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rumast's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
wintermute314's review against another edition
Young boy is being trained by some sort of ancient secret society. Boy meets several weird characters, all social misfits, all with some special knowledge/ability. Of course the system is out to get them and several times they escape their enemies by a hair's breadth. Too many clichés. Halfway through the book I dropped out. I'm sure the boy will come of age, become a worthy member of the secret society and revenge his mother in due time. But I won't be around to read it.
obscene_jack's review against another edition
5.0
Rereading it was a wonderful experience, and it very clearly reminded me why Jim Doge is one of my favourite authors, even though Much Stone, Such Junction is not my favourite book written by him.
It just grabs you and drags you (with your permission, or possibly without) through itself, constantly surprising you, raining on you colourful people for whom you immediately open all the doors into your heart, a spirit of America so quirky and beautiful you can't help but fall in love with it, and things that are so right they make you want to cry.
This is a magical realist work, an alchemical thriller, a beautiful road book. This is a story from the man who knows a lot of things and knows how to tell them. This is a story about what's right, and what makes life worth living.
On the other hand, there's one thing that irks me a little.
It's clearly divided in the middle, and the parts don't exactly fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle you manage to insert into each other with a little force, and the picture just doesn't add up. When you look at the bare bones of the story in your head, it feels fine, but the execution lacks things. And nope, didn't guess, all the plotpoints are interesting and worthy, it's just it begs for more. In the first half of the book the protagonist is learning things, and then the thrillery fast-paced part comes in, and he just doesn't have enough space to use his multiple hard-earned skills. Some padding between the parts could have been an unnecessary distraction, but the situation the protagonist finds himself in just begs to come up with cargo ship loads of interesting things he could have been doing. If anything, it just undervalues the first part, making some awfully interesting things unnecessary to the story.
I partly wish this book made its way into the hands of some greedy tv producer, who would keep the original outline, but milk his new awesome show for additional episodes. Then it would get cancelled, like it happens with all the good shows, and the world would be heartbroken forever. Oh well, at least it'd still have the book.
It just grabs you and drags you (with your permission, or possibly without) through itself, constantly surprising you, raining on you colourful people for whom you immediately open all the doors into your heart, a spirit of America so quirky and beautiful you can't help but fall in love with it, and things that are so right they make you want to cry.
This is a magical realist work, an alchemical thriller, a beautiful road book. This is a story from the man who knows a lot of things and knows how to tell them. This is a story about what's right, and what makes life worth living.
On the other hand, there's one thing that irks me a little.
It's clearly divided in the middle, and the parts don't exactly fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle you manage to insert into each other with a little force, and the picture just doesn't add up. When you look at the bare bones of the story in your head, it feels fine, but the execution lacks things. And nope, didn't guess, all the plotpoints are interesting and worthy, it's just it begs for more. In the first half of the book the protagonist is learning things, and then the thrillery fast-paced part comes in, and he just doesn't have enough space to use his multiple hard-earned skills. Some padding between the parts could have been an unnecessary distraction, but the situation the protagonist finds himself in just begs to come up with cargo ship loads of interesting things he could have been doing. If anything, it just undervalues the first part, making some awfully interesting things unnecessary to the story.
I partly wish this book made its way into the hands of some greedy tv producer, who would keep the original outline, but milk his new awesome show for additional episodes. Then it would get cancelled, like it happens with all the good shows, and the world would be heartbroken forever. Oh well, at least it'd still have the book.
evie5120's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
xton's review against another edition
2.0
Reminded me of the Celestine Prophecy in a rather unflattering way. Even before magic entered the picture, the characters, the situations, and the overuse of coincidence made the whole thing feel like a utopian fantasy. That wouldn't have been as bad if Dodge had embraced the absurdity of things to a greater degree (see: Tom Robbins). Instead, it just felt cheap and lazy.
That said, the book had its moments. Daniel's childhood was engaging, if improbable, and the first third of the book was hard to put down.
Also, is it just me or did the one good line ("I used my imagination") from The Limits of Control (Jarmusch) come from this book?
That said, the book had its moments. Daniel's childhood was engaging, if improbable, and the first third of the book was hard to put down.
Also, is it just me or did the one good line ("I used my imagination") from The Limits of Control (Jarmusch) come from this book?
thewargrave's review against another edition
2.0
I feel this book went nowhere slowly. The characters had no...character. The plot meanders into seemingly pointless cal de sacs, and ends on a fizzle that borders on "it was just a dream".
gloria_robb's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
emilyschroder1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0