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bigjohnspud's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
hgraham98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alliehwilliams's review against another edition
5.0
WOW. It's not every day I find a book with this quality of writing, with characters and magic and settings that are just made for the screen, that scared the crap out of me and made me cry like a little girl. More later...
srhhelm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
5.0
dhlunique's review against another edition
4.0
Early-to-mid impressions. This is a good story. I've occasionally had trouble tracking conversations, as they are quickly introduced into narrative, and as quickly drop away, but the writing is pretty tight, and so far I do like the story!
Strong characters; good story line; classical and modern monsters with powers that surprise. It was a good read, all in all.
Strong characters; good story line; classical and modern monsters with powers that surprise. It was a good read, all in all.
mnordhof's review against another edition
3.0
This book could have easily been a 4 star rating for me, but I really disliked the ending of the book.
jamesbullinger's review against another edition
5.0
Really fun ideas written well. I just wish it was the third book in a series instead of just throwing us into the action and relationships already in progress. But otherwise very good. 4.5
johnald1266's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was very well done "urban fantasy". However, one thing that annoyed me was the sometimes unbalanced level of exposition. What happened exactly in Russia? Where did Marina and Andrew meet? What was the relation between the demonic farmers and Baba Yaga? Did Ichabod just go away because now he was free of the original curse (which by the way, felt like it came out of nowhere). Despite these "holes", if you will, it was a fund read. And the death of Rahda was one of the most unsettling ones I've read in a while. Probably because Buehlman took the time to develop her as a person as much as a user.
nedhayes's review against another edition
4.0
Christopher Buehlman weaves together some truly fascinating mythology with the gritty reality of a "modern" warlock to create a downbeat story of love, loss, addiction and magic.
I love the concept of a modern-day set of wizards who use materials at hand -- like Skype and videotapes -- to talk to the dead, and who have to wrestle with modern problems to be a fascinating new approach to wizardry and magic. I also love the way Buehlman plays with stereotypes and refuses to let standard "romantic" situations constrain his story. He also has a knack for just the right amount of withholding.
The book is also very well written, and I learned a lot watching Buehlman's expert hand at work. The story is about Baba Yaga, but he approaches her "reality" from such a fresh perspective he makes her truly horrifying. Bravo!
However, I didn't find the story as compelling as I'd like, because the characters were all very broken in not very appealing ways. And the character's motivations are less clear than I'd like -- they just stumble from one thing to another without a clear direction, it seemed to me.
I did find the characters very well-written and quite believable, but an AA-attending wizard whose dark past activities aren't well illuminated (and not in a suspenseful way) is not a character I want to live with for a long time. I do like that he is self-deceiving and this is his fatal flaw. That part is perfectly done.
A fantasy / horror writer to watch. Great ideas... modern insight, a real grasp of mythology and terror.
I love the concept of a modern-day set of wizards who use materials at hand -- like Skype and videotapes -- to talk to the dead, and who have to wrestle with modern problems to be a fascinating new approach to wizardry and magic. I also love the way Buehlman plays with stereotypes and refuses to let standard "romantic" situations constrain his story. He also has a knack for just the right amount of withholding.
The book is also very well written, and I learned a lot watching Buehlman's expert hand at work. The story is about Baba Yaga, but he approaches her "reality" from such a fresh perspective he makes her truly horrifying. Bravo!
However, I didn't find the story as compelling as I'd like, because the characters were all very broken in not very appealing ways. And the character's motivations are less clear than I'd like -- they just stumble from one thing to another without a clear direction, it seemed to me.
I did find the characters very well-written and quite believable, but an AA-attending wizard whose dark past activities aren't well illuminated (and not in a suspenseful way) is not a character I want to live with for a long time. I do like that he is self-deceiving and this is his fatal flaw. That part is perfectly done.
A fantasy / horror writer to watch. Great ideas... modern insight, a real grasp of mythology and terror.
foiltheplot's review against another edition
1.0
I've gotta be honest... there is SO much rambling and incoherency that I have no idea what's even happening. The book is SUPER long, and though the writing isn't bad, I just can't get into the story. I'm giving it 2 stars because there is this amazing scene in the beginning with an undead rusalka that is worth mentioning.