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this book has taken me longer to get through than almost anything else i've ever read, and it's not just because of the size. constantine's prose is extremely heavy-handed, and it often gets in the way of his story-- which, after all is said and done, was not a bad one. the plot he put his characters through was pretty interesting, but so often it was impossible to see the shape of that plot because of the way the story was told. the entire first volume of the trilogy is mostly exposition, which the reader doesn't discover until midway through the second volume-- the strongest one in my opinion. swift's story is interesting, well-told, and moves along both his own plot and that of the entire trilogy.
the last volume was something of a let-down; it resolved the major conflict but in a very predictable way, and in the end it was not very exciting. the world creation was very good; it would have been better if constantine had made it clearer that this was a futuristic ersion of our earth, but as a whole it was very detailed, and he did a good job of communicating his vision of the setting through the story.
i would not recommend this book to anyone who is short on time; after spending almost a month slogging through it, i am a little disappointed in the end result-- i'm glad i persevered through it, but the end was not emotionally satisfying, which a book of this size must be in order to be worth the effort involved in reading it.
the last volume was something of a let-down; it resolved the major conflict but in a very predictable way, and in the end it was not very exciting. the world creation was very good; it would have been better if constantine had made it clearer that this was a futuristic ersion of our earth, but as a whole it was very detailed, and he did a good job of communicating his vision of the setting through the story.
i would not recommend this book to anyone who is short on time; after spending almost a month slogging through it, i am a little disappointed in the end result-- i'm glad i persevered through it, but the end was not emotionally satisfying, which a book of this size must be in order to be worth the effort involved in reading it.
This is the weirdest book I’ll ever admit to reading (and really liking). It’s about the future and a new breed of humans develop and they are like female and male at the same time and can pick which one they want to be and can have eggs. I remember there being a lot about war/fighting and the specific aspects of how they have sex (because its not like normal sex, obviously because they produce eggs). Just a very very very weird book.
This is a three part series, they all have their own names, but it is produced in one book ("Wraeththu" is their country if I remember correctly). Each book follows a different character as they impact the nation and of course, the three characters are like a family saga.
Lauren, you will get this, Stephanie Coca got me to read this book. That might tell you how weird this book has got to be.
I always say I really don't like sci fi....so I might be liar. Any sci fi i've ever read, I love. It is the giant nerd in me!!
This is a three part series, they all have their own names, but it is produced in one book ("Wraeththu" is their country if I remember correctly). Each book follows a different character as they impact the nation and of course, the three characters are like a family saga.
Lauren, you will get this, Stephanie Coca got me to read this book. That might tell you how weird this book has got to be.
I always say I really don't like sci fi....so I might be liar. Any sci fi i've ever read, I love. It is the giant nerd in me!!
What can I say about this book? Ah! It took me long, very long to get through it, because the first book had not ended too well -or should I said, had a confusing ending (was it happy or sad...?), and I'm a sucker for happy endings.
I think I'll start by pointing out I truly did like this book. Had a hard time deciding between four and five stars- I wanted four and a half, really.
The story on itself was great, fantastic in writing, the setting- not really something completely new and out of the ordinary, but interesting to read; the characters were all very interesting and deeply thought, though I could only get myself to truly care for two, and they were not even the main characters.
I was very interested at the subject of hermaphrodites, though I must say, I got a little tired of being told each har they met was super pretty and perfect- yes, we get it, all har are beautiful and perfect!
I didn't really fancy the whole pregnancy thing, perhaps because I still saw them as very male-like, and as such, it all reeked of "mpreg".
Two things threw me off the book, but I guess in the overall, they weren't so annoying that it made me dislike it entirely. (I mean, I did read it through and liked it plenty, after all)
The first was that the Wraeththu were a "very sexual race" which means, put plainly, "I love YOU, but I'll have sex with just about everyone I come across."
Sorry, but I like my romance romantic and faithful.
The second was the reiteration of the ambiguous endings.
Were they happy? Were they sad? I can't decide!! It's driving me insane! The second book was the one that ended the best, and the third book, gosh, guess it should have been a happy ending, yet it was sad in a way. Ah, bittersweet, like life itself, I guess? I find myself torn to think on whether I enjoyed the ending... In a way, I think I didn't, I feel it should've developed a bit differently- I feel Calanthe should have said, "to hell! Pell, I love you, but it can't be." and started a whole new life.
Ah well, I enjoyed the book, overall; though I had some visualization problems.
I think I'll start by pointing out I truly did like this book. Had a hard time deciding between four and five stars- I wanted four and a half, really.
The story on itself was great, fantastic in writing, the setting- not really something completely new and out of the ordinary, but interesting to read; the characters were all very interesting and deeply thought, though I could only get myself to truly care for two, and they were not even the main characters.
I was very interested at the subject of hermaphrodites, though I must say, I got a little tired of being told each har they met was super pretty and perfect- yes, we get it, all har are beautiful and perfect!
I didn't really fancy the whole pregnancy thing, perhaps because I still saw them as very male-like, and as such, it all reeked of "mpreg".
Two things threw me off the book, but I guess in the overall, they weren't so annoying that it made me dislike it entirely. (I mean, I did read it through and liked it plenty, after all)
The first was that the Wraeththu were a "very sexual race" which means, put plainly, "I love YOU, but I'll have sex with just about everyone I come across."
