bloomsbooks0's review
3.0
Oh, man is this book violent. Before reading this book, you should know: trigger warnings for basically everything. I was quite put off by this book in the beginning and was honestly asking myself, "why did I spend my money on this?" The intriguing plot did end up pulling me in, but I am not sure I would recommend this to anyone. It was good, but I think there are better fantasy books that are not as unnecessarily violent. At times it felt that the book was just violent to be violent, that there was no real reason for the violence.
I don't know, read it if you liked James's other book; but if you didn't, don't bother with this one either.
I'm unsure how to rate this book as I did think the actual plot was intriguing; I would rate the plot 4 stars. But I think the violence took away from that plot and left a bad taste at times. 2.75 stars.
I don't know, read it if you liked James's other book; but if you didn't, don't bother with this one either.
I'm unsure how to rate this book as I did think the actual plot was intriguing; I would rate the plot 4 stars. But I think the violence took away from that plot and left a bad taste at times. 2.75 stars.
bookmarked642's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
ariun_zaya's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dcox83's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved this book. A fantasy novel using African mythology and story telling techniques telling the story of a homosexual narrator as he adventures through the world. I was also impressed with the way James pulled in modern day superhero mythology into the story without beating us over the head with it.
I know some people are turned off by the writing, but readers should approach it as literature. A book that takes focus and concentration to read, not a breezy plot heavy summer read.
I know some people are turned off by the writing, but readers should approach it as literature. A book that takes focus and concentration to read, not a breezy plot heavy summer read.
streetmuseums's review against another edition
the writing style of this book was quite frankly repulsive. i also didn't realise it was a trilogy when i bought it and i cba
decembermagpie's review against another edition
The narrator of the book is too vulgar for my taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent
snoakes7001's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited to read this but, despite having adored all of Marlon James's previous novels, this one just didn't quite work for me.
Tracker has a nose and so is recruited to find a missing boy. He is joined on his quest by a disparate group of other magical creatures including a witch, a giant, a shape-shifter and many others who drop in and out of the story.
It's a long and rambling affair - the motley band move through many different lands, travelling by both conventional and magical means. It feels rather disconnected, jumping from place to place, with different combinations of characters. I just couldn't get sufficiently invested to keep track of it all, so I was frequently confused by Tracker's current situation, who he was with and which enemy they were fighting or fleeing.
As you would expect if you've read Marlon James before, the writing has a raw physicality and combines brutal action scenes with occasional glimpses of heartbreaking tenderness.
Tracker is an interesting character but ultimately James just didn't make me care whether he lived or died and frankly the final third of the novel was a bit of a slog. So, sad though I am to say it, I won't be reading the second two instalments of the trilogy.
Tracker has a nose and so is recruited to find a missing boy. He is joined on his quest by a disparate group of other magical creatures including a witch, a giant, a shape-shifter and many others who drop in and out of the story.
It's a long and rambling affair - the motley band move through many different lands, travelling by both conventional and magical means. It feels rather disconnected, jumping from place to place, with different combinations of characters. I just couldn't get sufficiently invested to keep track of it all, so I was frequently confused by Tracker's current situation, who he was with and which enemy they were fighting or fleeing.
As you would expect if you've read Marlon James before, the writing has a raw physicality and combines brutal action scenes with occasional glimpses of heartbreaking tenderness.
Tracker is an interesting character but ultimately James just didn't make me care whether he lived or died and frankly the final third of the novel was a bit of a slog. So, sad though I am to say it, I won't be reading the second two instalments of the trilogy.
bmertz's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maddogstone20's review against another edition
DNF
May try again with a physical copy eventually, but it was really hard to follow the audiobook with the narrator’s accent while doing other things
May try again with a physical copy eventually, but it was really hard to follow the audiobook with the narrator’s accent while doing other things
fox_corner's review
2.0
This book gets points for being original in structure and prose, but honestly I could not get into it. I never had any idea what was going on or who the characters were. It's a book that you can't read quickly and forces you to slow down and set time aside to read it, but even once I adjusted to that I wasn't pulled in. I fully recognize that I may just not be the right audience for this, so I'm not saying don't read it, but I'm not going to widely recommend it. It's also really violent (in every way) and harsh towards women, both of which are a turnoff for me. I was so excited to see how Marlon, a gay Jamaican black man, approached the epic fantasy genre, since I've loved the science fiction being put out by authors of African origin, but I just couldn't connect with this book.