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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book isn't as good as the previous one, which is disappointing. It's a lot more confusing, for one - not as complicated but more...muddled. It very much feels like the middle book in a trilogy, which I'm pretty sure it is, even though I can't find any information about the final book, if it does indeed exist. I hope it does, because this one ends on a very bleak note, and I wanted it fixed! It seems almost all of the characters are dead, and I can't believe that could be true. Or perhaps I just don't want it to be true. Either way, I hope there is another book, because if this is the end it's very dark and depressing and unfinished.
Like [b:The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters|44930|The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters|Gordon Dahlquist|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170271749s/44930.jpg|292054], I devoured The Dark Volume. Since (or because of) Glass Books, Dahlquist's prose has become more polished and his plot-lines more controlled. But control comes at a price: Dark Volume doesn't reach Glass Books's level of jaw-dropping imaginative recklessness. Dahlquist's over-fondness for italics continues unabated, and, as one of the great joys of Glass Books was the curious alliance of Temple, Svenson, & Chang, only having them appear on-page together for about 1/10th of a 500+-page book was disappointing. However, the continued development of the Contessa's character and the further machinations of the Cabal, as well as Dahlquist's unerring sense of pacing make this another gripping read.
UPDATE: Aug 2023
3 stars?? What was 2016-Rae thinking?
Holy unnecessary sequel, Batman!
Was 2016-Rae so distracted by the thought of Xonck's blue glass schlong that she let go of her inner literary critic??
Was she so desperate to love this that she was willing to overlook all its glaring flaws?
This was so long-winded and confusing that by the end I just didn't want to pick it up. Which is sad because Glass Books is one of my favourite books of all time.
I'm not going to change the rating, because 2016-Rae enjoyed it. 2023-Rae is an easily-addled, over-exhausted curmudgeon.
It'll take more than some swirly purple glass ornamental genitals to impress 2023-Rae!
Please let the 3rd instalment be better... I'm going to read it this time. Promise.
ORIGINAL 2016 REVIEW BELOW
I loved the glass books of the dream eaters. It didn't need a sequel. I knew it didn't need a sequel. I was expecting this to be tosh.
Halfway in, I was re-immersed in the world and enjoying it, despite some rather atrocious similes, sloppy sentences and the sense that this was more of the same.
I find it very difficult to dislike the way Dahlquist writes. Being generally quite picky in my prose, there is lots to complain about. I love words though. I love over-the-top metaphors, words plucked from the thesaurus and lots of detail. I'm not saying it's clever, but it has appeal.
By the end, the scenery blurred, it became easy to lose track of who was poisoned by what, who was shooting who, who was still alive... Although Dahlquist does a good job of recapping, it's easy to get lost in the layers and layers of superfluously detailed plotting.
It's a shame because for the first part, it seemed like the narrative had been somewhat streamlined. The info-dumping showdown at the end caused more stress than excitement though and for the final third, it dragged. For some reason some of the later settings were a lot trickier to visualise than the pseudo-Victorian city, the warped cathedral, the rustic outposts and majestically gothic Harschmort. Perhaps a bit of trimming and tinkering could have licked it into shape, but I'm not left with the same feeling of pure literary pleasure that I got with the first one.
There just wasn't enough here to keep it fresh. The first instalment was a stonking 800+ pages. IT DIDN'T WARRANT A SEQUEL. You can only drag a single story so far without it stagnating.
Am I going to read the third one? Hell yeah, I am. Will it be a cracking disappointment? I'm going to guess yes.
The three star rating reflects my frustrations. I still love he steampunk-esque world, the colourful characters and the sense of adventure and intrigue - it resonates with me a lot more than some other books I've rated three stars. I am feeling very crabby with it, however and it wouldn't be fair for me to give it any more. Even if I did like the idea of a naked man made of fluid blue glass.
3 stars?? What was 2016-Rae thinking?
Holy unnecessary sequel, Batman!
Was 2016-Rae so distracted by the thought of Xonck's blue glass schlong that she let go of her inner literary critic??
Was she so desperate to love this that she was willing to overlook all its glaring flaws?
This was so long-winded and confusing that by the end I just didn't want to pick it up. Which is sad because Glass Books is one of my favourite books of all time.
I'm not going to change the rating, because 2016-Rae enjoyed it. 2023-Rae is an easily-addled, over-exhausted curmudgeon.
It'll take more than some swirly purple glass ornamental genitals to impress 2023-Rae!
