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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
shannonigans42's review
4.0
Dream Paris is the sequel to Dream London, a book that I read this year and thoroughly enjoyed...although I didn't quite understand everything that happened.
I feel the same way about Dream Paris. Even when confused, I was entranced by the world that Ballantyne created. His attention to detail is amazing, his imagination stunning.
I also have to commend him for the fact that he didn't spend a lot of time reviewing the story of Dream London. Whenever a character in a book is a bit unclear or vague about the details of Dream London, the main character states, "you weren't there, you don't know what it was like." The message is clear...if you want the back story, read the previous book. Nothing drives me more crazy than when an author spends half a sequel catching a lazy reader up with what they have missed. So, kudos to you Tony.
So...long story short. I enjoy the writing. I admire the author. I don't understand the storyline 100%, but I don't care. I really hope that there is a 3rd book.
I feel the same way about Dream Paris. Even when confused, I was entranced by the world that Ballantyne created. His attention to detail is amazing, his imagination stunning.
I also have to commend him for the fact that he didn't spend a lot of time reviewing the story of Dream London. Whenever a character in a book is a bit unclear or vague about the details of Dream London, the main character states, "you weren't there, you don't know what it was like." The message is clear...if you want the back story, read the previous book. Nothing drives me more crazy than when an author spends half a sequel catching a lazy reader up with what they have missed. So, kudos to you Tony.
So...long story short. I enjoy the writing. I admire the author. I don't understand the storyline 100%, but I don't care. I really hope that there is a 3rd book.
scottjp's review
2.0
This book couldn't be more different from its predecessor. Where Dream London was whimsical, imaginative and laugh-out-loud funny, Dream Paris is perpetually grim and often grotesque, bordering on horror. (There is a long dining sequence that gives Monty Python's The Meaning of Life a run for its money.) The Dream World isn't particularly dreamy; there's some odd stuff here and there but nothing to compare to what was seen in the previous novel. But the worst thing about it is the protagonist and narrator, a miserable misandrist teenage girl who never misses an opportunity to insert a snide remark about how men always are, or how they are always doing this or that to women. A perfect opportunity for a character arc, you would think, but despite a wake-up call late in the story, she doesn't really change. She continues to take maximum offense at everything men say to her, no matter how innocuous. There must have been some microaggressions that I missed.