Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

13 reviews

riverofhorton's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

This book was unexpected. I went into it knowing nothing, apart from that it was written by Neil Gaiman, only assuming that a significant in some way. My only concrete expectation was that it would enjoy it, as I have almost all of Neil Gaiman's other books. That expectation was definitely met, and I will be re-reading this in the future. I am a little surprised that this is considered a children's book, it handles some very difficult topics, opening with a description of a man murdering two parents and a child. Thankfully, the murders themselves aren't described, just the moments after the final one. That said, it was an incredibly enjoyable book, following the childhood of a boy growing up in a graveyard with an adoptive family who are all either dead, or on the border between (I took that to mean a vampire). Ironically, I found the ghosts to be more fleshed out than the living characters of various other books by different authors, truly a testament to Gaiman's writing.

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julieyael's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Another fantastic read from Neil Gaiman. 
The characters are well written, the prose is impeccable, and the rythm is steady then it increases in the last chapter. 
It’s a lovely story of coming of age, a little sweet and sour (I shed some tears but I may be a bit sensitive). 
I am not giving 5 only because I wish there was a little bit more to the plot in the end. Some informations are not all revealed. Well, that leaves some imagination for the reader, bit it’s also a tiny bit frustrating. 
Loved it, though. Gaiman is always on top of my favorites writters each year. 


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mreequalsmc2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I want a whole series about my guy Silas

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sterlingreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0


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galexy_brain's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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xosirenox's review

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adventurous emotional fast-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? Yes

5.0


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billyjepma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I can’t believe I’ve gone this long in life not knowing that Neil Gaiman wrote a retelling of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book with ghosts. If that’s not a book tailor-made for me, then I don’t know what is. And now that I've read it and loved every page, it's my contractual obligation to force everyone I know to read it and experience the emotions it gave me when I finished the final chapter in bed last night. An instant, all-time favorite that I might have to start revisiting every October.

Gaiman describes the book as a novel made up of short stories, and the approach works beautifully. Each chapter captures a pivotal experience in the protagonist's childhood, allowing us to watch him grow up without needing to spend 16 years with him. Gaiman's writing is as lovely as ever and expertly balances melancholy with tenders and adventure with scares. It's spooky without being scary, nostalgic without being trite, and is yet another example I can use in my argument that Gaiman's YA-leaning novels are his best works. This is a treasure of a novel. ❤️

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ozreus's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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optimisms's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is lovely. It's dark but witty, heavy but charming. The prose of this story is so beautiful, never unnecessarily flowery or complex but you can tell that each word was chosen with care. The structure of the book is almost an anthology of short stories, but all with the same chronology, setting, and main characters. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that the ending does a great job of tying in most of the previous stories in surprising and entertaining ways. The only things I would change are
I wish we had more information about Silas and what he is. I've seen a lot of people say he is clearly a vampire and maybe I'm just oblivious but that was not at all obvious to me
and
the Danse Macabre. Every other chapter somehow tied into the ending, but nothing from Danse Macabre ever came back or had any impact on the ending
. Other than that, it was pretty much perfect. I would highly recommend anyone who's interested in this book to check out the audiobook, read by the author himself. Gaiman gives a fantastic performance, bringing the story to life in a truly remarkable fashion. It's difficult to decide whether he's a better author or voice actor.

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booksandmo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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