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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
While reading it, I could almost see how she must have turned this story over and over in her head (as a child/teen, I imagine). Parts of it are clever, almost too clever. She gets the balance much better and is subtler in The Lost Conspiracy.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fly by Night is clever, imaginative, and immersive. Mosca Mye at times reminded me of Tiffany Aching a bit. Which is always a win in my book. But the tone here is different. At times there were some seriously dark subject matter— threats and short descriptions of torture and gruesome, violent acts. This is a scary place to live and Mosca has to constantly dodge danger at every turn. Her adventure is a rather extensive one and the political intrigue and moving factions are intense. It makes for an oddly interesting balance between the innocence of youth and the silly absurdities in the narrative verses the complexities and rough insights into the human condition. At times I felt the balance between the two to be jarring but at other times it made for a uniquely entangled tale. My favorite element though, is the way reading and writing, and even printing presses, are talked about and discussed. For examples:
At its best, this novel is a delightful adventure with wonderful fairy tale vibes. I had a great time with it.
"Mosca"—Kohlrabi's voice was kind and patient—"look at all the hubbub this one printing press has cause in Mandelion. You must see that it is far too important a thing to have it falling into the wrong hands. Now, the Stationers would break it apart, or use it to print dull essays, and I think that would be a waste, don't you? And other people might use it to print all kinds of stupid things and get themselves in trouble. Someone has to make sure it is used properly and fulfils its destiny."
At its best, this novel is a delightful adventure with wonderful fairy tale vibes. I had a great time with it.
I adored this. Excellent worldbuilding as always, and I was particularly fond of the protagonist (and her goose).
"Namun, ada sesuatu yang lebih berbahaya daripada kebenaran. Orang-orang yang bisa meredam suara kebenaran jauh lebih merusak."
- Hopewood Pertellis
WL dari Januari ini akhirnya kebaca juga, overall sesuai ekspektasi.
Setting low fantasi tp dengan world building yg cukup buat kepala mendengung (pusing, in a good way), karakternya unik dan fresh terutama Mosca dan bebek protektifnya yg lucu dan sangar bernama Saracen (si bebek montok yg berlenggak lenggok disamping mosca, deskripsinya itu buat gemesshh), Clent jg oke meskipun sedikit kurang fleshed out.
Plotnya besar dan penuh konspirasi, buat aku lumayan kesulitan ngikutinnya ditambah terjemahannya yg kurang oke krn terlalu harfiah/literal, tp sebagian besar masih bisa dimengerti dan diterjemahkan dgn atmosfer yg tepat kok.
Tiap karakter punya penokohan yg kuat dan memorable, ga ada yg gak penting. Mosca sbg karakter utama buat aku sangat immerse kedalam dunianya, seperti berpetualang bersama seraya dia memecahkan misteri konspirasi di Mandelion yg buat aku tegang dan selalu menunggu nunggu apa yg akan terjadi, jg merasakan perasaan Mosca sebagai anak perempuan yatim piatu yg gak punya perlindungan maupun kekuatan selalu membuat dia terombang ambing ke dalam masalah yg sebenarnya dia gak mau andil, pdhl dia cuma mau hidup layak, perlindungan yg cukup dan buku buku untuk dibaca.
Plotnya agak lambat ditengah tp lumayan page turner di akhir, pun dgn deskripsi yg agak kriptik, dan lambat lagi di epilog, dengan ending konklusi ala gaya Disney.
Rekomen untuk fantasi lovers, tp aku jg ngerti knpa ini gak terlalu populer pas dulu terbit sih, temanya lumayan niche utk buku middle grade, dan gak dijabarin dengan bahasa yg sederhana, jd buat pembaca gak tau inti atau tujuan plotnya, yg aku tangkap si banyak tema tentang kepercayaan dan agama dan juga tentang pemerintahan tiranis, itu emg bukan tema favorit setiap orang aplg klo pasarnya anak anak.
Kepenulisannya juga rada sulit diikuti terlepas dr terjemahannya, mungkin krn ini buku pertama yg ditulis author, rasanya penulisannya kurang ngalir aja dr satu kalimat ke berikutnya, entah karna kurang dijabarin atau gak pake konjungsi yg tepat, jd buat agak belepotan dan susah dicerna.
A solid 3.5 round up to 4 stars, love Mosca and Saracen so much ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Hopewood Pertellis
WL dari Januari ini akhirnya kebaca juga, overall sesuai ekspektasi.
Setting low fantasi tp dengan world building yg cukup buat kepala mendengung (pusing, in a good way), karakternya unik dan fresh terutama Mosca dan bebek protektifnya yg lucu dan sangar bernama Saracen (si bebek montok yg berlenggak lenggok disamping mosca, deskripsinya itu buat gemesshh), Clent jg oke meskipun sedikit kurang fleshed out.
Plotnya besar dan penuh konspirasi, buat aku lumayan kesulitan ngikutinnya ditambah terjemahannya yg kurang oke krn terlalu harfiah/literal, tp sebagian besar masih bisa dimengerti dan diterjemahkan dgn atmosfer yg tepat kok.
Tiap karakter punya penokohan yg kuat dan memorable, ga ada yg gak penting. Mosca sbg karakter utama buat aku sangat immerse kedalam dunianya, seperti berpetualang bersama seraya dia memecahkan misteri konspirasi di Mandelion yg buat aku tegang dan selalu menunggu nunggu apa yg akan terjadi, jg merasakan perasaan Mosca sebagai anak perempuan yatim piatu yg gak punya perlindungan maupun kekuatan selalu membuat dia terombang ambing ke dalam masalah yg sebenarnya dia gak mau andil, pdhl dia cuma mau hidup layak, perlindungan yg cukup dan buku buku untuk dibaca.
