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samwreads's review against another edition
2.0
I came into this book with huge expectations, for some reason. This is rarely a good idea, but in this case positive critical and reader reviews from people I respect had me thinking it would be some sort of modern Dhalgren/New Sun/Heart of Darkness hybrid with amazing language and dense, beautiful language and plotting.
Indeed, the first chapter is amazing and I love it and if I were looking at the book on a store shelf and deciding whether to buy, and read the first few pages I would be sold instantly. It is so weird and new and creative and fit perfectly into the sort of expectations I had built myself.
From there, unfortunately, it's all pretty much downhill. Not steeply downhill, but slowly and steadily. Indeed, I felt the language and tautness of writing overall declined throughout the book. In the beginning Catling has a really interesting continuity in metaphor and description (I noticed it manifesting primarily in velocity-based descriptions) that declines and decays as the book wears on. What is left after the wonderful strangeness of the beginning fades is somewhat conventional fantasy writing and characters, an interesting world that is discovered largely through exposition, and questionable representation of women and minority characters. It's hard for me to tell how much of this last issue is intentional, as we see the world through its cadre of primary characters whose early 20th-century colonial setting would seem to carry some baggage.
Whatever the case, I think "The Vorrh" is worth a read if you enjoy fantasy and are looking for a creative and strange new world. I just think it is highly flawed and fails to transcend its genre in any meaningful way.
Indeed, the first chapter is amazing and I love it and if I were looking at the book on a store shelf and deciding whether to buy, and read the first few pages I would be sold instantly. It is so weird and new and creative and fit perfectly into the sort of expectations I had built myself.
From there, unfortunately, it's all pretty much downhill. Not steeply downhill, but slowly and steadily. Indeed, I felt the language and tautness of writing overall declined throughout the book. In the beginning Catling has a really interesting continuity in metaphor and description (I noticed it manifesting primarily in velocity-based descriptions) that declines and decays as the book wears on. What is left after the wonderful strangeness of the beginning fades is somewhat conventional fantasy writing and characters, an interesting world that is discovered largely through exposition, and questionable representation of women and minority characters. It's hard for me to tell how much of this last issue is intentional, as we see the world through its cadre of primary characters whose early 20th-century colonial setting would seem to carry some baggage.
Whatever the case, I think "The Vorrh" is worth a read if you enjoy fantasy and are looking for a creative and strange new world. I just think it is highly flawed and fails to transcend its genre in any meaningful way.
jwanz86's review against another edition
3.0
It’s aight! It was an interesting creative endeavor of dark historical fiction. I had some trouble following the different storylines and their interconnectivity but midway through I fell more into a rhythm with some of the characters. I think I hoped for more perspective from the African characters. This story definitely did a great job world building, playing with religious concepts in such a way that sparked some new ideas for my own work.
But also like, soooo much genitalia talk in this book. Ishmael is likely the most intriguing character of those in the book, with the dynamic between Ghertrude and Cyrenaica as a close second.
But also like, soooo much genitalia talk in this book. Ishmael is likely the most intriguing character of those in the book, with the dynamic between Ghertrude and Cyrenaica as a close second.
daisie21's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bjorrdan's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
pep_puterova's review
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
0.25
One of the worst books I've ever read. I've somehow sunken-cost-fallacied myself into finishing it and I regret the whole thing.
I'm not going to write a full review because I've wasted enough time on this book already, and if I were to list everything I hated about it, we'd be here for a long time.
I'm not going to write a full review because I've wasted enough time on this book already, and if I were to list everything I hated about it, we'd be here for a long time.
angele16's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
artsy_typea's review against another edition
2.0
I was really intrigued by the setting of this book and it started out with a storyline I thought would progress into something more captivating. Instead this reads like several short stories that are all shuffled together and happen to occur in the same town/region. There were several subplots that didn’t seem to have much of a resolution, historical figures that were woven into the narrative for seemingly no reason, and just enough magic for this to be considered a fantasy. I felt like nothing really happened in this book and overall feel pretty ambivalent to it now that it’s finished.
holli1al's review against another edition
3.0
I'm ultimately unsure how I feel about this book. At times I marveled at its unique prose and its vast creativity. It is certainly different than any other book I have read. However, it did feel as if the author tried to pursue too many unrelated threads. I can see that this might have been its purpose: like the Vorrh itself, the plot of the text is undefinable, and rather than pursuing a single purpose, it is moreso an infinite experience. After 500 pages, though, I did find myself asking "So what?" At times I also became irritated by the writing style. As mentioned, the prose can be startlingly unique and beautiful, but it can also feel contrived and overdone. There's something to be said about simplicity--I definitely feel that if the prose had been pared down here, it would have allowed the really beautiful lines to shine.