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sandygx260's review against another edition
2.0
When I saw this book from Tad Williams, I felt pretty excited, since I adored "The War of the Flowers." To me, this book had the same "vibe"
Wow, was I wrong.
Let me list this book's seven deadly sins:
1) Super obnoxious first person POV;
2) Sloppy editing;
3) Logistical errors;
4) Long-winded back story blah-blahs;
5) Shallow characters;
6) Willfully stupid decisions;
7) Tons of excess verbal padding.
I could probably crank this list into many other deadly writing sins but why bother?
To me, Bobby Dollar is indeed dead. His character started out obnoxious, which, if written well, could be funny. The problem is Dollar remains at the same level of snarky, willful stupidity. I mean I love snarky, witty characters... but only if they are witty. Dollar is as annoying as fingernails ripping across a blackboard, a fitting cliche for him.
The only reason I grant this two stars is for some of the action sequences. Other than that, well... to Hell with it.
Wow, was I wrong.
Let me list this book's seven deadly sins:
1) Super obnoxious first person POV;
2) Sloppy editing;
3) Logistical errors;
4) Long-winded back story blah-blahs;
5) Shallow characters;
6) Willfully stupid decisions;
7) Tons of excess verbal padding.
I could probably crank this list into many other deadly writing sins but why bother?
To me, Bobby Dollar is indeed dead. His character started out obnoxious, which, if written well, could be funny. The problem is Dollar remains at the same level of snarky, willful stupidity. I mean I love snarky, witty characters... but only if they are witty. Dollar is as annoying as fingernails ripping across a blackboard, a fitting cliche for him.
The only reason I grant this two stars is for some of the action sequences. Other than that, well... to Hell with it.
extrasmallburger's review against another edition
2.0
This book was really good at times, but could have shaved off 50-100 pages. It needed some tightening. If it had been that way I probably would have given it 4 stars hands down. The world building was insanely interesting, and I loved the characters from both heaven and hell. Bobby Dollar I enjoyed 50% of the time. There was something about him that felt frustrating to me, like he was full of it but didn't back it up with any substance of character. He also talked a lot about how he trusted his gut, and his gut continued to prove to be the last thing he should trust. I found it to be annoying, but understand that it was done to move the plot forward.
sleightholme's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jmoses's review against another edition
5.0
This was a superb read. Plot, characters, setting, writing, everything.
mantissabolt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Bobby is a hard boiled detective and advocate (lawyer). He drinks too much, fights too much, has too much sex and is in love with the femme fatale , all the type of stuff you would expect from a noir detective novel. Tad Williams does a good job writing noir urban fantasy detective novel but the idea that Bobby was angel in the endless battle between Heaven and Hell was a bridge to far for me.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
Felt like a mystery novel, which is good, but maybe not what I was expecting? I don't know, I struggled with this one, and I honestly think it's just life issues that gave me so much trouble, but it's hard to separate these things out from the book that you're reading.
webjoram's review against another edition
2.0
El principio del libro es realmente interesante y el autor hace un buen trabajo desarrollando toda la mitología en torno al personaje principal, su función como ángel, sus motivaciones y su carácter. Este primer tercio de la novela me gusto muchísimo.
Esta novela es planteada como inicio de una serie, de hay toda la parte introductoria, y para mí ese no es un problema siempre que el "caso" que se resuelva en cada libro sea interesante, y ese es precisamente el problema de este libro. Después de un inicio potente el desarrollo de la novela flojea muchísimo, el autor pierde en ocasiones el hilo de la historia obsesionado en abrir subtramas y en presentar a muchísimos personajes secundarios.
Es evidente que antes que desarrollar una historia el autor busca dotar a Dollar de un entorno rico en personajes e historias de las cuales pueda tirar en sucesivas novelas. El problema con este planteamiento es que la historia principal de este libro se vuelve insulsa y acaba resolviéndose de forma precipitada y deja al lector con pocas ganas de leer una posible continuación. Por lo menos esa a sido mi sensación.
Desconozco si esta novela ha tenido continuación pero desde luego no tengo ningún interés en continuar con su lectura.
Esta novela es planteada como inicio de una serie, de hay toda la parte introductoria, y para mí ese no es un problema siempre que el "caso" que se resuelva en cada libro sea interesante, y ese es precisamente el problema de este libro. Después de un inicio potente el desarrollo de la novela flojea muchísimo, el autor pierde en ocasiones el hilo de la historia obsesionado en abrir subtramas y en presentar a muchísimos personajes secundarios.
Es evidente que antes que desarrollar una historia el autor busca dotar a Dollar de un entorno rico en personajes e historias de las cuales pueda tirar en sucesivas novelas. El problema con este planteamiento es que la historia principal de este libro se vuelve insulsa y acaba resolviéndose de forma precipitada y deja al lector con pocas ganas de leer una posible continuación. Por lo menos esa a sido mi sensación.
Desconozco si esta novela ha tenido continuación pero desde luego no tengo ningún interés en continuar con su lectura.
defaultnamespace's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0