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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Weird and ominous things are happening in the old country. Wizards Prospero and Roger set out to investigate and restore goodness to the world. No matter how creepy things get, the wizards maintain a brave and no-nonsense approach as they use their wits and spells to thwart evil.
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this in a day while slightly sick and in search of slightly creepier reads for october. Honestly enjoyed this book quite a bit. Two older wizards go on an adventure to try and put a stop to a strange evil that is somehow connected to the mc's past. Very soft magic system and the wizards are at times bumbling. Whimsical, and a bit shallow in the best sort of way--it's a short book, and very little goes in to "world building"--we learn what we need to as events go along, and that's enough. It's apparently an homage to Tolkien, and it was very much in the same vein as the Tom Bombadill section of Fellowship--absurd at times and unexplained, but very delightful all the same. It also reminded me a lot of Howl's Moving Castle, ala it being half fantasy world, half vaguely historical Europe/Britian, with the characters able to travel between worlds and seemingly through time, though this is only referenced vaguely and has no real impact on the story. Toes the line of humor and creepiness at times, it scratched the same unsettling environment itch that the Spooks Apprentice did. The world may be fantastical, but the horrors are real, and seem to be around every bend. (not sure i would go so far as to classify this as "horror," tho) the conflict is wrapped up whip-lashingly fast, with no real confrontation of the villain, but what with the overall strangeness of the book, didn't necessarily come as a big surprise, and didn't bother me.
3.5 This is a delightful little fantastical romp. I wanted a little more heft to it, though, to push it to 4 stars.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a short book and a quick read, but in the end felt a bit too slight for me. I loved the overall ambience of the book and there are some very nice set pieces of creepy magical goings-on, but I needed more information about the world and the characters. Lots of things happen but I was never entirely sure why or how.
DNF at 16%
Not bad or anything, just a little too jovial/middle grade for my taste rn
Not bad or anything, just a little too jovial/middle grade for my taste rn
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I find it difficult to review or even describe The Face in the Frost simply because I walked away so conflicted. Unfulfilled, you might even say.
Entire thing is kept surprisingly vague beyond the fact that Prospero, our principal wizard protagonist, lives at his summer home and one day things just start acting weird as if he's being targeted by some unseen force. I'm talking feeling of being stalked, shadows dancing in the attic, etc. This seems to coincide with a visitation from his old friend Roger Bacon as he is uncovering knowledge regarding a certain mysterious tome of power. One thing leads to another and two wizards have to run as they try to piece together what could be so important their lives are now in danger.
And now for the good part - most of the novel. No, seriously. After a certain event unfolds at the library our pair initially heads to, Prospero sets out on his own in what, more or less, turns into a narratively expanded travel journal. Beyond a single thread he follows up on the story is kinda put on the back-burner as he visits villages and other locations only to get waylaid by a rival from his past. Entire thing is presented evocatively like a worldly wizard would actually treat such matters. Essentially, it's a soft magic approach where the system itself is never really explained but rather kept vague on purpose. It works wonders because you're engrossed in the events themselves. This pays dividends later on when we get the other half of the other story and it clicks together naturally. Which leads me to...
The parts I sadly did not like. Which would be the main story and the very conclusion. In a way you could say this entire affair was just one adventure in an old wizard's life. You could also say it's inconsequential with dubious stakes and off-screen resolution, and I'd go with latter myself. Even the antagonist with his single-mindedness came off as a token addition even if that very nature of his is used as an excuse for fibbing in the finale. And what a finale it was as story just cuts off abruptly I genuinely thought some of the text went missing. Just when you're about to get an explanation... a drunken mirror yawns.
Entire thing is kept surprisingly vague beyond the fact that Prospero, our principal wizard protagonist, lives at his summer home and one day things just start acting weird as if he's being targeted by some unseen force. I'm talking feeling of being stalked, shadows dancing in the attic, etc. This seems to coincide with a visitation from his old friend Roger Bacon as he is uncovering knowledge regarding a certain mysterious tome of power. One thing leads to another and two wizards have to run as they try to piece together what could be so important their lives are now in danger.
And now for the good part - most of the novel. No, seriously. After a certain event unfolds at the library our pair initially heads to, Prospero sets out on his own in what, more or less, turns into a narratively expanded travel journal. Beyond a single thread he follows up on the story is kinda put on the back-burner as he visits villages and other locations only to get waylaid by a rival from his past. Entire thing is presented evocatively like a worldly wizard would actually treat such matters. Essentially, it's a soft magic approach where the system itself is never really explained but rather kept vague on purpose. It works wonders because you're engrossed in the events themselves. This pays dividends later on when we get the other half of the other story and it clicks together naturally. Which leads me to...
The parts I sadly did not like. Which would be the main story and the very conclusion. In a way you could say this entire affair was just one adventure in an old wizard's life. You could also say it's inconsequential with dubious stakes and off-screen resolution, and I'd go with latter myself. Even the antagonist with his single-mindedness came off as a token addition even if that very nature of his is used as an excuse for fibbing in the finale. And what a finale it was as story just cuts off abruptly I genuinely thought some of the text went missing. Just when you're about to get an explanation... a drunken mirror yawns.