Reviews

Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter

karlaosi's review

1.0

Horribly written and devoid of soul or purpose. The story is all over the place with unnecessary tangents which makes one wonder if there was even an editor looking at this before going into print. Also, the usage of exclamation points on every other sentence was very off putting. The only good thing about this book is the cover on the hardcover edition. A beautiful cover for a terrible book.

ireitlitam's review

4.0

Propsero Lost is a nice addition to a genre that is plagued at times by carbon copies of the same stories. Part fairy tale and part mystery it is well written and the story moved well until the end of the novel. The main character Miranda is interesting in her development. She is not a sympathetic protaganist but her growth is interesting to watch. The world is only hinted at but is much larger than it first appears and I very much will continue reading the series with Prospero in Hell.

magdon's review

3.0

3 1/2 stars. I liked it and i've already requested book #2 from the library but something is holding be back from loving it. Still, original and amusing.

casvelyn's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

middlekmissie's review

4.0

Loved the concept and the way Lamplighter worked it out. Can't wait to read the next one!

Here's my full video review:

http://thebookfix.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/prospero-lost-by-l-jagi/

mgwuh's review

2.0

Interesting interpretations of religion undermined by very strong puritan, gendered, heterosexual values on FULL display. 

bookswithjk's review

slow-paced

3.0

Having reread this book a second time, I took a star off my original rating. The pacing is much slower than I originally remembered, and the constant flashbacks interrupt the overall flow of the story.

Our main character Miranda is a stubborn mortal-turned-immortal who has spent most of her life on the island that she is a true foreigner to the world around her. She is completely fixed in her ways, and you can barely go a few pages without her wishing she had been made a Sybil. 

The chapters concerning Santa Claus seemed entirely out of place. There is constant mention of Greek mythology (even Greek fashion/hairstyles), so the inclusion of something outside of that area - like Santa Claus and the oni and tengu) - feels entirely jarring. 

Still though, this story is enjoyable and lays solid groundwork for the rest of the trilogy. I am hoping the pacing and the plot do pick up in the next two books.

scherzo's review

2.0

Stay away if you love Shakespeare and Tolkien. She tries to ride on their coat tails but leaves muddy footprints and trash. No understanding of characters or ideas. Pedestrian, puerile, trite and banal.

gossamerchild's review

2.0

My lower rating of this book has more to do with the quality of writing than anything else. I highly enjoyed the book, the story, the characters; I simply couldn't get past the overuse of !. Seriously, a chapter should NOT begin with a sentence that has an ! at the end of it. Perhaps this is more of an editorial issue than a writing issue, but it bothered me nonetheless. It read like it was written by a first-time novelist, which Lamplighter was at the time. However, I loved the concept : 500 years after "The Tempest" Miranda and Prospero are still alive, managing a corporation that controls the magical beings all over the world that create all the bad things (volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) we blame on "weather." When Prospero mysteriously disappears, Miranda must track down her 6 siblings to warn them of possible doom. It's clever, with a nice mixture of fantasy and mystery. With a dash of Santa Claus, elves, and a little romance. I've just started reading the second in the trilogy and I only hope for writing that's just a wee bit more put together.