Sorry, but I like my romance romantic and faithful.
The second was the reiteration of the ambiguous endings.
Were they happy? Were they sad? I can't decide!! It's driving me insane! The second book was the one that ended the best, and the third book, gosh, guess it should have been a happy ending, yet it was sad in a way. Ah, bittersweet, like life itself, I guess? I find myself torn to think on whether I enjoyed the ending... In a way, I think I didn't, I feel it should've developed a bit differently- I feel Calanthe should have said, "to hell! Pell, I love you, but it can't be." and started a whole new life.
Ah well, I enjoyed the book, overall; though I had some visualization problems.
OMG... took me a week but I have finished the first three books of Wraeththu. I was gifted this collection so it counts as one book and one third towards my summer goal of reading all the Wraeththu books that I have in my possession. (I have 2 more left.) I was a bit surprised at the way this trilogy came out. I knew it was about a hermaphrodite culture supplanting humankind but when I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be another race that came from the stars. Instead, the Wraeththu are the next evolution of humanity. Each book tells the story from the first person pov of a particular wraeththu (also called har). The stories were well laid out and drew me in. What was even better is that thru the three books there was also an actual story arc that progressed towards a very unexpected but wonderful ending. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books and seeing how this world and the characters within progress beyond. The only thing that disappointed me about Constantine's series is that the earth in the books bears almost no resemblance to our reality. The lands all have different names and it was impossible to try and figure out where in our world it takes place. Maybe one day I'll ask her and find out. Other than that minor annoyance, a very impressive trilogy to start the summer with.
Well, perhaps 'finished' isn't the word I'd use. Maybe something more along the lines of "abandoned". lol I got maybe a third of the way through the first novel and my brain exploded. David Bowie popped up in my mind a lot, and so did Kings of Leon. When all you can hear in your mind is "your sex is on fire" when you look at the cover, it's time to bench that read and perhaps try something new. Just until the compulsion wears off. ^_^ I imagine fans of Storm Constantine will demand blood satisfaction for my insolence, but hey, they'll have to get in line like everyone else.
It took me a long time to get through this book and even after I finished it I wasn't sure that I liked it. I thought about it for a few days and decided it was one of the best trilogies I've ever read.
The world is unique, the characters are so very three dimensional and the plot never goes where you think it will. The greatest strength of this work is its ambiguity. The writer leaves so much for you to fill in and in a lot of ways that's what is so frustrating about reading it. In the end it was worth every hour it took.
The world is unique, the characters are so very three dimensional and the plot never goes where you think it will. The greatest strength of this work is its ambiguity. The writer leaves so much for you to fill in and in a lot of ways that's what is so frustrating about reading it. In the end it was worth every hour it took.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got about two books out of the three finished...I was three quarters of the way through the second before I got the point where I was like, "Okay, this is ridiculous. I'm really sick of this pseudo homoeroticism. Females suck, blah blah blah. No females here!"
Maybe I'll come back to it later. Hell, it took me five years to finish the second book...
Maybe I'll come back to it later. Hell, it took me five years to finish the second book...
Two stars because in spite of all my thwarted expectations... I plowed through to the end of this series with some residual interest for the conclusion left to drive me. I've wanted to read these books since forever but somehow never got around to it and now... with years of expectations built up on sand... I can finally put the series with the impossible to remember name to rest.
Did I enjoy it? Not really. The premise was great. The idea worthy of exploring... it could have been amazing in every way and yet... what I got was a whole lot of mystical mumbo jumbo, wrapped in awkward metaphors and truly atrocious dialogue. I have never in life been so frustrated with the dialogues in a book before. Perhaps the authoress wanted to keep the aura of mystery going, but instead managed to make the characters who talked seem disjointed and off their rocker.
There could have been world building too. That is one of the beauties in post apocalyptic scenarios. There should have been world building.... but instead there were a lot of stupid names for places and people... hardly any descriptions and just random infodump here and there.
And let's not even talk about the sex scenes. What scenes and what sex, I ask you. We got a new species and new organs and new names for everything, I get that... but instead of it being sensual and exciting... such erotica as there was in these books felt more like cringing at graphic tentacle porn. Wrapped up in awkward metaphors and mystical mumbo jumbo, of course.
Why two stars, then? Because Calanthe. Because screwed up as he is, he's made the books bearable.
Did I enjoy it? Not really. The premise was great. The idea worthy of exploring... it could have been amazing in every way and yet... what I got was a whole lot of mystical mumbo jumbo, wrapped in awkward metaphors and truly atrocious dialogue. I have never in life been so frustrated with the dialogues in a book before. Perhaps the authoress wanted to keep the aura of mystery going, but instead managed to make the characters who talked seem disjointed and off their rocker.
There could have been world building too. That is one of the beauties in post apocalyptic scenarios. There should have been world building.... but instead there were a lot of stupid names for places and people... hardly any descriptions and just random infodump here and there.
And let's not even talk about the sex scenes. What scenes and what sex, I ask you. We got a new species and new organs and new names for everything, I get that... but instead of it being sensual and exciting... such erotica as there was in these books felt more like cringing at graphic tentacle porn. Wrapped up in awkward metaphors and mystical mumbo jumbo, of course.
Why two stars, then? Because Calanthe. Because screwed up as he is, he's made the books bearable.