Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
This was also a fun book - and honestly, I keep reading these and thinking that they are really written with a screenplay in mind, and I sure would look forward to watching this as a TV series!
The protagonist, Peter Grant, is funny, self effacing and bright but not always quick on the uptake with certain things. He's also got a huge hangup about his friend Lesley's magic-related injury to her face (despite one of the other characters in this story referring to her as "sex on legs").
He's doing his best to maintain a level of professionalism ("I took the wine but avoided the smile, what with me being on duty and everything." but disaster seems to follow him everywhere.
I now know that grapes are de rigeur when visiting someone in hospital in England.
There's an interesting bit of overlap with a concept from American Gods:
This is really similar to the idea that belief creates reality -- and I also thoroughly enjoy the references to other stories of time travel and fantasy (such as the Morlock) sprinkled throughout.
A COUPLE NITS
ONE MORE NIT
How awful is Lesley's face? Seriously? Is it so awful that Peter really can't see past it and see the real Lesley who he lusted for and spooned with for so long? Is he really that shallow?
Facial reconstruction has come a long way - just look up face transplants (this one is safe for work) - and even Bonnie Culp looks way better than she did before her crazy ex husband shot off her face AND she's got a partner who loves her (unlike poor Lesley!).
Is Lesley's injury worse than any of those people you can see on the internet?
The protagonist, Peter Grant, is funny, self effacing and bright but not always quick on the uptake with certain things. He's also got a huge hangup about his friend Lesley's magic-related injury to her face (despite one of the other characters in this story referring to her as "sex on legs").
He's doing his best to maintain a level of professionalism ("I took the wine but avoided the smile, what with me being on duty and everything." but disaster seems to follow him everywhere.
I now know that grapes are de rigeur when visiting someone in hospital in England.
There's an interesting bit of overlap with a concept from American Gods:
any system, such as an underground railway or indeed the telephone network, could develop a genius loci in the same fashion as the rivers and other sacred sites.
if a Scotsman introduced himself to me as the god of telephones I’d be inclined to take him at his word.
This is really similar to the idea that belief creates reality -- and I also thoroughly enjoy the references to other stories of time travel and fantasy (such as the Morlock) sprinkled throughout.
A COUPLE NITS
- Now that I'm into the 3rd book in this world - I'm finding there's a bit more backstory than I need. I'd like the "read straight through" version -- can we have all the books in the series together with the backstory repeats cut out of each tale?
- I keep reading this "urban fantasy" tag with these books and I can't figure out what on earth it is supposed to mean: are most "fantasy" or supernatural books in some sort of rural or wild setting? Like the hobbits charming rural English village setting or the True Blood rural Louisiana swamp setting with alligators and werewolves running around? Or is it "urban fantasy" because the chief protagonist is black? What's the deal with such a meaningless genre name?
ONE MORE NIT
How awful is Lesley's face? Seriously? Is it so awful that Peter really can't see past it and see the real Lesley who he lusted for and spooned with for so long? Is he really that shallow?
Facial reconstruction has come a long way - just look up face transplants (this one is safe for work) - and even Bonnie Culp looks way better than she did before her crazy ex husband shot off her face AND she's got a partner who loves her (unlike poor Lesley!).
Is Lesley's injury worse than any of those people you can see on the internet?
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It started out as a promising narrative but it went downhill after the first chapter.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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:
No
I am really enioying this series. Not as good as the first one but better than the second one.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
When I was 17 I went on a tour of an underground bunker in a Berlin subway station. The vibes of this book remind me of that. Once again the atmosphere is definitely a strong suit of the books.
Another thing I enjoy about this series is that every book focuses on one very specific theme/place. What I particularly love about this one are all the side characters that follow us throughout the book. Once again I am such a sucker for the German audiobook format. All the voice actors are just cast so well.
Zach has kind of turned into my new blorbo. His characters works so well in this book and since this is a reread I already know that there will be more of him in the next books and I am definitely looking forward to that. And kinda sad that he hasn't gotten a novella ngl.
Interestingly I discovered that the German translation actually cut one of the horny comments Peter makes about Leslie's butt. This makes me wonder if that choice has been made for some of the other books as well.
One of the only things I dislike is that the audiobook neglects to mention the chapter titles. It's much easier to follow the timeline with the additional information of what day it is. On the plus side the audiobook chapters follow the actual chapters now instead of ending mid sentence.
Another thing I enjoy about this series is that every book focuses on one very specific theme/place. What I particularly love about this one are all the side characters that follow us throughout the book. Once again I am such a sucker for the German audiobook format. All the voice actors are just cast so well.
Zach has kind of turned into my new blorbo. His characters works so well in this book and since this is a reread I already know that there will be more of him in the next books and I am definitely looking forward to that. And kinda sad that he hasn't gotten a novella ngl.
Interestingly I discovered that the German translation actually cut one of the horny comments Peter makes about Leslie's butt. This makes me wonder if that choice has been made for some of the other books as well.
One of the only things I dislike is that the audiobook neglects to mention the chapter titles. It's much easier to follow the timeline with the additional information of what day it is. On the plus side the audiobook chapters follow the actual chapters now instead of ending mid sentence.