Scan barcode
theglossreview's review against another edition
4.0
While I rated the first volume 4.5 stars, I feel like I cannot give The Whatnot more than 3.5 or 4 stars. In some ways, it feels more like an accompaniment that delves deeper into the magical worlds rather than a sequel. I was very disappointed by the absence of Bartholomew‘s and Arthur’s points of view. Unfortunately, Arthur is barely in the story. Instead, the plot centres on a newcomer, Pikey Thomas, and Bartholomew‘s sister.
Still, there are wonderful pieces of writing to be found and the plot literally picks up speed towards the end. I’ll have to give it another chance to know how I feel about it. I appreciated the book‘s message: It’s your inner being that counts, not your outer appearance and circumstances.
Still, there are wonderful pieces of writing to be found and the plot literally picks up speed towards the end. I’ll have to give it another chance to know how I feel about it. I appreciated the book‘s message: It’s your inner being that counts, not your outer appearance and circumstances.
cwebb's review against another edition
3.0
http://www.weberseite.at/buecher/the-whatnot-stefan-bachmann/
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't really getting into this for the first half, but that changed, and by the end I was really happy to be reading this. And it's a good ending--leaves things open if the author wants to write another, but doesn't require it.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I enjoyed The Peculiar by Stephen Bachmann when it came out last year (my review). MG Steampunk is such a rare thing and the world building in this one is so well done. I was eager to read the sequel, The Whatnot, and excited when I received an e-galley.
The world building is again the greatest strength of this novel. Bachmann has created two vivid and separate worlds. In The Peculiar we were concerned mostly with the alternate England. This story flashes between that world and the Old Country, the world of the faerie. In England war has begun between mortals and faerie. Peculiars and fae alike are being rounded up and put in prison. Very few places are safe. In the Old Country the King is working on a plan to take over England and use it for his own purposes. Bachmann built up the King quite a lot. He is whispered of by the faeries in England, who fear him. He is whispered about by the faeries in the Old Country, who fear him. While he is most definitely a to-be-feared-villain, he was a little too predictable to make me worry over him so much. Still, the creatures he controls are frightening. I also enjoy the picture Bachmann paints of the Sidhe. He makes them so perfectly ruthless, uncaring, unpredictable, and changeable.
As the story focuses on two places, it also focuses on two different characters. One is a character familiar from the previous book, Hettie, who is not in the Old Country. Hettie who is far more resourceful and cunning than was seen in the first book. I thoroughly enjoyed her and how she thought out her problems. She was expecting Bartholomew to come rescue her and her goal was to survive in the meantime. That is a high reaching goal for a changeling navigating the world ruled by the Sidhe and evil King bent on destruction. It was interesting seeing her mind work. In England the story focuses on a new character by the name of Pikey. Pikey has endured terrible things at the hands of the faeries and yet he isn't completely repulsed by them. He is a gutter rat and not the sharpest knife in the drawer at times, but he has is a strong sense of honor and a whole lot of courage. As in the first book it was hard for me to connect with the characters because of the shifting perspectives and the newness of Pikey in a plot so full of action. Bartholomew doesn't appear until halfway through the book and Jelliby is barely in it at all. Bartholomew is very much changed but the reader gets no real sense of how this change came about as it is not seen happening. This frustrated me as a reader, but that is because I'm a character reader.
Anyone who has read The Peculiar will want to read the continued adventures of this delightful alternate Victorian world, particularly if you are a reader who enjoys creative world building and fast paced twisting plots.
I read an e-galley provided by the publisher, Greenwillow Books, made available on Edelweiss. The Whatnot is on sale now.
I enjoyed The Peculiar by Stephen Bachmann when it came out last year (my review). MG Steampunk is such a rare thing and the world building in this one is so well done. I was eager to read the sequel, The Whatnot, and excited when I received an e-galley.
The world building is again the greatest strength of this novel. Bachmann has created two vivid and separate worlds. In The Peculiar we were concerned mostly with the alternate England. This story flashes between that world and the Old Country, the world of the faerie. In England war has begun between mortals and faerie. Peculiars and fae alike are being rounded up and put in prison. Very few places are safe. In the Old Country the King is working on a plan to take over England and use it for his own purposes. Bachmann built up the King quite a lot. He is whispered of by the faeries in England, who fear him. He is whispered about by the faeries in the Old Country, who fear him. While he is most definitely a to-be-feared-villain, he was a little too predictable to make me worry over him so much. Still, the creatures he controls are frightening. I also enjoy the picture Bachmann paints of the Sidhe. He makes them so perfectly ruthless, uncaring, unpredictable, and changeable.
