Reviews with content warning for Death - Come Tumbling Down

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire

51 reviews

schnaucl's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.25

It's been a while since I read the first book in the series so I'd forgotten that

Jill had killed Lundy. I guess I won't be reading more about her after all. That's too bad.

I was surprised we got another story about Jack and Jill. I was also surprised that nearly everyone seemed to think it would be no big deal to switch bodies with an identical twin because they look so similar. I would think there would always be some body dysphoria with a body swap, but I could see how it would be even worse with an identical twin, even for someone without OCD. Even with identical twins there would be some minor differences, enough to produce an uncanny valley feeling every time you looked in the mirror.

This novella lacked the lyrical omniscient third person perspective that was present in the other Jack and Jill stories.

I'm glad Jack got her happy ending.

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barbarella85's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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momewrath's review

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ellanarose's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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matcha_cat's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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thereistime's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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just_one_more_paige's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The fifth book in the Wayward Children portal fantasy series of novellas that, and with each one I continue to see why, win McGuire awards. This is the series for anyone who has ever felt alone or like they don't belong. The first, Every Heart a Doorway, is one of my favorite books of all time. And don't forget to check out my reviews of the previous four books too...

Come Tumbling Down brings back the infamous Jack and Jill from the opening books of the series, as we travel back again to the Moors that their door brought them too. That world is in terrible danger, as Jill has made the (dramatic) move of switching bodies with Jack, in order to be able to fulfill her dream of being turned into a vampire by the Master. But Jack doesn't plan to let that happen. She returns to the School for Wayward Children, along with the (resurrected - because science has far fewer limitations in the Moors) love of her life, Alexis, to ask her previous classmates for help. And they all, to a one, agree to go with her to the dark and creepy Moors, risking life and possibly more, to do so.

In the vein of the third book (Beneath a Sugar Sky), this book takes the students at Eleanor West's school on a quest through someone else's door. Naturally, this is in direct contradiction to the school's "no quest" policy. But really, what are rules to people who have all traveled to other worlds? As always, I cannot get enough of this group of quirky, lost and cast-off, and ultimately profoundly heroic, misfit friends. There are never too many times that the message of finding family with others who have similar experiences and feelings, even if you have nothing other than that in common, can be heard and appreciated. From logic to nonsense, structure to nebulousness, the bonds of "outsiderness" and "un-belonging" trump everything else in a way that is absolutely, absurdly heartwarming.

To be honest, this is not a favorite of the series for me. We've been to the Moors before, and we've had quite a few stories already centered on Jack and Jill, and I'm just ready to move one. Not that it was in any way bad, or comparatively sub-par, I just felt like the specific lessons of their "two sides of the same coin" situation have been fully mined already. And part of the primary compelling-ness of this series for me is that we get these little glimpses into the hard truths that fairy tales and other worlds can bring, in bite-sized pieces of whimsical and horrific world-building, that are different each time. So, that's personal preference. But it's worth mentioning.

Past that, the longing we see in each of the students of the school that go help Jack, from Kade to Cora to Sumi to Christopher, for the worlds that have become lost to them, is palpable in a heartbreaking way. Even more so when you realize that each is willing to sacrifice everything to help Jack save her own world, even knowing that they may never get the chance to get back to or save their own in the same way. There are such deep emotions there - yearning is always, IMO, one of the strongest emotions, when properly conveyed - and McGuire gives a masterclass in that conveyance.

Plus, the learning curve about the darker and angrier part of life, the ones you have to accommodate in order to fully appreciate the better and lighter parts, is intense. And seeing and accepting how those better parts look different for everyone is so central and important. And, of course, the tough choices one has to make when you've failed someone important in your life, but your efforts to make it up to them are not enough to save them and you have to make impossible choices for the greater good. It's a lot in such a short novella. But it's presented in balance with drama and adventure - reanimated corpse horses, lightning-powered un-real science, battles between acolytes of frightening drowned gods and village people under the thrall of a vampire, body-switching, and more - so you can't help but be pulled along by the story itself at the same time. Do beware that this is all “dark and stormy” vibes – a perfect horror-light read for the autumn months – quite literally, with the always-dark weather and the stormy sea that calls to Cora, and figuratively with the reanimated corpses and resurrected girlfriends/fathers and creepy landscape and constant lightning.

This series of haunting tales that show how belonging and healing are possible, no matter how different you feel, is a fable that will provide a refuge for anyone struggling with that IRL for reasons of sexuality/gender to disability to "weird" interests to...anything you can think of, really. And that feels priceless every time I revisit this "world." And the fact that that refuge is wrapped up in magic and portal fantasy and fairy tales is so special. I may be personally over Jack and Jill, but with this clear conclusion to their story, I am absolutely so ready for the next books. I know they'll be there waiting when I need my own reminder of magic and belonging.

“Wood rots, steel rusts, but abstract concepts remain.”

“A tool is only a weapon when it's held by people who want to use it the wrong way.”

“Many things exist in a state of patient paradox, waiting for some change of circumstance to tilt them one way or the other.”

“...the fact that I've been damaged doesn’t make me broken, and you don't need to behave as if it does.”

"The world doesn't stop spinning because you're sad, and that's good; if it did, people would go around breaking hearts like they were sheets of maple sugar, just to keep the world exactly where it is. They'd make it out like it was a good thing, a few crying children in exchange for a peace that never falters or fades. [...] We can be sad and we can be hurt and we can even be killed, but the world keeps running, and the things we're supposed to do keep needing to be done."

“New things are the best kind of magic there is.”

“Sometimes heroism is pressing on when the ending is already preordained.”

“Write your name in lighting, shame the sky.”

“I'm sorry. I failed to be your sister. I didn't realize you needed me. But that doesn't make it right for you to take whatever you want and act like no one else matters. People matter. I matter.”

Content Warnings

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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ember_eyes_are_for_tigers's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

I loved returning to the Moors and to Jack and Alexis. Their story has become, in such a short period of time, incredibly dear to me.

The ending fell a bit flat, of course killing Jill was necessary and where their story was always going towards, however, I was expecting some clever plot-twist. But, perhaps, the fact that going through the novella expecting something to prevent a death, goes to speak to the adventures lived behind the doors.

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secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Probably would have been a higher rating if I hadn't read it this close to my mother's death.

I was so delighted falling back into this series after a long break since I enjoy the idea behind them and most of the character but there is such utter sadness buried within.

Sumi is terrifying and delightful in this book.
Jack is falling apart (not literally) and my heart hurts for her.
Alexis is cool as hell.
I had hoped there would be more than the briefest mention of Christopher & Cade, but perhaps they'll get the own stories yet.

As a side note, Seanan pronounces a few words very differently than I have heard them before.

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