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arthurbdd's review against another edition
5.0
Contains the first clutch of Machen's Edge of the World stories, where fantastic regions reminiscent of his early stories share a cosmos with realms closer to home. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/01/08/the-ornate-brevity-of-lord-dunsany/
glenn_blake's review against another edition
3.0
As a fan of The Silmarillion, I also very much liked the lyrical and poetic style of Dunsany's "Gods of Pegana". I approached The Book of Wonder expecting more of the same. I was a little disappointed to find that this wasn't quite the case.
I would have been hard on this review and only given the book a 2.5, however "Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller", "How Nuth would have practised his art upon the Gnoles", "The Coronation of Mr Thomas Shap" and "The Wonderful Window" were the four tales out of seventeen that I thought were particularly imaginative, with satisfying endings. For the remaining other thirteen tales my main complaint was that the endings seemed abrupt, even for short stories of these very short lengths.
I would have been hard on this review and only given the book a 2.5, however "Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller", "How Nuth would have practised his art upon the Gnoles", "The Coronation of Mr Thomas Shap" and "The Wonderful Window" were the four tales out of seventeen that I thought were particularly imaginative, with satisfying endings. For the remaining other thirteen tales my main complaint was that the endings seemed abrupt, even for short stories of these very short lengths.
akemi_666's review against another edition
5.0
When that dude tried to pray to his god and instead fell off the tip of an infinite staircase into the void, I felt that.
thebeastini's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to the Audiobook.
Particularly enjoyed the story of Chu-bu and Sheemish
Particularly enjoyed the story of Chu-bu and Sheemish
noonjinx's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A collection of beautifully written short fantasy stories. Full of thieves, little gods, creepy creatures and the occasional dragon. They are a joy to read but really just mood pieces. My one criticism is that they all stop abruptly without satisfying endings. Still highly recommended for the poetic language
mariadavid's review against another edition
4.0
Lord Dunsany’s prose is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read, though unlike his novels, these short stories don’t have much character development and plot. It isn’t really necessary for such short stories. I will read for his writing style alone.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Some of the stories are okay, but in many cases they feel a little dated. The ones about politics, however, are quite funny.
thebriceiswrite's review against another edition
A succinct book review, so you have more time left for reading books!
You will be drowned in an ocean of prose, and you will like it, because it will feel like breathing in for the first time the scent of the sweet honey blossoms of the tree of eternal youth and pleasantness in the realm of the great god Fa-deed-dl-dee-da which is inhibited only by the most beautiful and short-lived butterflies and one vicious guard dog that has torn to shreds exactly nine and one-half humans and one unfortunate katydid.
You will be drowned in an ocean of prose, and you will like it, because it will feel like breathing in for the first time the scent of the sweet honey blossoms of the tree of eternal youth and pleasantness in the realm of the great god Fa-deed-dl-dee-da which is inhibited only by the most beautiful and short-lived butterflies and one vicious guard dog that has torn to shreds exactly nine and one-half humans and one unfortunate katydid.
apworden's review against another edition
5.0
Very strange and remarkably beautiful. If you liked Neil Gaimon's Sandman you will like this book.