Reviews

A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer

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permanentmargo's review

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

siriface's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

kyriross's review

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This book felt like it was trying to emulate Alice in Wonderland and the Golden Compass books at the same time, and it just wasn't landing. It felt forced and awkward, and the characters did a lot of telling, but not much showing. Overall it was just very hard to connect to.

carleeiigh's review

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1.0

I don't even know where to start this book barely knows what it's about. Spends more time on random weird stiff that doesn't have any consequence rather than develop any single character. The main character might as well be a stick, the villian just sort of runs around and complains. The only good thing was the giant marmet society, everything was weird without purpose or BORING

library_bookwyrm's review

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5.0

Absolutely fantastic! I'm excited for the next one!

chamblyman's review

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I hate not finishing books. Especially ones by authors whose work I have enjoyed greatly. I LOVE Vandermeer's adult stuff, and I was excited to see him tackle YA lit. I had fun with this for a while, but just completely ran out of steam after the halfway point. It reminded me of early Terry Gilliam movies like Time Bandits (which I love) or sort of a darker version of the zany, funny SF&F of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett (which I have enjoyed.) But those works really benefit from being succinct and fast paced. I can dig a big book, but this was feeling pretty bloated and messy to me. And it's only part one of a series! I think maybe YA's PG-13 rating didn't really jive with Vandermeer's twisted imagination, or maybe the humor didn't? I felt adrift on a sea of weird but not in the good way. I sincerely hope that this finds an audience, but it wasn't for me.