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jasperge's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
boyinajar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
karp76's review against another edition
3.0
This is a lesser work. That which precedes this one is so much more: more dynamic, more fluid, more mysterious, more ethereal. And this? The ingredients are present and even familiar. There are hints, vague tastes of the previous, scenes and characters we clamor to know more about, our appetite whetted, tongues whisking our lips waiting to once again delve into the strange beauty of Catling's world. But, alas. We are disappointed. The flavor is all wrong. Undercooked or overexposed. Perhaps both. This is a story that rushes through to its end and feels rushed in every possible way striving for a purpose that is never really known. There is no magic here. It is gone. It is almost (almost) perfunctory. We want the bizarre, the strange and the wonderous words and lyrical narrative of The Vorrh. Instead, the Erstwhile, at its best, is a bridge, a modestly accommodating bridge to the (hopeful) return waiting for us at this tale's end.
thorium0232's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hashtag_alison's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
bbkeoerrr's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.5
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
4.0
There we go second novel down. I've been moving slower because I've been planning my NaNoWriMo novel and it's really taken over my mind.
.
.
With the second novel I felt it was a lot more engaging. Ishmael is back again and is such a grim and weathered version of himself. I didn't like him as much in this one but I think that added to my enjoyment of the story somehow. He seemed much more a part of and apart from the world around him because of his morose personality.
.
.
Layers of dark and mysterious things build and build and by the end are still building into what I assume will be a fulfillment of the story in the third book. At times I was frustrated, but I think that's down to my own petulance and impatience. I've resolved to never embark on writing a conventional trilogy. One that must be read in order. Never say never, but I do like a novel to stand alone even if it is part of a larger piece.
.
.
By the end I was still just as amazed by the style of the writing. It swished about. The novel is more like the disarray of a studio space than a painting itself. It meanders around moving focus to highlight one scrumptious facet at a time. The reader builds the painting and the larger picture of things, I think. Which makes the whole experience a balance between reader and writer which I think is masterful. In short, you won't like this one if you don't like working as a reader.
.
.
Mythic, scriptural, spectral. Splendid. It shares a symbolic shelf with the likes of Frankenstein, The Bible, Blake and Dante.
.
.
With the second novel I felt it was a lot more engaging. Ishmael is back again and is such a grim and weathered version of himself. I didn't like him as much in this one but I think that added to my enjoyment of the story somehow. He seemed much more a part of and apart from the world around him because of his morose personality.
.
.
Layers of dark and mysterious things build and build and by the end are still building into what I assume will be a fulfillment of the story in the third book. At times I was frustrated, but I think that's down to my own petulance and impatience. I've resolved to never embark on writing a conventional trilogy. One that must be read in order. Never say never, but I do like a novel to stand alone even if it is part of a larger piece.
.
.
By the end I was still just as amazed by the style of the writing. It swished about. The novel is more like the disarray of a studio space than a painting itself. It meanders around moving focus to highlight one scrumptious facet at a time. The reader builds the painting and the larger picture of things, I think. Which makes the whole experience a balance between reader and writer which I think is masterful. In short, you won't like this one if you don't like working as a reader.
.
.
Mythic, scriptural, spectral. Splendid. It shares a symbolic shelf with the likes of Frankenstein, The Bible, Blake and Dante.
twocentsmusic's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant as usual! Fantastical, absurd and absolutely brilliant as usual!
seeceeread's review
3.5
💭 "She who had made love with such total abandon would not now be defeated by the kiln-like temperature of her maternal lodestone: sloth."
When I grabbed this from a neighborhood #LittleFreeLibrary, I had no idea it was the second book of a trilogy. The plot reflects that in-between status of carrying a concept forward but not resolving, so readers build adequate interest in the next. There's petty theft, gruesome deaths, strange disappearances, inexplicably fast growth and healing ... mostly set in Essenwald, a German colonial city at the edge of a mythic forest, the Vorrh, and London.
A fantasy setting satisfyingly saturates. The authors builds quirky characters well. While the plot plodded, Catling's prose held my interest. Surprising diction fills recognizable structures. Whole passages, littered with euphonious strings, call for oral treatment.
While I appreciate Catling's style, I won't go looking for the other books in this trilogy. Rather, I'm eagerly awaiting the third in James' glamorous, queer pan-African 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳 / 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 fantasy collection.
When I grabbed this from a neighborhood #LittleFreeLibrary, I had no idea it was the second book of a trilogy. The plot reflects that in-between status of carrying a concept forward but not resolving, so readers build adequate interest in the next. There's petty theft, gruesome deaths, strange disappearances, inexplicably fast growth and healing ... mostly set in Essenwald, a German colonial city at the edge of a mythic forest, the Vorrh, and London.
A fantasy setting satisfyingly saturates. The authors builds quirky characters well. While the plot plodded, Catling's prose held my interest. Surprising diction fills recognizable structures. Whole passages, littered with euphonious strings, call for oral treatment.
While I appreciate Catling's style, I won't go looking for the other books in this trilogy. Rather, I'm eagerly awaiting the third in James' glamorous, queer pan-African 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳 / 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 fantasy collection.
whogivesabook's review against another edition
4.0
There we go second novel down. I've been moving slower because I've been planning my NaNoWriMo novel and it's really taken over my mind.
.
.
With the second novel I felt it was a lot more engaging. Ishmael is back again and is such a grim and weathered version of himself. I didn't like him as much in this one but I think that added to my enjoyment of the story somehow. He seemed much more a part of and apart from the world around him because of his morose personality.
.
.
Layers of dark and mysterious things build and build and by the end are still building into what I assume will be a fulfillment of the story in the third book. At times I was frustrated, but I think that's down to my own petulance and impatience. I've resolved to never embark on writing a conventional trilogy. One that must be read in order. Never say never, but I do like a novel to stand alone even if it is part of a larger piece.
.
.
By the end I was still just as amazed by the style of the writing. It swished about. The novel is more like the disarray of a studio space than a painting itself. It meanders around moving focus to highlight one scrumptious facet at a time. The reader builds the painting and the larger picture of things, I think. Which makes the whole experience a balance between reader and writer which I think is masterful. In short, you won't like this one if you don't like working as a reader.
.
.
Mythic, scriptural, spectral. Splendid. It shares a symbolic shelf with the likes of Frankenstein, The Bible, Blake and Dante.
.
.
With the second novel I felt it was a lot more engaging. Ishmael is back again and is such a grim and weathered version of himself. I didn't like him as much in this one but I think that added to my enjoyment of the story somehow. He seemed much more a part of and apart from the world around him because of his morose personality.
.
.
Layers of dark and mysterious things build and build and by the end are still building into what I assume will be a fulfillment of the story in the third book. At times I was frustrated, but I think that's down to my own petulance and impatience. I've resolved to never embark on writing a conventional trilogy. One that must be read in order. Never say never, but I do like a novel to stand alone even if it is part of a larger piece.
.
.
By the end I was still just as amazed by the style of the writing. It swished about. The novel is more like the disarray of a studio space than a painting itself. It meanders around moving focus to highlight one scrumptious facet at a time. The reader builds the painting and the larger picture of things, I think. Which makes the whole experience a balance between reader and writer which I think is masterful. In short, you won't like this one if you don't like working as a reader.
.
.
Mythic, scriptural, spectral. Splendid. It shares a symbolic shelf with the likes of Frankenstein, The Bible, Blake and Dante.