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ajamieson's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely a very interesting read, and one that took a lot of thought thanks to the shadow Old English tongue! It was worth it though -- very dark and twisted and a different view on the Norman Invasion of England.
emmafwhitworth's review against another edition
4.0
As facinating as this book was, it has taken me about sepia weeks to read, which is terrible for me! I think that's down partly to my mental state, but also because I got to the last 100 pages and started to get quite bored. The ending stretched out in front of me, predictable and a little monotonous... It was hard to get myself to finish it. I'm glad I did though. The book really does transport you back a thousand years: there is something about the use of shadowscript that helps one to fully commit into Buccmaster's mindset and the time period. The constant debate I had with myself as to whether the gods were truly talking to him or if he was simply mad was interesting, and I learnt a lot about pre-Christian English religion which was really interesting.
ketonks's review against another edition
4.0
A necessary read for anyone interested in English history. The pseudo Old English was surprisingly easier to read as the book went on. Makes me wish all historical writers went to such lengths.
abeanbg's review against another edition
3.0
This should have been extremely my shit, but I struggled to last longer than a few pages for months. Both the difficulty of the style and the sheer misanthropy of the main character kept me at arm's length until I gave up.
Giving points for ambition and creativity, just didn't work for me in the end.
Giving points for ambition and creativity, just didn't work for me in the end.
poirotketchup's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it. The language is strange enough to bring me into a different world - but familiar enough to stay readable. After the first 20 pages or so, I got into the right rhythm. The novel gave an immediate, post-apocalyptic flavor to the story, but without making it seem artificially contemporary. I could feel the 1,000 years since the invasion, but also feel like I was there.
gardo's review against another edition
5.0
I found this very hard to put down. The history is fascinating and the "shadow" version of old English worked very well, although I initially worried that it'd be too much of a gimmick.
alison_jane's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
archergal's review against another edition
4.0
This was a challenging read in more ways than one.
The language the book was written in was a bit of a challenge. I did spend a good part of one evening's reading in reading aloud to myself. That really helped me get used to the words and to pull the meaning out. It definitely gets easier as you go along and you get more used to the writing.
I've seen this described as a post-apocalyptic novel. The apocalypse, in this case, was the Norman invasion/conquest of England in 1066. We follow the story of Buccmaster of Holland, whose world was absolutely shattered by the invaders. We come to learn that Buccmaster, however, was pretty broken himself long before the French came. He sees himself as one of the last of the true men of England.
Unfortunately, as we come to see, his self-assessment may not be quite accurate.
It's a sad, rather brutal story. It's not gory, just harsh and unflinching. And very well done.
The language the book was written in was a bit of a challenge. I did spend a good part of one evening's reading in reading aloud to myself. That really helped me get used to the words and to pull the meaning out. It definitely gets easier as you go along and you get more used to the writing.
I've seen this described as a post-apocalyptic novel. The apocalypse, in this case, was the Norman invasion/conquest of England in 1066. We follow the story of Buccmaster of Holland, whose world was absolutely shattered by the invaders. We come to learn that Buccmaster, however, was pretty broken himself long before the French came. He sees himself as one of the last of the true men of England.
Unfortunately, as we come to see, his self-assessment may not be quite accurate.
It's a sad, rather brutal story. It's not gory, just harsh and unflinching. And very well done.
stellarya's review against another edition
The description of The Wake sounds so interesting! I did read the part about it being written in modified Old English, so that didn't surprise me. However, after a few pages, I realized that it's just not what I'm looking for in my leisure reading. I'm excited that an author would choose to play with language in this way, and I'm glad that the book found an enthusiastic audience, even though I can't count myself as a member of it.