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hayleyham's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
Minor: Xenophobia, Deportation, and Gun violence
hazelmar's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing!! ugh.. now I have to wait til the next book comes out.. TT^TT that's in a few more months.. the anticipation is killing me!! XD
stitchykitch's review against another edition
2.0
I wished I could have loved this book, but of course I say that because I didn't. It was a great adventure story, but I had the hardest time keeping track of 'time,' which, if you've also read the book, you might find ironic.
kiwi_the_cat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kathykekmrs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
l0cal_cem3tery's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
readerjenn's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
2.0
An incredibly intricate, fascinating world with lands existing side by side geographically, but disjointed across time. Explorers, pirates, fantastic people and creatures (the Lachrima! Eep!), "marks" (read: physically determined castes), maps of memories, and a fast-driving, action-packed plot. That being said, I had difficulty believing the characters, visualizing the overly detailed land and cityscapes, and most of all, ignoring the unnecessary interjections of an unnamed narrator voice (especially telling me how Sophia figures out how she looks "wise beyond her years." Come on.). As a first novel, the imagination behind the world-building and plot sequence is applaudable, but I hope the rest of the trilogy further flesh out the characters and remedy the dialogue.
Also, what was with the description of STATUES everywhere? There must be other ways to represent lost civilizations and describe art collections. And the winks. Way too winks from quite a few different older, male, friendly companions. But that brings me back to the more realistic, well-rounded character descriptions.
In sum, imaginative, exciting, but reserving judgment and excitement for the sequels.
Also, what was with the description of STATUES everywhere? There must be other ways to represent lost civilizations and describe art collections. And the winks. Way too winks from quite a few different older, male, friendly companions. But that brings me back to the more realistic, well-rounded character descriptions.
In sum, imaginative, exciting, but reserving judgment and excitement for the sequels.
turrean's review against another edition
2.0
A generation or two before the birth of the book's heroine, the world suffered a terrible catastrophe: time itself came unhinged. Now the continents and countries of our familiar world have changed. The maps at the beginning of the book show that in Boston, it's the 19th century; in Japan, it's the 40th. A cool concept.
However--the book is uneven. It is so intricately plotted, and its world is beautifully crafted. However, the pacing suffers from a surfeit of information. An example is the description of a plant that displays unnaturally fast growth: this takes nearly an entire page. Everyone has a backstory, and everyone wants to tell his or her tale to the point-of-view main character, Sophia. It takes a very long time to get things rolling.
Having made this criticism, it will now seem very inconsistent of me to complain of a lack of detail. But the heart of the tale lies in the making of maps, marvelous maps that incorporate people's memories and convey a fantastic wealth of detail and sensation at the merest touch. But while Grove is happy to give you a long description of a banquet of candy or the life story of a pair of pirate siblings, or two pages of nauseating description of the torture of one of the villain's henchmen, there is little description of how the marvelous maps are created. We are told the process can be perverted; an incidental character near the beginning of the story is sucked dry when his memories are stolen, and the poor henchman is left nearly as badly off. If this is how the baddies do it, how do the good guys do it? Our main good cartographer says people share memories with him. Is it magic? Science? Future technology from somewhere else in the Disrupted world? I didn't get why Boston of the 1880s now had a twenty-hour day, while a city in what in our world would be Mexico has a nine-hour day. How does that work when they're all on the same planet? I also didn't understand how the life watches of the New Occident citizens worked, or the significance of Sophia's ability (or disability?) to become lost in time. The resulting scenes were so confusing.
I imagine the book will be relished by those who like vividly imagined worlds. I, however, made it to around page 330, and found myself too put off by the torture scenes. I skimmed the rest.
However--the book is uneven. It is so intricately plotted, and its world is beautifully crafted. However, the pacing suffers from a surfeit of information. An example is the description of a plant that displays unnaturally fast growth: this takes nearly an entire page. Everyone has a backstory, and everyone wants to tell his or her tale to the point-of-view main character, Sophia. It takes a very long time to get things rolling.
Having made this criticism, it will now seem very inconsistent of me to complain of a lack of detail. But the heart of the tale lies in the making of maps, marvelous maps that incorporate people's memories and convey a fantastic wealth of detail and sensation at the merest touch. But while Grove is happy to give you a long description of a banquet of candy or the life story of a pair of pirate siblings, or two pages of nauseating description of the torture of one of the villain's henchmen, there is little description of how the marvelous maps are created. We are told the process can be perverted; an incidental character near the beginning of the story is sucked dry when his memories are stolen, and the poor henchman is left nearly as badly off. If this is how the baddies do it, how do the good guys do it? Our main good cartographer says people share memories with him. Is it magic? Science? Future technology from somewhere else in the Disrupted world? I didn't get why Boston of the 1880s now had a twenty-hour day, while a city in what in our world would be Mexico has a nine-hour day. How does that work when they're all on the same planet? I also didn't understand how the life watches of the New Occident citizens worked, or the significance of Sophia's ability (or disability?) to become lost in time. The resulting scenes were so confusing.
I imagine the book will be relished by those who like vividly imagined worlds. I, however, made it to around page 330, and found myself too put off by the torture scenes. I skimmed the rest.