As the story focuses on two places, it also focuses on two different characters. One is a character familiar from the previous book, Hettie, who is not in the Old Country. Hettie who is far more resourceful and cunning than was seen in the first book. I thoroughly enjoyed her and how she thought out her problems. She was expecting Bartholomew to come rescue her and her goal was to survive in the meantime. That is a high reaching goal for a changeling navigating the world ruled by the Sidhe and evil King bent on destruction. It was interesting seeing her mind work. In England the story focuses on a new character by the name of Pikey. Pikey has endured terrible things at the hands of the faeries and yet he isn't completely repulsed by them. He is a gutter rat and not the sharpest knife in the drawer at times, but he has is a strong sense of honor and a whole lot of courage. As in the first book it was hard for me to connect with the characters because of the shifting perspectives and the newness of Pikey in a plot so full of action. Bartholomew doesn't appear until halfway through the book and Jelliby is barely in it at all. Bartholomew is very much changed but the reader gets no real sense of how this change came about as it is not seen happening. This frustrated me as a reader, but that is because I'm a character reader.
Anyone who has read The Peculiar will want to read the continued adventures of this delightful alternate Victorian world, particularly if you are a reader who enjoys creative world building and fast paced twisting plots.
I read an e-galley provided by the publisher, Greenwillow Books, made available on Edelweiss. The Whatnot is on sale now.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Fast forward years after The Peculiar (because time in our world is different from that in the Old Country)... Hettie is stuck in the Old Country wandering towards a cottage yet never seems to reach it. Meanwhile, in England, all faeries have been banished and a war with the faeries is imminent. Pikey is a boy, who after an encounter with a faery, is left with a mysterious eye that lets him see odd visions from elsewhere. He hides his eye under an eye patch so that the Englanders won't send him away. But one day he is caught and sent to a prison where he neighbors a crazy old lady with a similar eye who is rumored to be taken care of by the faeries. Suddenly Pikey starts to see a Peculiar through his faery-touched eye. This Peculiar just happens to be Hettie. Once Bartholomew, much older now learns of Pikey's communication with his sister, he sets Pikey free and they begin their quest to enter the faery world to bring Hettie home.
Love this vivid world that Bachmann created.
Middle school.
Love this vivid world that Bachmann created.
Middle school.
kynan's review against another edition
2.0
The back of The Whatnot declares it to be a "companion" to [b:The Peculiar|13455553|The Peculiar (The Peculiar, #1)|Stefan Bachmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342944438l/13455553._SY75_.jpg|18983909]\, which is a reasonable definition as there's sufficient plot resolution in The Peculiar that this doesn't really count as a sequel. That said, I'd not read The Whatnot without first reading The Peculiar if the option is available as the events chronicled in The Whatnot occur directly after those of The Peculiar.
It's hard to say anything about Whatnot without essentially spoiling The Peculiar so, be warned, Peculiar spoilers start...now.
Once again, we dive back into the world of a London half-populated with not-particularly-nice faeires (kinda like the creatures from [b:The Spiderwick Chronicles|18875096|The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1)|Tony DiTerlizzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385002245l/18875096._SY75_.jpg|1092293] now that I think about it). As a result of the events that culminated in The Peculiar, London has been forcibly emptied of faerie folks, they've been pushed North and corralled, and the humans are on a war-footing as faerie/human tensions escalate out of control.
Our two changelings from The Peculiar are the main protaganists: Hettie, the younger sister, saved London (the world?) by refusing to allow Mr. Lickerish's gate to open, sacrificing herself by jumping back through the gate into the Old Country and we start out with her and Lickerish's Butler stranded in Deep Winter in faerie land. Hettie *knows* that Barthie (her brother) will rescue her, she just needs to find a way to keep herself alive and findable until then. The other side of the story is told from Earth, split between the search that Bartholemew (who's very much landed on his feet) has launched and a street urchin by the name of Pikey who's had an unfortunate run-in with the faerie folk.
The plot is slowly ravelled together from these various perspectives and it's a very similar kind of tale to The Peculiar. I found the Whatnot to be slightly more polished from a writing perspective than The Peculiar, but it still has some very odd plot points that just...happen, for no really conceivable reason. It's not possible to go into these without wrecking the story but they're not subtle, you'll notice when you get to them. These books both received a lot of attention for their impressive prose but I wasn't particularly impressed. It's not that it was particularly grating, but after all of the carry-on I was expecting something [b:Gormenghast|258392|Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2)|Mervyn Peake|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480786154l/258392._SY75_.jpg|3599885]-like and it wasn't that. It's not a crude "Hey look, I've got a thesaurus!" kind of deal, there is some nice descriptive work but that's something I would expect from a book :)
All in all, I think that this isn't a bad tale, definitely worth reading if you read the Peculiar and would appreciate some closure, but I'm not sure that I'd specifically recommend either of these books to anyone. They're not bad, but they're not particularly great either. As Goodreads would put it "it was OK" :)
It's hard to say anything about Whatnot without essentially spoiling The Peculiar so, be warned, Peculiar spoilers start...now.