Plotnya agak lambat ditengah tp lumayan page turner di akhir, pun dgn deskripsi yg agak kriptik, dan lambat lagi di epilog, dengan ending konklusi ala gaya Disney.
Rekomen untuk fantasi lovers, tp aku jg ngerti knpa ini gak terlalu populer pas dulu terbit sih, temanya lumayan niche utk buku middle grade, dan gak dijabarin dengan bahasa yg sederhana, jd buat pembaca gak tau inti atau tujuan plotnya, yg aku tangkap si banyak tema tentang kepercayaan dan agama dan juga tentang pemerintahan tiranis, itu emg bukan tema favorit setiap orang aplg klo pasarnya anak anak.
Kepenulisannya juga rada sulit diikuti terlepas dr terjemahannya, mungkin krn ini buku pertama yg ditulis author, rasanya penulisannya kurang ngalir aja dr satu kalimat ke berikutnya, entah karna kurang dijabarin atau gak pake konjungsi yg tepat, jd buat agak belepotan dan susah dicerna.
A solid 3.5 round up to 4 stars, love Mosca and Saracen so much ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ahoy there me mateys! I was in a mood where I wasn't sure what I wanted to read. Then I read Matey Nicky's review of this book where she said:
I have enjoyed this author's work in the past and the goose was the right incentive to immediately pick up this debut work of hers. I loved it.
This book is twisty and just so much fun. It immediately captured me attention with the prologue where there is a discussion on what to name the new baby. She was born on the name day of Goodman Palpitattle also known as “He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns.” The midwife , Celery, is clearly concerned about the timing of her birth and the importance of names given her own. But she is overruled and the baby gets named after the housefly - Mosca.
Like always, the world building is just exquisite. The plot follows poor Mosca as she tries to escape her horrible hamlet and just gets into more and more trouble. Her problem? She can read and reading is dangerous. Whether it is the names of the gods or the lovely descriptions of the world or Mosca's opinions about what she sees, the word play in this book was delightful. Like Eponymous Clem, the stranger that Mosca gets involved with. Or this description of a path:
Just lovely. The plot is a bit convoluted at times but I didn't care because I loved the world and the characters. I anxiously needed to know what happened next (and where the goose was!). This book could be read as a standalone but the author did write a sequel six years later. I am certainly going to be picking up a copy. Arrr!
I have to admit that, primed by Untitled Goose Game, I was on Saracen’s side in all of this. In any given scene, at any given stopping point, my main concern was where is Saracen??? (People who watched me live-tweeting my binge of this book can attest to that. Several tweets demanding to know where the goose was.) Part of the reason I was on Saracen’s side is that things get a bit twisty. Who do you trust? By the last hundred pages, I only trusted Saracen.
I have enjoyed this author's work in the past and the goose was the right incentive to immediately pick up this debut work of hers. I loved it.
This book is twisty and just so much fun. It immediately captured me attention with the prologue where there is a discussion on what to name the new baby. She was born on the name day of Goodman Palpitattle also known as “He Who Keeps Flies out of Jams and Butter Churns.” The midwife , Celery, is clearly concerned about the timing of her birth and the importance of names given her own. But she is overruled and the baby gets named after the housefly - Mosca.
Like always, the world building is just exquisite. The plot follows poor Mosca as she tries to escape her horrible hamlet and just gets into more and more trouble. Her problem? She can read and reading is dangerous. Whether it is the names of the gods or the lovely descriptions of the world or Mosca's opinions about what she sees, the word play in this book was delightful. Like Eponymous Clem, the stranger that Mosca gets involved with. Or this description of a path:
The path was a troublesome, fretful thing. It worried that it was missing a view of the opposite hills and insisted on climbing for a better look. Then it found the breeze uncommonly chill and ducked back among the trees. It suddenly thought it had forgotten something and doubled back, then realized that it hadn’t and turned about again. At last it struggled free of the pines, plumped itself down by the riverside, complained of its aching stones and refused to go any farther. A sensible, well-trodden track took over.
Just lovely. The plot is a bit convoluted at times but I didn't care because I loved the world and the characters. I anxiously needed to know what happened next (and where the goose was!). This book could be read as a standalone but the author did write a sequel six years later. I am certainly going to be picking up a copy. Arrr!
*4.5
hardinge's world-building is fantastic although sometimes i think her prose is a little bit too wordy (imo) but that's just me nitpicking tbh because everything else is fantastic. mosca mye!!!!!!!! and mosca/clent/saracen ot3!!!!!!!!!!
hardinge's world-building is fantastic although sometimes i think her prose is a little bit too wordy (imo) but that's just me nitpicking tbh because everything else is fantastic. mosca mye!!!!!!!! and mosca/clent/saracen ot3!!!!!!!!!!
A perfectly charming sort of wickedness, deception, secrecy and plotting. Names, words, deftly lathed turns of phrase, witty humour, kites towing riverboat coffeehouses, and a winged war-zone.
Automatically slated for midwinter rereading.
This was an enjoyable romp, that I thought got better as it went on. People have told me that Frances Hardinge reminds them of Diana Wynne Jones, but I have yet to "get" that _ Gullstruck Island, which I adored, was wholly original. This, if anything, reminded me of an even more exuberant Joan Aiken.