Night Watch. Magic swept into the world like a hurricane in 2004 and humans in Galveston have been trying to ward it off for nearly a generation as the remnants of civilization crumble. The fantasy was darker than I've been in the mood for, but the narrative was extremely compelling - it wouldn't let me go.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
In 2004, waves of magic engulf the world and pull it into madness. In Galveston, Texas, two women hold back the flood of magic. With the help of the Mardi Gras Krewes and Momus, a trickster god, Jane and Odessa quarantine the magic into a never-ending carnival; anyone who demonstrates magic is killed or sent there. A generation later, Jane is dying and her only child, Sloane, bargains with Momus so she won't have to watch her mother die. But of course, there is a loophole--and Sloane is caught up in it.
This is an intense book. Classism and privilege are hugely important. Cut off from the outside world, Galveston is on the verge of slipping into the dark ages. I felt drained after I read this, and spent the next two or three days in a terrible mood. If it were less emotionally damaging, I would easily rate this as 4 stars--as it is, I'm still sick when I think of some scenes.
This is an intense book. Classism and privilege are hugely important. Cut off from the outside world, Galveston is on the verge of slipping into the dark ages. I felt drained after I read this, and spent the next two or three days in a terrible mood. If it were less emotionally damaging, I would easily rate this as 4 stars--as it is, I'm still sick when I think of some scenes.
kristi_asleep_dreaming's review
4.0
Excellent novel, I liked it much more than the Night Watch. Play the hand you're dealt. The poker bits reminded me a bit like that Tim Powers. Is poker inherently fantastical?
There's something very great and disturbing in the way that magic is presented as wonderful, strange and bizarrely beautiful, everything magic was ever meant or thought to be, and yet, and because of that, horrifying and completely inimical to the modern human.
There's something very great and disturbing in the way that magic is presented as wonderful, strange and bizarrely beautiful, everything magic was ever meant or thought to be, and yet, and because of that, horrifying and completely inimical to the modern human.
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