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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This book killed my willingness to read for almost a year. I couldn't get through it no matter how hard I tried.
I used to read a lot but then stuff happened so I called it quits. Having fallen in love with the original movie and prequel show on Netflix, I decided to give it a go. I mean, what better way to start reading again than by starting with something you love?
Oh, boy was I wrong. I know the franchise has trouble with canon with some things being said in the comics not being true in the show or movie or vice versa so I was absolutely willing to see it as its stand alone universe. But this book is just so boring. So boring that I clawed my way through it and felt cheated near the end as wasting my time royally. I didn't pick up a book until January 2021 and it's because of this novel.
I'll try to voice my opinion a little bit as just slamming things is easy;
Having watched the show first didn't do me any favors. This novel is basically a retelling of the Netflix show but more boring, padded and with nothing actually happening. This book almost demands that you have knowledge of the franchise otherwise you're out of luck. They don't explain anything and I missed some words in the glossary at the end too. This is confusing. Especially since these books are aimed at a younger audience. So it doesn't work as a stand alone series.
The characters fall flat. Nothing about them just speaks to me in a way that I can say that I enjoyed. I know the later books have skekLi and skekSa, two skeksis not seen in the movie or show but I heard that even they play second fiddle to the gelfing. Seeing as they are the main villains and barely appear in the books, this is a chance really missed. I know these books are about the gelfing and I don't fault them for that but seeing how little the main bad guys show up is jarring.
The book is just so boring. It takes them forever to get somewhere and then the action is over in half a page. It also follows the generic 'pick me' character trope of a character that is obviously good at what they do but they are crippled by self doubt until they find their voice or talent or whatever and voila; they are suddenly the best. Naia not having her wings yet is a whole plot point but it's rarely explained upon why that's so special. She's twins with Gurjin so that makes him a prince and this is never mentioned in the show? Why didn't their Maudra show up at all if they knew something was up?
It's just a whole mess of the author wanting to write [or being forced to write?] too much but spending too little time on everything, what leaves you is a poorly written boring mess of a book that is too complicated for younger audiences and too simple for [young] adults.
Just read fanfiction, I promise it's 100% times better than this.
I used to read a lot but then stuff happened so I called it quits. Having fallen in love with the original movie and prequel show on Netflix, I decided to give it a go. I mean, what better way to start reading again than by starting with something you love?
Oh, boy was I wrong. I know the franchise has trouble with canon with some things being said in the comics not being true in the show or movie or vice versa so I was absolutely willing to see it as its stand alone universe. But this book is just so boring. So boring that I clawed my way through it and felt cheated near the end as wasting my time royally. I didn't pick up a book until January 2021 and it's because of this novel.
I'll try to voice my opinion a little bit as just slamming things is easy;
Having watched the show first didn't do me any favors. This novel is basically a retelling of the Netflix show but more boring, padded and with nothing actually happening. This book almost demands that you have knowledge of the franchise otherwise you're out of luck. They don't explain anything and I missed some words in the glossary at the end too. This is confusing. Especially since these books are aimed at a younger audience. So it doesn't work as a stand alone series.
The characters fall flat. Nothing about them just speaks to me in a way that I can say that I enjoyed. I know the later books have skekLi and skekSa, two skeksis not seen in the movie or show but I heard that even they play second fiddle to the gelfing. Seeing as they are the main villains and barely appear in the books, this is a chance really missed. I know these books are about the gelfing and I don't fault them for that but seeing how little the main bad guys show up is jarring.
The book is just so boring. It takes them forever to get somewhere and then the action is over in half a page. It also follows the generic 'pick me' character trope of a character that is obviously good at what they do but they are crippled by self doubt until they find their voice or talent or whatever and voila; they are suddenly the best. Naia not having her wings yet is a whole plot point but it's rarely explained upon why that's so special. She's twins with Gurjin so that makes him a prince and this is never mentioned in the show? Why didn't their Maudra show up at all if they knew something was up?
It's just a whole mess of the author wanting to write [or being forced to write?] too much but spending too little time on everything, what leaves you is a poorly written boring mess of a book that is too complicated for younger audiences and too simple for [young] adults.
Just read fanfiction, I promise it's 100% times better than this.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although I adore the Dark Crystal movie, I'm afraid I can't recommend this novel. the world building just isn't there; we're thrown headlong into a Gelfling village with no real explanation about their culture or beliefs, and while bits of exposition come up here and there it's too little and too slow. It's a shame, because the visuals are amazing; Thra is such a fascinating place and I loved imagining the things Naia was seeing as she travelled along. It's just too slow to explain things, sadly. Hopefully the next book will be better.
Thanks to Penguin Group and Edelweiss for letting me read it.
Thanks to Penguin Group and Edelweiss for letting me read it.
