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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
This was beyond boring. When things wrapped up at the end, my reaction was "who cares?". Certainly not me, because all through the book there was no connection whatsoever with any of the characters.
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When my curious crew members on the sailing boat asked me what I was reading and what I thought of it, I struggled to answer. How do you describe a book that is equal parts mystery, fantasy and dark academia? Add to this a dash of Pratchett-like quirkiness. In theory, Rotherweird sounds like the book for me, but in reality it was difficult to come to grips with. It wasn’t until the beginning of the end of the story that I felt like I knew what the story was about. I was surprised to learn that it was set in the year 2017 since there was a distinct lack of mobile phones, social media and computers… In fact, during the first 250 pages I was fumbling in the dark, just following the whims of the author. Sometimes, this kind of “exploratory” reading can be fun and part of the storytelling but now I felt like it was more down to this being the author’s first attempt at a novel. Some of the workarounds to keep the reader in the blind in regard to the mystery of the story were a little too obvious (in the style of “he thought of the secret thing he was going to do, then did the secret thing and finally celebrated that he had succeeded with his secret mission”). But hey! These are only the reasons this book isn’t getting a five star review from ME, it’s still worth a read if the blurb sounds interesting to you. It’s imaginative, ambitious, playful and there are several characters I would have liked to get to know better.
A wonderful, exciting and very English mixture of history, mystery, magic, and fantasy. Well plotted and thoroughly enjoyable, with lots of hooks left for following books. I’m looking forward to volumes two and three.
Excellent read
4.5 really enjoyed this book. The writing was excellent with bold use of language. The characters are fantastically bizarre and well developed and the story just kept on rolling. About to purchase the sequel.
4.5 really enjoyed this book. The writing was excellent with bold use of language. The characters are fantastically bizarre and well developed and the story just kept on rolling. About to purchase the sequel.
I read the audiobook, and although I can't fault the narrator's performance, I think this contributed to my dislike of Rotherweird.
The story managed to dart around chaotically whilst progressing at a glacial pace. I wasn't drawn into the story or the characterisation at all and I struggled to make it all the way through.
The prose was stuffy and what I'd term self-congratulatory, so I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the author was a barrister. The puzzles and clues were just bizarre. The random bits of Latin that the author mostly didn't bother to translate for us were annoying. I don't mind complex writing, but this just wasn't for me. I felt like an outsider trying to understand what the old boys see in the old boys' club anyway.
I still don't really know what was going on half the time but I just can't face re-listening or picking up a print book. I just don't care enough.
I wouldn't dissuade anyone from giving it a go, because there was nothing offensive about this book, but I definitely won't be recommending it. I think print/e-book format over the audiobook is probably a good idea.
The story managed to dart around chaotically whilst progressing at a glacial pace. I wasn't drawn into the story or the characterisation at all and I struggled to make it all the way through.
The prose was stuffy and what I'd term self-congratulatory, so I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the author was a barrister. The puzzles and clues were just bizarre. The random bits of Latin that the author mostly didn't bother to translate for us were annoying. I don't mind complex writing, but this just wasn't for me. I felt like an outsider trying to understand what the old boys see in the old boys' club anyway.
I still don't really know what was going on half the time but I just can't face re-listening or picking up a print book. I just don't care enough.
I wouldn't dissuade anyone from giving it a go, because there was nothing offensive about this book, but I definitely won't be recommending it. I think print/e-book format over the audiobook is probably a good idea.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thought the premise was good, but I couldn’t connect to any character and it feels felt too confusing for me.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
Tak tohle tedy byla divnokniha.
Jsem rozpolcená, jak hodnotit. Protože na jednu stranu to bylo dobré, hezky podivné.. a na druhou stranu to bylo až příliš zbytečně dlouhé a natáhlé a člověk se pro ty zajímavé části musel prokousat vatou. Postavy jsou zajímavé, ale trochu lidskosti navíc by jim neuškodilo.
Ale i tak musím dát čtyři hvězdy, protože na tři to určitě není :)
Jsem rozpolcená, jak hodnotit. Protože na jednu stranu to bylo dobré, hezky podivné.. a na druhou stranu to bylo až příliš zbytečně dlouhé a natáhlé a člověk se pro ty zajímavé části musel prokousat vatou. Postavy jsou zajímavé, ale trochu lidskosti navíc by jim neuškodilo.
Ale i tak musím dát čtyři hvězdy, protože na tři to určitě není :)
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced