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branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
This book has many of the same elements that make Galveston so enjoyable. The blending of the magical with the modern has rarely been done better than by Stewart. The writing is fantastic: the language is immaculate, poetic, and atmospheric. The characters and scenes are carefully drawn, along with their context, fitting together like subject and background of a painting. The setting is surreal, and the slow revelations about the characters and their relationships are done brilliantly.
The thing is... the setting and story are so inventive that practically everything that happens is unexpected. I mean, it's understood that the writer (and the characters) know things that the reader doesn't. But the enjoyment from reading a story is the challenge of figuring things out - and I'm afraid the challenge in this case was a bit much for me. It was certainly interesting and creative and even fun to read, but I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the underlying storytelling to lead the reader along.
Anyway, certainly recommended for fans of Stewart's other writing, and for any fantasy readers who don't mind going with the poetic flow and finding out where it leads when it gets there.
The thing is... the setting and story are so inventive that practically everything that happens is unexpected. I mean, it's understood that the writer (and the characters) know things that the reader doesn't. But the enjoyment from reading a story is the challenge of figuring things out - and I'm afraid the challenge in this case was a bit much for me. It was certainly interesting and creative and even fun to read, but I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the underlying storytelling to lead the reader along.
Anyway, certainly recommended for fans of Stewart's other writing, and for any fantasy readers who don't mind going with the poetic flow and finding out where it leads when it gets there.
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