Once again, we dive back into the world of a London half-populated with not-particularly-nice faeires (kinda like the creatures from [b:The Spiderwick Chronicles|18875096|The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1)|Tony DiTerlizzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385002245l/18875096._SY75_.jpg|1092293] now that I think about it). As a result of the events that culminated in The Peculiar, London has been forcibly emptied of faerie folks, they've been pushed North and corralled, and the humans are on a war-footing as faerie/human tensions escalate out of control.
Our two changelings from The Peculiar are the main protaganists: Hettie, the younger sister, saved London (the world?) by refusing to allow Mr. Lickerish's gate to open, sacrificing herself by jumping back through the gate into the Old Country and we start out with her and Lickerish's Butler stranded in Deep Winter in faerie land. Hettie *knows* that Barthie (her brother) will rescue her, she just needs to find a way to keep herself alive and findable until then. The other side of the story is told from Earth, split between the search that Bartholemew (who's very much landed on his feet) has launched and a street urchin by the name of Pikey who's had an unfortunate run-in with the faerie folk.
The plot is slowly ravelled together from these various perspectives and it's a very similar kind of tale to The Peculiar. I found the Whatnot to be slightly more polished from a writing perspective than The Peculiar, but it still has some very odd plot points that just...happen, for no really conceivable reason. It's not possible to go into these without wrecking the story but they're not subtle, you'll notice when you get to them. These books both received a lot of attention for their impressive prose but I wasn't particularly impressed. It's not that it was particularly grating, but after all of the carry-on I was expecting something [b:Gormenghast|258392|Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2)|Mervyn Peake|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480786154l/258392._SY75_.jpg|3599885]-like and it wasn't that. It's not a crude "Hey look, I've got a thesaurus!" kind of deal, there is some nice descriptive work but that's something I would expect from a book :)
All in all, I think that this isn't a bad tale, definitely worth reading if you read the Peculiar and would appreciate some closure, but I'm not sure that I'd specifically recommend either of these books to anyone. They're not bad, but they're not particularly great either. As Goodreads would put it "it was OK" :)
lmn9812's review against another edition
4.0
I kind of want Stefan Bachmann to narrate my life! His writing is just so beautiful - Review to come
annasbookishbrew's review against another edition
4.0
Many years have passed since Barthy's sister Hettie opened the portal and disappeared into the fairy world. Her Brother Barthy and a poor outcast with a special gift named Pickey are now on their journey of finding Hettie.
Meanwhile, Hettie is trapped in the fairy world where she fights for survival with gruesome creatures and, in between, discovers a whole new side to her.
Is she able to stop the war and make it out alive to be reunited with her brother?
This time again, Stefan Bachmann took me away into a vivid world full of wonders and nightmares.
His writing style is unique and detail-loving and I feel like, every creature in this book has a special place in his heart. I liked the first part of it more, however, I must say that the overall atmosphere in this book matched the topic very well. It was very eerie and unique.
jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
Inhalt:
Niemand darf das Geheimnis von Pikeys Auge erfahren, denn würden die Leute erfahren, was es damit auf sich hat, käme er ins Feengefängnis. Doch dann taucht Bartholomew in Pikeys Leben auf und gemeinsam machen sie sich auf die Suche nach der entführten Hettie. Endlich hat Pikey einen Freund und ein Ziel im Leben gefunden...
Meine Meinung:
"The Whatnot" ist die Fortsetzung zu Bachmanns Erstlingswerk "The Peculiar" und ich bin verblüfft, welche Fortschritte Bachmann gemacht hat. Alles, was im ersten Teil nicht überzeugen konnte, wird hier wieder gut gemacht.
Nur schon der Spannungsaufbau und die Handlung sind besser durchdacht. Während das erste Buch aus zu vielen Beschreibungen und Hängern bestand, wird man nun direkt in die Geschichte hineingeworfen und von ihr gepackt. Dieses Mal wirken auch die Personen real und fest. Man gewinnt sie lieb, vor allem Pikey, und hofft und wünscht mit ihnen. Man schleicht mit Hettie durch dieses seltsame Haus und wundert sich über diese seltsam fremde Feenwelt.
Das Buch tendiert nun mehr Richtung Fantasy, während der Vorgänger noch viel mehr im Bereich des Steampunk angesiedelt war. Aber es ist eine düstere Fantasy, die einschüchtert. Nein, ich würde auf keinen Fall freiwillig diese Feenwelt betreten, die Bachmann hier beschreibt.
Aber bis auf einige unklare Stellen beschreibt er diese Welt sehr gut. Bachmann hat sein vorhandenes Talent ausgebaut und sich, wie bereits erwähnt, stark weiterentwickelt. Nachdem mich "The Peculiar" nur teilweise überzeugen konnte, bin ich froh, dass ich diesem Buch noch eine Chance gegeben habe.
