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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
This book is about a peculiar English town out of time hiding a fantastical secret. Unfortunately, by page 80, despite the introduction of vast swathes of characters by name and often POV, we don't have a character with whom to sympathise, identify or even go along for the ride. All we know of Rotherweird's mystery is that something odd happened 400 years ago; we've been shown nothing exciting or fantastical. The primary hook and mystery of the story to date is that the town has an unconventional municipal charter. I mean, I like a slow burn but give me *something* to work with.
It's obvious the publisher spent a lot of money on it given the quality of the blurbers, the illustrations, lovely cover etc. But it really doesn't feel like it was edited for structure at all. It would not have been hard to make the opening work: fewer viewpoint characters, more compelling mystery elements, hold the backstory. As it is this gave me the overwhelming impression of an editor's pet project, someone falling in love with the MS in a "don't change a single word!" way, which is great for readers who think like that editor, and less so for others.
It is of course possible that once the story starts it becomes this wonderful thing that all the blurbs promise. I lack the patience to find out. DNF at 80pp.
(Also, you really cannot make a big deal out of everyone in your town having ridiculous names as a way of demarcating them from the outside world, and then call an outsider Oblong without comment. That *does not work*.)
It's obvious the publisher spent a lot of money on it given the quality of the blurbers, the illustrations, lovely cover etc. But it really doesn't feel like it was edited for structure at all. It would not have been hard to make the opening work: fewer viewpoint characters, more compelling mystery elements, hold the backstory. As it is this gave me the overwhelming impression of an editor's pet project, someone falling in love with the MS in a "don't change a single word!" way, which is great for readers who think like that editor, and less so for others.
It is of course possible that once the story starts it becomes this wonderful thing that all the blurbs promise. I lack the patience to find out. DNF at 80pp.
(Also, you really cannot make a big deal out of everyone in your town having ridiculous names as a way of demarcating them from the outside world, and then call an outsider Oblong without comment. That *does not work*.)