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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Geen epische strijd tussen goed en kwaad, fantasiefiguren of tovenaars in deze fantasy-klassieker, maar een bizar kasteel met bizarre bewoners, vastgeroest in rituelen. Er is echter verandering op komst!
Mervyn Peake is een fantastisch schrijver die werkelijk de beste (en meest uitvoerige) beschrijvingen neerpent, maar het geheel voelde toch net wat te veel aan als een aanloop tot het moment waarop de verhaallijn werkelijk start. Ik ben dus erg benieuwd naar het volgende deel, en of Peake zijn fantastische schrijfstijl kan combineren met een beetje plot.
Mervyn Peake is een fantastisch schrijver die werkelijk de beste (en meest uitvoerige) beschrijvingen neerpent, maar het geheel voelde toch net wat te veel aan als een aanloop tot het moment waarop de verhaallijn werkelijk start. Ik ben dus erg benieuwd naar het volgende deel, en of Peake zijn fantastische schrijfstijl kan combineren met een beetje plot.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
I nearly gave up on this about halfway through but I'm glad I kept reading - strangely enough, the seemingly lifeless archetypal characters did grow on me in the end. I wouldn't call this an enjoyable book but it was definitely intriguing, and the celebrated gothic atmosphere was certainly present throughout.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book is criminally long and it doesn't need to be. the descriptions are so rich and that's beautiful, but a lot of it is for description that adds very little to the reading experience except making the writer feel clever.
the annoying thing is that it IS clever. it was very enjoyable (except during the tedious description that added nothing to the world or plot or characters) and when he was on top form, Peake really did create quite an amazing world. I was led here by Tamsyn Muir's work, who cited Gormenghast as an inspiration, and I can smell the shared DNA. It's exciting to see how art can breathe life into more art decades later.
the annoying thing is that it IS clever. it was very enjoyable (except during the tedious description that added nothing to the world or plot or characters) and when he was on top form, Peake really did create quite an amazing world. I was led here by Tamsyn Muir's work, who cited Gormenghast as an inspiration, and I can smell the shared DNA. It's exciting to see how art can breathe life into more art decades later.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Temporarily set aside. Gorgeously written book, truly. But nothing happens in it, and I love plot-driven books... so it has been hard going. I got over a hundred pages in and all that had happened was the birth of a baby and a prisoner's escape to a location a few hundred metres from his cell. The fact that over a hundred beautifully-written pages can be filled with so few events is a testament to the poetry of the language within, but... have I mentioned that I like plot?
Had to give this one back. I would really like to come back and reread it, I think I needed to modify my expectations for it slightly and just relax into the description.