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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
This book was a struggle. Honestly, if I hadn't been reading this as part of a read-a-thon (and had taken another book when travelling) I would have DNF'd this.
My main problem with this book was that nothing made sense. I din't connect with any of the characters, and couldn't even tell who half of them were - despite there being a character list at the front. Not knowing who anyone was, their purpose, or what they were doing was a nightmare. And this lead to me skimming the book, and thus I understood even less, which lead to more skimming... and it was a nightmare.
I think somewhere, there was an interesting idea... there was supposedly a mystery about why Rotherweird was the way that it was, who Mr Slickstone was, and what he wanted... but none of this ever felt addressed. For how important I think Slickstone was meant to be, he wasn't given enough time, nor could I understand his motivations to do literally anything.
This was a book that fell so flat for me I'm afraid.
My main problem with this book was that nothing made sense. I din't connect with any of the characters, and couldn't even tell who half of them were - despite there being a character list at the front. Not knowing who anyone was, their purpose, or what they were doing was a nightmare. And this lead to me skimming the book, and thus I understood even less, which lead to more skimming... and it was a nightmare.
I think somewhere, there was an interesting idea... there was supposedly a mystery about why Rotherweird was the way that it was, who Mr Slickstone was, and what he wanted... but none of this ever felt addressed. For how important I think Slickstone was meant to be, he wasn't given enough time, nor could I understand his motivations to do literally anything.
This was a book that fell so flat for me I'm afraid.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. The cover got me curious, then after reading the blurb I'd for some reason thought that it was going to be focused on the school in Rotherweird... so initially I was a bit confused. Once I got to know the characters better and the mystery of the town started to present itself more I was completely hooked though. I loved the contrast between the fun moments and the eerie/sinister atmosphere of other parts. No idea where the story is going to go from here but I'm looking forward to finding out.
A somewhat odd but truly lovely book with a main character who is as baffled and confused by the happenings as the readers, which makes the whole mess hilarious.
I received a free advance copy of this work through netgalley and Jo Fletcher Books in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Such promise in the wonderful cover and the intriguing blurb but sadly I was left dissatisfied. Caldecott's interesting conceit is an English town isolated and made self-governing during the reign of Elizabeth I for reason or reasons unknown. Jonah Oblong, an outsider, becomes embroiled in the affairs of this bizarre place when he is hired as a history teacher at the local school. Modern history only. For Rotherweird is forbidden to study pre-1800 and its own history is also proscribed, by law and Oblong's predecessor vanished after flagrantly breaking this edict. As Oblong takes up his position the equilibrium of the town is unsettled by the arrival of another stranger, the sinister Sir Veronal Slickson who has taken up residence in the empty manor with his vacant wife and unspeakable son. But this family is a lie, a construction designed to give Sir Veronal access to the closed town. The outside world is getting in and clearly Rotherweird's secrets are at risk. I'm almost drawn back in writing a synopsis! And yet the reality was disappointing.
Caldecott is clearly aiming for the bubbling, brooding atmosphere of a modern Gormenghast. You only need to see the outlandish names to recognise the influence, Sidney Snorkel, Vixen Valourhand, Morval Seer, Gorhambury. Unfortunately the names have more character than the characters themselves. Many are interchaneable and several could be removed entirely without any great loss. The narrative is simply overpopulated and it seems like more imagiation has gone into the creation of unlikely names than in developing any particular personalities. Where Mervyn Peake's characters are ridiculous, exaggerated, absurd they are also sympathetic and compelling, even the monstrous Steerpike.
The plot itself is convoluted which gives the impression of complexity but by the end it is clear that this was caused more by the frequent skipping and shifting of scenes between different perspectives, often for only a couple of paragraphs or pages, in a way that is probably more suited to film. And the end. My interest had really waned by the end of the first third but end infuriated me. The trope in which all of the characters sit around a table and rehash the entire plot as a way of explanation is horribly unsophisticated and really only acceptable in the work of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Here it suggests a lack of confidence in the reader and in the writing if an author has to repeat the story in order to make sure it is understood. And it really wasn't so terribly complex in the first place.
It appears that Rotherweird is only the first volume in a planned trilogy but I'm afraid that one was enough for me.
