Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I need to think about this a bit.
I loved it though. Still no real answers as to what Area X is or why but I still feel very satisfied with what we are given.
From a writing perspective, the three parts are amazingly distinct from each other. While it´s all still the beautiful prose of the author, every part has it´s very own voice, rhythm and feeling to it. I am in awe of the art.
I also thought I could not dislike Lowry more but, boy, was I wrong! Took me half a page to full on hate him.
Brilliant.
I loved it though. Still no real answers as to what Area X is or why but I still feel very satisfied with what we are given.
From a writing perspective, the three parts are amazingly distinct from each other. While it´s all still the beautiful prose of the author, every part has it´s very own voice, rhythm and feeling to it. I am in awe of the art.
I also thought I could not dislike Lowry more but, boy, was I wrong! Took me half a page to full on hate him.
Brilliant.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Words cannot explain how bizarre the experience was of listening to this audiobook one mundane morning on my commute and hitting the end of part two and the beginning of part three.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3/4 of this book seemingly written to annoy you, coming to a crescendo with the change to crass tone before turning into prime weird that makes you reflect fondly on the rest
I do not even know where to begin but will start with, LONG LIVE THE TYRANT, LONG MAY SHE REIGN. I will give no further explanation. Read the book.
Once again we return to AAX or Area X for short. The novel is broken up into three sections and while each has a similar unsettling beauty they are wildly different. If you are looking for answers to things left in the original trilogy you will be either pleasantly surprised by what's given or extremely upset by twhut is not.
Part 1, Dead Town, is (for lack of better terms) fucked. It is wildly interesting, disturbing, beautiful, and grotesque. It is the start of insane things to come and really plays on Centrals willingness to do anything and everything possible to reach their shadowy means. You shift through the accounts with Old Jim and alongside him become enveloped by the bonkers story being told. There is no way that could have happened right?
Part 2, The False Daughter, is my personal favorite. A psychological thriller following Old Jim as his life and mind seem to unravel. Puppeted by his "old friend" and boss Jack. This sections twists and turns were exciting. The unsettling feeling the deeper into it you got was anxiety inducing. Old Jim and Cass are great characters and their chemistry was perfect. It started pretty straight forward and ended in insanity and brutality. Honestly, I could have a whole novel around this section and would have been happy.
Part 3, The First and the Last, follows Lowry. Who, if you're familiar with the series, you'll know but not at all like this. A drug induced stream of consciousness told to you by a real piece of work who, in his drugged state, can't stop thinking and saying FUCK. It is a lot at first. Like every other word is fuck. No issues with the fucks but makes sentences a bit wonky. It does cool down a bit and the first exped/mish goes by fast and in a blur. Area X and VanderMeer's writing in general are always an exciting challenge but make sure you pay extra close attention here as this is Area X newly born and at its most opaque. Beautiful and haunting visuals, reality distorted even more then I expected, hallucinations that make no sense but also all the sense? Lowry not my favorite character or narrator but think that's kind of the point.
By the end you'll probably feel a little hollow and that's not a bad thing. At least to me. Area X is a phenomenon not known fully to anyone and should (to me) remain a mystery. A cosmic horror of such an abstract nature you can only let it wash over you. You can only ACCEPT it. See what I did? Silly aside, I do feel that way and is that not what we do everyday in life anyway?
Thanks to NetGalley and MCD for the ARC of Absolution. Cannot wait to have a physical copy in my collection.
Once again we return to AAX or Area X for short. The novel is broken up into three sections and while each has a similar unsettling beauty they are wildly different. If you are looking for answers to things left in the original trilogy you will be either pleasantly surprised by what's given or extremely upset by twhut is not.
Part 1, Dead Town, is (for lack of better terms) fucked. It is wildly interesting, disturbing, beautiful, and grotesque. It is the start of insane things to come and really plays on Centrals willingness to do anything and everything possible to reach their shadowy means. You shift through the accounts with Old Jim and alongside him become enveloped by the bonkers story being told. There is no way that could have happened right?
Part 2, The False Daughter, is my personal favorite. A psychological thriller following Old Jim as his life and mind seem to unravel. Puppeted by his "old friend" and boss Jack. This sections twists and turns were exciting. The unsettling feeling the deeper into it you got was anxiety inducing. Old Jim and Cass are great characters and their chemistry was perfect. It started pretty straight forward and ended in insanity and brutality. Honestly, I could have a whole novel around this section and would have been happy.
Part 3, The First and the Last, follows Lowry. Who, if you're familiar with the series, you'll know but not at all like this. A drug induced stream of consciousness told to you by a real piece of work who, in his drugged state, can't stop thinking and saying FUCK. It is a lot at first. Like every other word is fuck. No issues with the fucks but makes sentences a bit wonky. It does cool down a bit and the first exped/mish goes by fast and in a blur. Area X and VanderMeer's writing in general are always an exciting challenge but make sure you pay extra close attention here as this is Area X newly born and at its most opaque. Beautiful and haunting visuals, reality distorted even more then I expected, hallucinations that make no sense but also all the sense? Lowry not my favorite character or narrator but think that's kind of the point.
By the end you'll probably feel a little hollow and that's not a bad thing. At least to me. Area X is a phenomenon not known fully to anyone and should (to me) remain a mystery. A cosmic horror of such an abstract nature you can only let it wash over you. You can only ACCEPT it. See what I did? Silly aside, I do feel that way and is that not what we do everyday in life anyway?
Thanks to NetGalley and MCD for the ARC of Absolution. Cannot wait to have a physical copy in my collection.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced