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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
I've been rewatching the tv series and wanted to reread the book to compare. Tbh it was even worse than I remembered and quite a lot of the novelty and charm faded over the last 15 years. Quentin is a whiny little shit and Grossman couldn't have him interact with a woman without mentioning her breasts at least once. This is one of the few instances where the tv adaptation far outshines the books.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started this book again with the intent to complete it this time. It's strange how sometimes books feel like a bunch of parts from other books smashed together. This one is like Narnia meets Hogwarts meets every angsty young adult book character. Quentin, the main character, is thoroughly unlikable. Part of what seemed to impress other readers of this book is that the characters do "realistic" stupid things. I'm not sure I appreciated being frustrated by their poor choices throughout the book. The book plods on in the middle, with events that occur being rathet irrelevant to anything that happens in the future. You could easily yank out whole chapters and not miss anything but flavor. The end included a tedious fight between the main characters and the "bad guy", whose badness really had no great background explanation. And the cliffhanger ending was a pretty lousy way to end this book. The writing was great - very descriptive and imaginative - but I expected much more from the plot.
3.8 rounded to 4. The first half was much better than the second IMO. Overall, this book was trying really hard to be more than what it was. But what it was was very good, hence the 4⭐️.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
A very good read. The story is engaging and a completely new interpretation of a magical universe hidden from the rest of the world. The main character was a little self-involved and a bit of whiner. A clear case of be careful what you wish for... Looking forward to the next chapter.
It's "Game of Thrones for Harry Potter" which apparently means
- more depression
- more cynicism
- zero whimsy
- a meandering plot
- an anonymous villain who is dispatched too quickly to be believed
- characters who should be myth and legend are instead treated like third rate guest stars who exist to add 1% more to one of the book's themes and teach the main character (usually) another reason that life is meaningless and you'd might as well stop trying
- zero motivation to continue to the sequel
Despite a few jokes that land well (especially since the audiobook narrator is a 10/10) and a more interesting magic system than HP, I, from the bottom of my heart, cannot recommend.
- more depression
- more cynicism
- zero whimsy
- a meandering plot
- an anonymous villain who is dispatched too quickly to be believed
- characters who should be myth and legend are instead treated like third rate guest stars who exist to add 1% more to one of the book's themes and teach the main character (usually) another reason that life is meaningless and you'd might as well stop trying
- zero motivation to continue to the sequel
Despite a few jokes that land well (especially since the audiobook narrator is a 10/10) and a more interesting magic system than HP, I, from the bottom of my heart, cannot recommend.
I was neutral though out most of the book but the characters had no redeeming qualities at all. The main MMC was horribly unlikable and childish. The book was a mix of adult themes with Narnia and it just didn't mesh well. I found myself dreading reading trying to finish it.