Such promise in the wonderful cover and the intriguing blurb but sadly I was left dissatisfied. Caldecott's interesting conceit is an English town isolated and made self-governing during the reign of Elizabeth I for reason or reasons unknown. Jonah Oblong, an outsider, becomes embroiled in the affairs of this bizarre place when he is hired as a history teacher at the local school. Modern history only. For Rotherweird is forbidden to study pre-1800 and its own history is also proscribed, by law and Oblong's predecessor vanished after flagrantly breaking this edict. As Oblong takes up his position the equilibrium of the town is unsettled by the arrival of another stranger, the sinister Sir Veronal Slickson who has taken up residence in the empty manor with his vacant wife and unspeakable son. But this family is a lie, a construction designed to give Sir Veronal access to the closed town. The outside world is getting in and clearly Rotherweird's secrets are at risk. I'm almost drawn back in writing a synopsis! And yet the reality was disappointing.
Caldecott is clearly aiming for the bubbling, brooding atmosphere of a modern Gormenghast. You only need to see the outlandish names to recognise the influence, Sidney Snorkel, Vixen Valourhand, Morval Seer, Gorhambury. Unfortunately the names have more character than the characters themselves. Many are interchaneable and several could be removed entirely without any great loss. The narrative is simply overpopulated and it seems like more imagiation has gone into the creation of unlikely names than in developing any particular personalities. Where Mervyn Peake's characters are ridiculous, exaggerated, absurd they are also sympathetic and compelling, even the monstrous Steerpike.
The plot itself is convoluted which gives the impression of complexity but by the end it is clear that this was caused more by the frequent skipping and shifting of scenes between different perspectives, often for only a couple of paragraphs or pages, in a way that is probably more suited to film. And the end. My interest had really waned by the end of the first third but end infuriated me. The trope in which all of the characters sit around a table and rehash the entire plot as a way of explanation is horribly unsophisticated and really only acceptable in the work of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Here it suggests a lack of confidence in the reader and in the writing if an author has to repeat the story in order to make sure it is understood. And it really wasn't so terribly complex in the first place.
It appears that Rotherweird is only the first volume in a planned trilogy but I'm afraid that one was enough for me.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kojarzycie ten rodzaj snów, które są niezwykle długie, akcję w nich w jakiś sposób widzicie jednocześnie z perspektywy wszystkich postaci, gdzieś w tle leci jeszcze inny wątek dziejący się w zupełnie innym czasie i przestrzeni, i i tak po obudzeniu orientujecie się, że nie macie w sumie za nic pojęcia, co się w tym śnie wydarzyło? Mniej-więcej tak można też określić tę książkę (raczej w pozytywny sposób).
Tajemnice Rotherweird poznajemy po kawałku, głównie dzięki postaciom, których jest naprawdę sporo – właściwie możemy spojrzeć na nią z perspektywy większości osób w mieście, których imiona było nam dane poznać. Ich życia naturalnie toczą się na bardzo różne sposoby, także więc ich tajemnice, zwyczaje i poglądy poznajemy również po kawałku, obserwując, notując i szukając rozwiązania (i tego czy ono jest w ogóle osiągalne).
Próby dojścia do tego wszystkiego przyniosły mi naprawdę sporo zabawy, nawet jeśli bardzo niewiele z moich domysłów okazało się prawdą. I na swój dziwny sposób ujęło mnie to miasteczko z jego okolicami i mieszkańcami, pomimo tego, że przez pierwszą część książki ciężko mi było kogoś z nich bardziej polubić (chociaż na początku najbliżej tego byli bracia Polk, because come on. jazda starym samochodem, który wygląda jakby miał się rozlecieć i nadal branie nim zakrętów ze zdecydowanie zbyt dużą prędkością. piękne). Plus I'll just say that: Vixen Valourhand. What a person. A Oblong to zdecydowanie Todd Brotzman tej historii oraz the token Straight Friend™.
Skonfundowania w tej historii też było bardzo dużo, część rzeczy się udało wyjaśnić z czasem, część mi się dalej trochę miesza, ale może za jakiś czas się to jakoś poukłada. A jeśli nie, to od czego są kolejne tomy, right? (chociaż mam pewne wrażenie, że one jedynie tego skonfundowania dodadzą... and honestly I'm here for it).
Chociaż przyznam, że trochę mnie czasem irytowało, jak postacie nagle rozwiązywały kilkustopniowe zagadki, because ah yes how could we be so dumb and not know in a moment that this word in spanish means this and this word in latin means this so if we add first letter of someone's name and change the order of letters we will have this and it'll lead us to another name. Ale też spora część z nich jednak czegoś uczyła lub mocno się znała na jakimś konkretnym temacie, więc ostatecznie mogę przyjąć, że tak to już po prostu było.