Please let the 3rd instalment be better... I'm going to read it this time. Promise.
ORIGINAL 2016 REVIEW BELOW
I loved the glass books of the dream eaters. It didn't need a sequel. I knew it didn't need a sequel. I was expecting this to be tosh.
Halfway in, I was re-immersed in the world and enjoying it, despite some rather atrocious similes, sloppy sentences and the sense that this was more of the same.
I find it very difficult to dislike the way Dahlquist writes. Being generally quite picky in my prose, there is lots to complain about. I love words though. I love over-the-top metaphors, words plucked from the thesaurus and lots of detail. I'm not saying it's clever, but it has appeal.
By the end, the scenery blurred, it became easy to lose track of who was poisoned by what, who was shooting who, who was still alive... Although Dahlquist does a good job of recapping, it's easy to get lost in the layers and layers of superfluously detailed plotting.
It's a shame because for the first part, it seemed like the narrative had been somewhat streamlined. The info-dumping showdown at the end caused more stress than excitement though and for the final third, it dragged. For some reason some of the later settings were a lot trickier to visualise than the pseudo-Victorian city, the warped cathedral, the rustic outposts and majestically gothic Harschmort. Perhaps a bit of trimming and tinkering could have licked it into shape, but I'm not left with the same feeling of pure literary pleasure that I got with the first one.
There just wasn't enough here to keep it fresh. The first instalment was a stonking 800+ pages. IT DIDN'T WARRANT A SEQUEL. You can only drag a single story so far without it stagnating.
Am I going to read the third one? Hell yeah, I am. Will it be a cracking disappointment? I'm going to guess yes.
The three star rating reflects my frustrations. I still love he steampunk-esque world, the colourful characters and the sense of adventure and intrigue - it resonates with me a lot more than some other books I've rated three stars. I am feeling very crabby with it, however and it wouldn't be fair for me to give it any more. Even if I did like the idea of a naked man made of fluid blue glass.
This is a sequel to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters and don't let the beginning of the book convince you otherwise. The book starts where the last one left off, includes the same protagonists and most of the same antagonists as the original struggling over the same thing.
It's delicious in the same way the original was. It has wonderful descriptions. The story is still told from the 3rd person omniscient focused on one of the three protagonists in turn. And there continue to be some interesting mysteries.
That being said, it ends on a cliffhanger. I think it's even more of a cliffhanger than the first book which could have been said to be fairly complete on it's own.
This is the first book I read on Precious (my nook) and I loved it.
It's delicious in the same way the original was. It has wonderful descriptions. The story is still told from the 3rd person omniscient focused on one of the three protagonists in turn. And there continue to be some interesting mysteries.
That being said, it ends on a cliffhanger. I think it's even more of a cliffhanger than the first book which could have been said to be fairly complete on it's own.
This is the first book I read on Precious (my nook) and I loved it.
Read my review on my blog:
http://www.50ayear.com/2012/08/14/21-the-dark-volume-g-w-dahlquist/
http://www.50ayear.com/2012/08/14/21-the-dark-volume-g-w-dahlquist/
The sequel to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, I was actually pretty disappointed in this book. It was too similar to the first book, and I was unhappy with the ending. I'm hoping for a third in the series to make me feel better.
I don't think it's ever possible for a sequel to live up to it's predecessor. The comfort of returning to characters that are old friends is a double-edged sword - knowing them as you do they can't possibly be as interesting as when you first met them. There's also the tedium of referring back to the original to jog your memory as to what happened and tie it to the current plot. Contrary to what all of this might imply, I really enjoyed this book, especially the final third when things really got cooking. The villains are dastardly and the good guys have dark secrets of their own. The finale is a mix of unexpected alliances and a cliffhanger ending that makes me glad I waited until the 3rd in the series was released before reading this one.
Whew! What a breathless ride!
Even though this story feels like a breathless dash through many twists and turns, I do think this book suffers from middle book syndrome. It felt a little slow and pointless in the first half, and then a little meandering in the second. That might seem paradoxical given how fast the situation changes constantly for each character, but it did feel like there was less of a guiding storyline than in the first. Still, once again, we are treated to so many evocative settings, it's so easy to just feel like I'm right there seeing it all unfold.
