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humvee's review
4.0
A fun YA fun swashbuckling adventure that touches on loss and grief
I didn't like Manny at the beginning. It's understandable that this character had recently suffered great tragedy by losing his patents, and that affected his behavior. But Manny on Terra was nobody to cheer for. Things changed when Manny's soul was transported into another body, this one in Avalon. The story fell into a more familiar adventure fantasy trope, and many of the characters that Manny/Remy interacted with were interesting and admirable. This story's ending definitely leaves room for continuing adventures. If Aaron de Orive and Martha Wells (one of my favorite living authors) collaborate on more stories, I will read them. It would be interesting to see how Manny acts in his home world after his experiences in the other.
I didn't like Manny at the beginning. It's understandable that this character had recently suffered great tragedy by losing his patents, and that affected his behavior. But Manny on Terra was nobody to cheer for. Things changed when Manny's soul was transported into another body, this one in Avalon. The story fell into a more familiar adventure fantasy trope, and many of the characters that Manny/Remy interacted with were interesting and admirable. This story's ending definitely leaves room for continuing adventures. If Aaron de Orive and Martha Wells (one of my favorite living authors) collaborate on more stories, I will read them. It would be interesting to see how Manny acts in his home world after his experiences in the other.
erica_sff's review
4.0
A fun adventure with some moral lessons about deciding to do the right thing, compassion for others, and the power of getting a fresh perspective!
Manny is given a fresh perspective on his problems by force when he exchanges bodies with a goblin pickpocket in a fantasy world who had problems of his own.
In a world where the choices you make and your attitude towards life determine whether you remain a seelie fay or turn visibly into the goblin and troll-type unseelie, the setting is a fascinating twist on long-standing tropes around the two fairy courts, pulling on a wealth of traditional folklore and spinning it into a musketeers-like setting with its own history and character.
I feel like this book might shade a bit towards Middle Grade rather than YA, even more so than Martha Wells' other YA books following Emilie. Nonetheless, even as an adult I found it an entertaining read with a vivid setting.
Also, of note (why should this be of note?), our young hero is clearly of Hispanic background, embedded in a culture of youthful secular values and very Catholic family values. It isn't dwelt on in any length, it's just a part of who he is, and it's a refreshing change from the generic white kid that is the frequent default. All themes of prejudice, lack of opportunity, and being judged on appearance are dealt with entirely in the fantasy world of goblins, elves and humans trying to coexist.
As an adult reader, I'd give it a 3.5, as it is very "young" in places...but since "young" is the intended audience, I'll round that one up. Altogether, I would readily pick up a sequel to this book should the authors choose to write us one, I would give Aaron de Orive another try, and I would as always try anything by Martha Wells. This is perhaps tied as my least-favorite book of hers, and I still quite liked it. They only go up from here, up to including some of my favorite books of all time.
Manny is given a fresh perspective on his problems by force when he exchanges bodies with a goblin pickpocket in a fantasy world who had problems of his own.
In a world where the choices you make and your attitude towards life determine whether you remain a seelie fay or turn visibly into the goblin and troll-type unseelie, the setting is a fascinating twist on long-standing tropes around the two fairy courts, pulling on a wealth of traditional folklore and spinning it into a musketeers-like setting with its own history and character.
I feel like this book might shade a bit towards Middle Grade rather than YA, even more so than Martha Wells' other YA books following Emilie. Nonetheless, even as an adult I found it an entertaining read with a vivid setting.
Also, of note (why should this be of note?), our young hero is clearly of Hispanic background, embedded in a culture of youthful secular values and very Catholic family values. It isn't dwelt on in any length, it's just a part of who he is, and it's a refreshing change from the generic white kid that is the frequent default. All themes of prejudice, lack of opportunity, and being judged on appearance are dealt with entirely in the fantasy world of goblins, elves and humans trying to coexist.
As an adult reader, I'd give it a 3.5, as it is very "young" in places...but since "young" is the intended audience, I'll round that one up. Altogether, I would readily pick up a sequel to this book should the authors choose to write us one, I would give Aaron de Orive another try, and I would as always try anything by Martha Wells. This is perhaps tied as my least-favorite book of hers, and I still quite liked it. They only go up from here, up to including some of my favorite books of all time.
bpsalinas's review
4.0
This book is so much fun! Blade Singer is tremendously inventive with great world-building, memorable characters and an unexpectedly emotional story arc. It is full of swashbuckling action and terrifying villains and I can't wait until my kid is old enough to read it.
I hope the authors write more books set in this world. I'd love to spend more time there.
I hope the authors write more books set in this world. I'd love to spend more time there.
bigotterbooks's review
5.0
Manny is just some dude from Texas that is now a goblin in an alternate world trying to prevent a war between humans and the Fae. The Fae are faerie critters! Think Disney fairies but meaner & trying to take over not just their own world but maybe ours, too. Nasty little beasties and Manny is right in the middle of it all!
I devoured this book-it was so good! It took a while to get started; there was a bit too much back story. There were also a couple of places where I had to say, well that was convenient! But none of this is a deal breaker-just read the beginning really quickly and get to the ‘meat’ of the story!
I always like books with great characters and Blade Singer does NOT disappoint-lots of details that brought these fantasy creatures to life and made their actions in the plot really make sense. The plot itself is very good-not just the same old fantasy/alternate reality. A nice twist on how the ‘real’ world & Fae world intersect. I hope there are sequels!! This book is not just for adults-older YA kids/fans of the genre would have no problem enjoying Blade Singer. 5 stars.
I devoured this book-it was so good! It took a while to get started; there was a bit too much back story. There were also a couple of places where I had to say, well that was convenient! But none of this is a deal breaker-just read the beginning really quickly and get to the ‘meat’ of the story!
I always like books with great characters and Blade Singer does NOT disappoint-lots of details that brought these fantasy creatures to life and made their actions in the plot really make sense. The plot itself is very good-not just the same old fantasy/alternate reality. A nice twist on how the ‘real’ world & Fae world intersect. I hope there are sequels!! This book is not just for adults-older YA kids/fans of the genre would have no problem enjoying Blade Singer. 5 stars.
aphrael's review against another edition
3.0
Manny, the main character, is 14 and it feels like that's the audience too. The book is a bit simplistic at times, though not necessarily in an unpleasant way. Overall it's just a lovely adventure book with all the loose ends tied up neatly in the end. It's pretty cute.
aphrael's review against another edition
3.0
Manny, the main character, is 14 and it feels like that's the audience too. The book is a bit simplistic at times, though not necessarily in an unpleasant way. Overall it's just a lovely adventure book with all the loose ends tied up neatly in the end. It's pretty cute.
justabean_reads's review
4.0
Fun, fast middle-grade adventure novel. I really liked the Musketeers-esque setting on the portal world, and having Austen, TX, be the leap off point for our world was a nice change.
The character thread is a boy trying to cope with the death of his parents, which was affecting, though I wish we'd gotten a little more follow up once he got back to his own world. That said, I liked Manny, and his adventures in trying to figure out how fantasy worlds worked based on cop shows and Musketeers movies were fun, and I enjoyed him working out what his powers were.
I'm a sucker for lady thieves and disreputable musketeers (and loved all the king's guards being Sidhe), so the secondary world characters were great. I could have used a little more development regarding the court politics, but that might have been tricky from an outsider point of view.
The character thread is a boy trying to cope with the death of his parents, which was affecting, though I wish we'd gotten a little more follow up once he got back to his own world. That said, I liked Manny, and his adventures in trying to figure out how fantasy worlds worked based on cop shows and Musketeers movies were fun, and I enjoyed him working out what his powers were.
I'm a sucker for lady thieves and disreputable musketeers (and loved all the king's guards being Sidhe), so the secondary world characters were great. I could have used a little more development regarding the court politics, but that might have been tricky from an outsider point of view.
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