Scan barcode
abbyharrison's review against another edition
4.0
A fun, quick read with its fair share of fantasy and mystery -- I liked the murder mystery aspect of this novel, so often lacking in the fantasy genre. I loved the friendship between Ambrose and Chanticleer and the character arc of Nathaniel.
bamford's review against another edition
1.0
Plodding book with unnecessary verbose prose and inconsistent characters and plot. Pretty dull.
sararose_cozy's review against another edition
2.0
FINALLY.
This was once again another book that I’m too small-brained for. This is a forgotten classic. The writing is good! Long, complex and detailed sentences isn’t a writing style we see much of today. It has its own beauty, but my mind is too simple to understand it, unfortunately.
2 stars simply for my enjoyment (or lack thereof). Put me in a massive reading slump and it was a chore to finish. I would probably like it it were a movie, though.
This was once again another book that I’m too small-brained for. This is a forgotten classic. The writing is good! Long, complex and detailed sentences isn’t a writing style we see much of today. It has its own beauty, but my mind is too simple to understand it, unfortunately.
2 stars simply for my enjoyment (or lack thereof). Put me in a massive reading slump and it was a chore to finish. I would probably like it it were a movie, though.
laurel1985's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.5
loxodonta's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
frogfig's review
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really really wanted to love this book. It’s a good story and the writing, although dense and complicated, was beautiful. But I found myself dreading picking up the book because of the language (even though books like Piranesi did the same thing and I loved it). For me, the plot wasn’t interesting enough to balance out the effort it took to read. However!! It is amazing that this was written in the 1920s; it truly feels like a book written within the last decade.
virginiamoffatt's review against another edition
3.5
The first fantasy novel and it's definitely got something. The rational world rejects the world of faerie in favour of pragmatism, but all the while there are those who continue to communicate across the borders. There are lots of nods to English folk lore, intriguing explorations of power, the restriction of the imagination and what happens when you break through your mental chains...But as with the first time I read it, left me a bit bemused.Worth a read.
katybug25's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
kyouwa_today's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Perhaps the first fantasy novel? A fairy tale story told with beautiful descriptions moving from fairy to travel to murder investigation. It tells of the importance of living a life filled with both imagination and reality.
tilikon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot