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the1germ's review against another edition
1.0
Wow, a Hobb/Lindholm book I didn't like! What is this madness?
I'm not familiar with Steven Brust so I can't comment on his influence in this collaboration, but I have to say that this is far from what I've grown to expect from Lindholm. I kept inspecting the text, desperate to pinpoint her voice and finding nothing. The weakest point of this book for me were the characters - which was jarring, considering Lindholm's greatest strength are her characters. Points of view switched around rapidly, never lingering long enough for me to really get a feel for most of the characters. The few female characters were the only ones that ever piqued my interest, but their appearances were few and far between.
As far as the plot goes, let's be honest: I have no idea what the hell happened. View points shifted frequently, the writing was vague, and the climax left me feeling like I'd been locked in a box and tossed around by school children. Maybe I'm stupid. I really wish I didn't just read 330 pages of fiction without grasping a bit of it, but there you have it.
It's a miracle I made it through the whole thing.
I'm not familiar with Steven Brust so I can't comment on his influence in this collaboration, but I have to say that this is far from what I've grown to expect from Lindholm. I kept inspecting the text, desperate to pinpoint her voice and finding nothing. The weakest point of this book for me were the characters - which was jarring, considering Lindholm's greatest strength are her characters. Points of view switched around rapidly, never lingering long enough for me to really get a feel for most of the characters. The few female characters were the only ones that ever piqued my interest, but their appearances were few and far between.
As far as the plot goes, let's be honest: I have no idea what the hell happened. View points shifted frequently, the writing was vague, and the climax left me feeling like I'd been locked in a box and tossed around by school children. Maybe I'm stupid. I really wish I didn't just read 330 pages of fiction without grasping a bit of it, but there you have it.
It's a miracle I made it through the whole thing.
aropuzzler's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mymidnightheart's review against another edition
3.0
I went back and forth on two or three stars for this one. I can't recommend it to anyone because the beginning and middle were total drags. I only read it because I was familiar with both of the authors, and already liked other works by them. Anyways, the conclusion was good enough to bump it up to three, but you should probably pass on this one; it's not worth the time.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Overly complicated but in an unusual and irritating way. The characters in the story also have an allegorical or perhaps archetypical component. So they fade out in mid paragraph and are the owl or wolf or raven or badger or whatever. And the evil fairy world is seemingly just behind the veil and also fades in and out but in the writing not in the world itself. There were some good bits to this book but in general it was not worth reading or rereading. But showing the flaw in the star system ... it's more like a high 2 than a 3.
magazine_euphemism's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
phunkypbj's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a very difficult (confusing) start, which I imagine was at least partly intentional since it's a police investigation and the police are confused, but I found it difficult to follow because of that--constantly wondering whether I missed something. Halfway through the book it all started to make more sense and I ended up enjoying it, but I have a feeling a lot of people who started this one didn't finish it.
lib_britannia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
boxilot's review against another edition
3.0
DNF'ed a bit over half way, but I give it an overall 3 stars. The characters were okay (I did really like the policeman and his daughter), the setting was actually really interesting, but something about the plot was just totally unengaging. After having put it down I had absolutely no interest in picking it up again.
riduidel's review against another edition
2.0
Dans ce roman, on suit différents personnages qui, depuis une petite ville américaine bien typique, vont tenter de sauver notre moooonde. Comme je l’ai déja écrit, le début de ce roman, trop confus, trop onirique, trop morcelé, a failli avoir raison de ma motivation.
Et pourtant, en termes de lecture, je suis pour le moins obstiné. Je me suis donc accroché. Coup de bol pour moi, la suite est un peu meilleure que le début. Ca reste confus, difficile à suivre, mais c’est un peu plus clair que les cinquante premières pages qu’on pourrait placer dans le panthéon des pages les plus imbitables.
Donc, c’est un roman difficile à suivre. Malheureusement, c’est tout ce que j’ai pu en retenir. Pas d’intrigue bien ficelée (encore que …), pas de grandes envolées lyriques. Juste un peu de musique, pas mal de fantastique, une bande de gitans. Et hélas, ça ne suffit pas à sauver ce bouquin du titre de truc minable, qui ne valait même pas la peine d’être emprunté à la bibliothèque.
Donc, si vous devez lire un truc, reprenez plutôt une tranche de [b:Kirinyaga|858859|Kirinyaga|Mike Resnick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178945485s/858859.jpg|2415326] que cette chose à peine digne d’être lue.
Et pourtant, en termes de lecture, je suis pour le moins obstiné. Je me suis donc accroché. Coup de bol pour moi, la suite est un peu meilleure que le début. Ca reste confus, difficile à suivre, mais c’est un peu plus clair que les cinquante premières pages qu’on pourrait placer dans le panthéon des pages les plus imbitables.
Donc, c’est un roman difficile à suivre. Malheureusement, c’est tout ce que j’ai pu en retenir. Pas d’intrigue bien ficelée (encore que …), pas de grandes envolées lyriques. Juste un peu de musique, pas mal de fantastique, une bande de gitans. Et hélas, ça ne suffit pas à sauver ce bouquin du titre de truc minable, qui ne valait même pas la peine d’être emprunté à la bibliothèque.
Donc, si vous devez lire un truc, reprenez plutôt une tranche de [b:Kirinyaga|858859|Kirinyaga|Mike Resnick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178945485s/858859.jpg|2415326] que cette chose à peine digne d’être lue.
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