Tajemnice Rotherweird poznajemy po kawałku, głównie dzięki postaciom, których jest naprawdę sporo – właściwie możemy spojrzeć na nią z perspektywy większości osób w mieście, których imiona było nam dane poznać. Ich życia naturalnie toczą się na bardzo różne sposoby, także więc ich tajemnice, zwyczaje i poglądy poznajemy również po kawałku, obserwując, notując i szukając rozwiązania (i tego czy ono jest w ogóle osiągalne).
Próby dojścia do tego wszystkiego przyniosły mi naprawdę sporo zabawy, nawet jeśli bardzo niewiele z moich domysłów okazało się prawdą. I na swój dziwny sposób ujęło mnie to miasteczko z jego okolicami i mieszkańcami, pomimo tego, że przez pierwszą część książki ciężko mi było kogoś z nich bardziej polubić (chociaż na początku najbliżej tego byli bracia Polk, because come on. jazda starym samochodem, który wygląda jakby miał się rozlecieć i nadal branie nim zakrętów ze zdecydowanie zbyt dużą prędkością. piękne). Plus I'll just say that: Vixen Valourhand. What a person. A Oblong to zdecydowanie Todd Brotzman tej historii oraz the token Straight Friend™.
Skonfundowania w tej historii też było bardzo dużo, część rzeczy się udało wyjaśnić z czasem, część mi się dalej trochę miesza, ale może za jakiś czas się to jakoś poukłada. A jeśli nie, to od czego są kolejne tomy, right? (chociaż mam pewne wrażenie, że one jedynie tego skonfundowania dodadzą... and honestly I'm here for it).
Chociaż przyznam, że trochę mnie czasem irytowało, jak postacie nagle rozwiązywały kilkustopniowe zagadki, because ah yes how could we be so dumb and not know in a moment that this word in spanish means this and this word in latin means this so if we add first letter of someone's name and change the order of letters we will have this and it'll lead us to another name. Ale też spora część z nich jednak czegoś uczyła lub mocno się znała na jakimś konkretnym temacie, więc ostatecznie mogę przyjąć, że tak to już po prostu było.
It took me some time to get into this story, but it was well written. An interesting concept, filled with mystery and a touch of the ridiculous humour. I enjoyed it, but it didn't capture me a much as I hoped it would.
As much as I like this book, I found it very slow and not always easy to hang on to. Lots of times I wanted to bail out, which makes it all the more irritating when you get to the later parts where everything suddenly makes sense and the action picks up.
The good bits are fantastic. The pacing makes it hard to engage as I’d like. I’m still carrying on to the rest of the trilogy because the premise and execution are awesome. If you like strange, fantastical weirdness, it’s worth hanging in there.
The good bits are fantastic. The pacing makes it hard to engage as I’d like. I’m still carrying on to the rest of the trilogy because the premise and execution are awesome. If you like strange, fantastical weirdness, it’s worth hanging in there.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one took a long while to get going for me and even when it did I found myself having a hard time differentiating all the characters from each other. Interesting ideas though.
This took me a lot to get through. The book was slow going for a long portion of it. I felt like the quirk wasn't enough to sustain it until it got exciting.
This is easily the best fantasy book I have read for quite some time. It may have some weeknesses, but none of them matter too much, at least not to me.
I really liked the writing style - it is funny, intelligent, and of course, rather weird. Also, it feels very British, and the fact that the author is also a playwright is showing (while I learned about it only in the acknowledgment section, it immediately rang true). The story is interesting (though sometimes too much of destiny driven for my taste), and while it is only the first book of a three-book series, and the ending opens some new questions, it does not really end with a cliffhanger. The setting is original, and described with love to the detail, and with a lot of historical references, and the characters are rich (mostly) and bizarre.
I see this as a 4.5, but given that this is the authors first book, and that he is actually a QC (Queen's Counsel - I had to look this up, English not being my first language), giving a 5 feels quite correct.
I really liked the writing style - it is funny, intelligent, and of course, rather weird. Also, it feels very British, and the fact that the author is also a playwright is showing (while I learned about it only in the acknowledgment section, it immediately rang true). The story is interesting (though sometimes too much of destiny driven for my taste), and while it is only the first book of a three-book series, and the ending opens some new questions, it does not really end with a cliffhanger. The setting is original, and described with love to the detail, and with a lot of historical references, and the characters are rich (mostly) and bizarre.
I see this as a 4.5, but given that this is the authors first book, and that he is actually a QC (Queen's Counsel - I had to look this up, English not being my first language), giving a 5 feels quite correct.