This was a first read and I think my anxiety spoiled some of the pleasure for me because I was worried about the characters. I know, I shouldn't worry because whatever happens, within a few pages the situation has flipped again. Still, I so want our characters to come out whole, themselves, and pretty please, Chang with Celeste :)
I do love our three main characters. Although again, Svenson is my least favourite. I like his empathy and caring, decent nature, he just sometimes lacks the spark the other two have. Celeste's savage nature and Chang's nonchalant power are so satisfying to read. I am a little irritated at all the references to Celeste being overcome by the feelings from the first glass book. I hope there will be a logical conclusion to this, and it's not just depicting her as a crazy nympho for the sake of it, that would be cheapening her.
Also I think one of the great strengths of the first book was the interaction between their little team, and them attempting to work together. It gave a little hope in the midst of the relentless danger and tension. I missed that a lot in this book, the three only meet up again at the end. I know it is necessary to separate them to advance the story but I wished they would also meet up and have some fun interactions before going their separate ways again. This criss-crossing was part of the appeal of the first novel.
I enjoyed seeing the characters spend more time with the villains though and get to know them more as people. At times I was worried at how sympathetic I was beginning to feel for these loathsome individuals!
Another slight irritation is seeing Eloïse misspelled throughout the book. An editor should have caught that. If you're not sure about the proper placement of the accents, just don't use any at all. It took me a while but I finally noticed the reference to Abélard and Héloïse, the young medieval nun and her tutor who became lovers. That story didn't end well and so I was wondering throughout the book if the author wanted to echo that or subvert it.
I have to say, something the author has done in both books so far is have an absolutely spectacular ending. Both times, the characters all came together for utter madness and chaos completely beyond anything I expected. I did guess the "twist" this timeI guess Game of Thrones has really made that particular twist part of pop culture but the events at the end definitely surprised me! I have no idea how things will be once dust has settled. What a striking ending, the kind where the images of the setting and the events stick with you.
I hope the third book can be a fitting ending to this crazy wild mess of a story :) So far it's been a lot of fun! These books are just so entertaining and I can't understand why they haven't had more success.
Even though this story feels like a breathless dash through many twists and turns, I do think this book suffers from middle book syndrome. It felt a little slow and pointless in the first half, and then a little meandering in the second. That might seem paradoxical given how fast the situation changes constantly for each character, but it did feel like there was less of a guiding storyline than in the first. Still, once again, we are treated to so many evocative settings, it's so easy to just feel like I'm right there seeing it all unfold.
This was a first read and I think my anxiety spoiled some of the pleasure for me because I was worried about the characters. I know, I shouldn't worry because whatever happens, within a few pages the situation has flipped again. Still, I so want our characters to come out whole, themselves, and pretty please, Chang with Celeste :)
I do love our three main characters. Although again, Svenson is my least favourite. I like his empathy and caring, decent nature, he just sometimes lacks the spark the other two have. Celeste's savage nature and Chang's nonchalant power are so satisfying to read. I am a little irritated at all the references to Celeste being overcome by the feelings from the first glass book. I hope there will be a logical conclusion to this, and it's not just depicting her as a crazy nympho for the sake of it, that would be cheapening her.
Also I think one of the great strengths of the first book was the interaction between their little team, and them attempting to work together. It gave a little hope in the midst of the relentless danger and tension. I missed that a lot in this book, the three only meet up again at the end. I know it is necessary to separate them to advance the story but I wished they would also meet up and have some fun interactions before going their separate ways again. This criss-crossing was part of the appeal of the first novel.
I enjoyed seeing the characters spend more time with the villains though and get to know them more as people. At times I was worried at how sympathetic I was beginning to feel for these loathsome individuals!
Another slight irritation is seeing Eloïse misspelled throughout the book. An editor should have caught that. If you're not sure about the proper placement of the accents, just don't use any at all. It took me a while but I finally noticed the reference to Abélard and Héloïse, the young medieval nun and her tutor who became lovers. That story didn't end well and so I was wondering throughout the book if the author wanted to echo that or subvert it.
I have to say, something the author has done in both books so far is have an absolutely spectacular ending. Both times, the characters all came together for utter madness and chaos completely beyond anything I expected. I did guess the "twist" this time
I hope the third book can be a fitting ending to this crazy wild mess of a story :) So far it's been a lot of fun! These books are just so entertaining and I can't understand why they haven't had more success.
Brilliant! Begins in a small fishing village after the crash of the airship. Miss Temple is ill and Chang and Svenson have left to silence the enemies in their path. Brings back a number of characters from the first book. Really enjoyed and looking forward to book 3!