Reviews

A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer

undermeyou's review

5.0

I listened to this as an audio book. I had heard it was hard to get into, and I didn’t want to drag a giant book around with me forever especially while doing stuff with the kids. I loved this. It was definitely hard to get in to. The writing style is similar to the rest of vandermeer’s work (and if I’m being honest, I have had a hard time focusing on the opening in a few of his works, so no surprise that this was the same), but something about this also felt similar to the narrative style in Harry Potter. And not just because it is magic-centered. There are tons of magic-centered storylines that don’t have the same feeling. I think for me it was more about how often the story is not necessarily specifically to further the plot, but instead to make you interested in the setting. I know that is completely frustrating to some people, especially when noting how long the book is, but I’ve never been someone that needs action to enjoy a story. With how awful JK Rowling has proved to be, reading something new that was written in a similar but more grown up style made me love this 1000x more. The characters are diverse. And as per usual the world building is detailed in a tangible way. Someone else said they would definitely recommend this to certain people and definitely recommend that others don’t bother with it, and I feel the same.

wwwhatkatedid's review

I like the concept, but had a hard time connecting. Will try again later.

mercenator's review

3.0

In some places I’d give this a 5, and in some places I’d give it a 1–and so we have a 3.

nsfburke's review

i was hella confused lmao 

brenna_law's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

shaxx's review against another edition

1.0

První kniha roku 2022, které slavnostně uděluji jednu hvězdičku.
Já mám ráda divnoknihy, ale co je moc, to je moc. A tohle bylo příliš. Je to přehlídka totálního chaosu, mišmaš nápadů, které jsou do sebe zapletené a tuhle je mrkev s bramborou, tady pampeliškové chmýří, tady jedna useknutá Napoleonovská hlava (ano, jako ta Nixonova v Simpsnových)...A dohromady je to prostě neorganizovaný bordel. Po chvíli čtení jsem měla pocit, že se mi přehřívá mozek a roztéká se. Postavy - o těch škoda mluvit. Dialogy mezi teenagery vypadají, jako když je napsal někdo, kdo už si stěží vzpomíná na to, jaké to bylo být puberťák a působí to křečovitě. Třeba když postava použije pro svého kamaráda označení hošík. Nebo jinoch. Nevím, kolik tady má za vinu překlad, který si jinak kreativně poradil s názvy (přeci jenom Kuňkadlení zní geniálně)...Ale prostě to nefunguje. Až to zabilo i to natěšení, že se tam občas mihne česká postava a v rámci alternativní historie chce Aleister Crowley zničit Prahu....
Jsem ráda, že jsem to dočetla, protože nerada nechávám nedočtené knihy, ale celkově jsem měla nechuť k tomu číst dál.

obethyb's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

3.0

chelbawamba's review against another edition

3.0

While it was imaginative and I wanted to know what happened — there was too much going on overall and it was hard for me to read for longer than a couple of hours at a time, thus taking FOREVER to finish! When I did get to the end, I found that most of what happened/was revealed in the last 50 pages could have come up much earlier on with less fantastical bloviating and unnecessary side adventures. It wasn’t NOT enjoyable, but I probably won’t bother reading the next book in the series.

julialeigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.25

captaincrunchabunch's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5