Ein weiterer Pluspunkt: Dieses Mal gab es ein richtiges Ende. Ich hatte nicht mehr das Gefühl, dass Bachmann nicht auf den Punkt kommen konnte und einfach keine Lust mehr hatte. Sondern dass sich der Autor wirklich Gedanken über den Aufbau gemacht hat und dies so auch erreicht hat.
Fazit:
Ein Buch, das aufzeigt, wie sehr sich ein Autor verbessern und weiterentwickeln kann. "The Whatnot" ist eine faszinierende Reise in eine dunkle und gefährliche Welt, die aber durch die Liebe eines Bruders zu seiner Schwester erhellt wird. Das klingt jetzt kitschig, aber das ist mir egal. Jedenfalls bin ich gespannt auf das nächste Werk Bachmanns.
Niemand darf das Geheimnis von Pikeys Auge erfahren, denn würden die Leute erfahren, was es damit auf sich hat, käme er ins Feengefängnis. Doch dann taucht Bartholomew in Pikeys Leben auf und gemeinsam machen sie sich auf die Suche nach der entführten Hettie. Endlich hat Pikey einen Freund und ein Ziel im Leben gefunden...
Meine Meinung:
"The Whatnot" ist die Fortsetzung zu Bachmanns Erstlingswerk "The Peculiar" und ich bin verblüfft, welche Fortschritte Bachmann gemacht hat. Alles, was im ersten Teil nicht überzeugen konnte, wird hier wieder gut gemacht.
Nur schon der Spannungsaufbau und die Handlung sind besser durchdacht. Während das erste Buch aus zu vielen Beschreibungen und Hängern bestand, wird man nun direkt in die Geschichte hineingeworfen und von ihr gepackt. Dieses Mal wirken auch die Personen real und fest. Man gewinnt sie lieb, vor allem Pikey, und hofft und wünscht mit ihnen. Man schleicht mit Hettie durch dieses seltsame Haus und wundert sich über diese seltsam fremde Feenwelt.
Das Buch tendiert nun mehr Richtung Fantasy, während der Vorgänger noch viel mehr im Bereich des Steampunk angesiedelt war. Aber es ist eine düstere Fantasy, die einschüchtert. Nein, ich würde auf keinen Fall freiwillig diese Feenwelt betreten, die Bachmann hier beschreibt.
Aber bis auf einige unklare Stellen beschreibt er diese Welt sehr gut. Bachmann hat sein vorhandenes Talent ausgebaut und sich, wie bereits erwähnt, stark weiterentwickelt. Nachdem mich "The Peculiar" nur teilweise überzeugen konnte, bin ich froh, dass ich diesem Buch noch eine Chance gegeben habe.
Ein weiterer Pluspunkt: Dieses Mal gab es ein richtiges Ende. Ich hatte nicht mehr das Gefühl, dass Bachmann nicht auf den Punkt kommen konnte und einfach keine Lust mehr hatte. Sondern dass sich der Autor wirklich Gedanken über den Aufbau gemacht hat und dies so auch erreicht hat.
Fazit:
Ein Buch, das aufzeigt, wie sehr sich ein Autor verbessern und weiterentwickeln kann. "The Whatnot" ist eine faszinierende Reise in eine dunkle und gefährliche Welt, die aber durch die Liebe eines Bruders zu seiner Schwester erhellt wird. Das klingt jetzt kitschig, aber das ist mir egal. Jedenfalls bin ich gespannt auf das nächste Werk Bachmanns.
timefliesaway's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Just like the previous book, it takes a while to get going, but definitely gets up the pace faster here. It was much more exciting and much more happening, but, again, the author drowns in long descriptions about things that aren't that important. While it is nice to read in itself and the writing style is almost poetic, it simply isn't what the story needs. Or deserves. So many questions were left unanswered. The actual bulk is under 30 pages.
The main characters found each other, but what about the world? What about the villains and their plans?
Just like in the previous book, it feels like the world is just there. Nothing important. Things are happening but the author is mostly writing about the main characters. The world-building feels very unfinished, which is a waste.
It doesn't feel like an ending. Maybe it's not the last book in the series? Maybe the author plans more? Or maybe that's his style. Leave things unanswered.
The book wasn't bad and I did like it more than the first, but it simply left me quite... empty? Unsatisfied?
The main characters found each other, but what about the world? What about the villains and their plans?
Just like in the previous book, it feels like the world is just there. Nothing important. Things are happening but the author is mostly writing about the main characters. The world-building feels very unfinished, which is a waste.
It doesn't feel like an ending. Maybe it's not the last book in the series? Maybe the author plans more? Or maybe that's his style. Leave things unanswered.
The book wasn't bad and I did like it more than the first, but it simply left me quite... empty? Unsatisfied?