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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
Not my cup of tea, nor did I see the humor that so many reviews mentioned. Ironic at times but not funny.
The writing is very difficult. It is written in an ultra high fantasy style. I may try again later.
There's a lot of world building and creativity in this book even if it sometimes fails to deliver.
i loved the concept, the characters and it was like travelling in a fantastic surrealistic world.
It was fun to read and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
i loved the concept, the characters and it was like travelling in a fantastic surrealistic world.
It was fun to read and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
I thought it was going to be more of a journey. I am donating to the library so I can pick this up again if I decide, but there are more books to read and so little time.
A very unusual and imaginative, if occasionally frustrating, read. Full review at Skiffy & Fanty.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at 43%
The premise of The Alehouse at the End of the World immediately caught my attention. Boasting the underworld (of a sorts), talking birds, and fate, I hoped this would be a sort of Terry Pratchett-esque romp full of funny asides and satire. There definitely are funny asides -- the footnotes were one of the elements of the story I found the most entertaining -- but Alehouse doesn't quite feel like a romp.
The story follows an unnamed fisherman who travels to the Isle of the Dead with the hopes of rescuing his beloved. Things do not go according to plan, partially because the Isle of the Dead has come under new leadership at the hands of the boasting crow. There are lots of references to myths and ancient civilizations that have informed the interesting underworld the author created in Alehouse. A lot of these references went right over my head, but someone who is well-versed in these texts would probably gain a lot more enjoyment from this book.
Perhaps the biggest thing I couldn't get beyond was the treatment of the female characters in this story. It's worth mentioning that things could get better, since I didn't finish the story, but the three female characters lacked the depth and autonomy given to the male characters. These females exist in the book primarily as objects to be coveted by the males. Two out of three perfectly fall into the tropes of doting caregiver and sex object. The fisherman's beloved does have a bit more nuance to herbut the fisherman's aggressive desire to win her back even though she keeps telling him no made me deeply uncomfortable. The male characters are given complex motivations and funny lines of dialogue. The females? Not so much. This only got worse as the book went on and was one of the largest reasons I quit reading.
The Alehouse at the End of the World is by no means a bad book, just one that wasn't for me. I would describe this more as a literary work than a fantastical one, as the fantasy elements don't play a huge role in the story and serve mainly to support the classical-feeling plot. If you really like descriptive writing and references to lesser-known mythology, Alehouse executes those elements well. Overall, this is a character-driven story that has the feel of a classic epic poem rather than a fantasy novel.
DNF at 43%
The premise of The Alehouse at the End of the World immediately caught my attention. Boasting the underworld (of a sorts), talking birds, and fate, I hoped this would be a sort of Terry Pratchett-esque romp full of funny asides and satire. There definitely are funny asides -- the footnotes were one of the elements of the story I found the most entertaining -- but Alehouse doesn't quite feel like a romp.
The story follows an unnamed fisherman who travels to the Isle of the Dead with the hopes of rescuing his beloved. Things do not go according to plan, partially because the Isle of the Dead has come under new leadership at the hands of the boasting crow. There are lots of references to myths and ancient civilizations that have informed the interesting underworld the author created in Alehouse. A lot of these references went right over my head, but someone who is well-versed in these texts would probably gain a lot more enjoyment from this book.
Perhaps the biggest thing I couldn't get beyond was the treatment of the female characters in this story. It's worth mentioning that things could get better, since I didn't finish the story, but the three female characters lacked the depth and autonomy given to the male characters. These females exist in the book primarily as objects to be coveted by the males. Two out of three perfectly fall into the tropes of doting caregiver and sex object. The fisherman's beloved does have a bit more nuance to her
The Alehouse at the End of the World is by no means a bad book, just one that wasn't for me. I would describe this more as a literary work than a fantastical one, as the fantasy elements don't play a huge role in the story and serve mainly to support the classical-feeling plot. If you really like descriptive writing and references to lesser-known mythology, Alehouse executes those elements well. Overall, this is a character-driven story that has the feel of a classic epic poem rather than a fantasy novel.
Alehouse is a fable that charms the reader within the first few pages, encountering a host of bastardly birds along an empty underworld that happens to be a beach. The book spoke to the Pacific Northwest gothic lover within me. I’ll never look at birds the same way again.
One of the most peculiar books I've ever read. I'm not big on mythology or fantasy but I still felt the need to keep reading to see what happened. There were many parts, lines, characters, and images that will stay with you long after reading.
About halfway through this book I stopped following the plot and continued mostly because I was curious to see how many different ways the author could get the birds to have sex. Spoiler alert: its a lot!
There's a lot of world building and creativity in this book even if it sometimes fails to deliver.
i loved the concept, the characters and it was like travelling in a fantastic surrealistic world.
It was fun to read and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
i loved the concept, the characters and it was like travelling in a fantastic surrealistic world.
It was fun to read and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC