72 reviews for:

The Erstwhile

Brian Catling

3.93 AVERAGE

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a lesser work. That which precedes this one is so much more: more dynamic, more fluid, more mysterious, more ethereal. And this? The ingredients are present and even familiar. There are hints, vague tastes of the previous, scenes and characters we clamor to know more about, our appetite whetted, tongues whisking our lips waiting to once again delve into the strange beauty of Catling's world. But, alas. We are disappointed. The flavor is all wrong. Undercooked or overexposed. Perhaps both. This is a story that rushes through to its end and feels rushed in every possible way striving for a purpose that is never really known. There is no magic here. It is gone. It is almost (almost) perfunctory. We want the bizarre, the strange and the wonderous words and lyrical narrative of The Vorrh. Instead, the Erstwhile, at its best, is a bridge, a modestly accommodating bridge to the (hopeful) return waiting for us at this tale's end.
adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
hashtag_alison's profile picture

hashtag_alison's review

2.0
adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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: Yes

There we go second novel down. I've been moving slower because I've been planning my NaNoWriMo novel and it's really taken over my mind.
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With the second novel I felt it was a lot more engaging. Ishmael is back again and is such a grim and weathered version of himself. I didn't like him as much in this one but I think that added to my enjoyment of the story somehow. He seemed much more a part of and apart from the world around him because of his morose personality.
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Layers of dark and mysterious things build and build and by the end are still building into what I assume will be a fulfillment of the story in the third book. At times I was frustrated, but I think that's down to my own petulance and impatience. I've resolved to never embark on writing a conventional trilogy. One that must be read in order. Never say never, but I do like a novel to stand alone even if it is part of a larger piece.
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By the end I was still just as amazed by the style of the writing. It swished about. The novel is more like the disarray of a studio space than a painting itself. It meanders around moving focus to highlight one scrumptious facet at a time. The reader builds the painting and the larger picture of things, I think. Which makes the whole experience a balance between reader and writer which I think is masterful. In short, you won't like this one if you don't like working as a reader.
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Mythic, scriptural, spectral. Splendid. It shares a symbolic shelf with the likes of Frankenstein, The Bible, Blake and Dante.

Brilliant as usual! Fantastical, absurd and absolutely brilliant as usual!