I'll begin with the things I liked about this book. I really enjoyed jumping back into the world of Thra after finishing the Netflix series. It was nice to get the perspective of one of the side characters and their journey in discovering the truth of what the Skesis have done. I also really liked the few pictures that were included, they really added to the story. Now onto what I didn't like. The plot in the beginning moved so slowly. Naia was travelling for at least 100 pages if not more before she reached the castle and Gurjin. There were some obstacles along the way, but I think the story could've moved quicker. The main reason I didn't like the book as much was it didn't follow the Netflix series. At the end of the book when Gurjin dreamfasts with Naia, his memories don't match up with what happens in the show. If you're writing a companion book for a show, at least make it match up with the actual plot. I would have rated it a lot higher if it had done so.
I really enjoyed returning to the world of Thra. I grew up watching 'The Dark Crystal' movie countless times and a few months ago watched first season of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.' So whenever the author described a place or living thing I was able to very easily call to mind very clear images. There were 2 or 3 times where the logic didn't fully flow. Like the Gelflings not knowing what a Mystic was until suddenly they used the word without there being an indication they were told what they were. Due to the large cast of characters, having seen the TV show I think definitely made it easier for me to keep up with and remember who was who - though I did still a few times have to pause and remember details about a specific character.
I also really liked the author's approach to world building. Creatures and objects are brought up casually and ones that are not important are given just enough context for readers to categorize the type of creature or object. And ones that are more important are slower revealed and explained each time they come up again.
I am excited to continue this series.
I also really liked the author's approach to world building. Creatures and objects are brought up casually and ones that are not important are given just enough context for readers to categorize the type of creature or object. And ones that are more important are slower revealed and explained each time they come up again.
I am excited to continue this series.
This book has Ye Olde Prequel Problem — it's all about characters discovering things that the readers almost certainly already know. (And if they don't, because they haven't seen The Dark Crystal, this actually isn't a very good place to start the story, because it takes so much about this world for granted, and explains so little of what readers need to know.) That said, I enjoyed reading it for the way it expands the background and culture of the Gelflings, and the Gelfling perspective on the Skeksis in particular — just the idea of what it would be like being a small, sophisticated race in service to a much physically larger and culturally very different one. It feels well-researched and fully in sync with the movie. I just can't help but wonder if the Gelflings are all going to get Rogue One'd at the end of this series, since the movie tells us they aren't exactly bound for a happily ever after.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I hadn't realised this when I bought the books, but this is the series that the Netflix adaptation was based on. The narrative in this book was sufficiently different to the series that I didn't feel like I knew what was going to happen next, with a different set of main protagonists to the TV series.
This was clearly written as part one of a set of books, and unfortunately that stands against this book as an individual entity. The vast majority of the book is setting up characters and situations, which wouldn't be a problem if it were the start of a longer book, but the narrative basically cuts off at the first major reveal ().
I liked that we had a strong female character as the main protagonist during this novel; the author also built well on the world of the original film, and remained faithful to the lore of the novelisation too (I particularly liked the working in of the word vliya - the life essence as named in the novelisation - into the term vliyaya for various Gelfling magics). I found irksome that the author italicised every instance of non-English words (vliyaya, maudra, bola, etc) in a way that I've not seen in modern sf&f. It was jarring, especially given that the narrative was from the point of view of Gelfling to whom the words wouldn't be unusual.
While I was generally satisfied with the worldbuilding, I think a couple of things felt out of place. Firstly was the deification of Aughra. While this may have been hinted at in the original film, it wasn't something I'd picked up on and I certainly didn't think it needed to be made so explicit in these novels. Secondly, I struggle to understand how the Gelfling could have been so factionalised along sub-species lines, when dreamfasting allowed instant empathy between all creatures. The TV adaptation touched a little on this; I hope we see at least some clues of how clans were turned against each other during the rest of the book series.
As a lovely bit of extra material, the illustrations provided every few chapters for key narrative moments were beautiful.
Overall, a good book as the introduction to a series, but doesn't stand on its own.
This was clearly written as part one of a set of books, and unfortunately that stands against this book as an individual entity. The vast majority of the book is setting up characters and situations, which wouldn't be a problem if it were the start of a longer book, but the narrative basically cuts off at the first major reveal (
Spoiler
that the Crystal of Truth has been corrupted and the Skeksis are draining Gelfling and Podlings - the first episode of the Netflix series was essentially an expansion of the dreamfast memories in the final couple of chaptersI liked that we had a strong female character as the main protagonist during this novel; the author also built well on the world of the original film, and remained faithful to the lore of the novelisation too (I particularly liked the working in of the word vliya - the life essence as named in the novelisation - into the term vliyaya for various Gelfling magics). I found irksome that the author italicised every instance of non-English words (vliyaya, maudra, bola, etc) in a way that I've not seen in modern sf&f. It was jarring, especially given that the narrative was from the point of view of Gelfling to whom the words wouldn't be unusual.
While I was generally satisfied with the worldbuilding, I think a couple of things felt out of place. Firstly was the deification of Aughra. While this may have been hinted at in the original film, it wasn't something I'd picked up on and I certainly didn't think it needed to be made so explicit in these novels. Secondly, I struggle to understand how the Gelfling could have been so factionalised along sub-species lines, when dreamfasting allowed instant empathy between all creatures. The TV adaptation touched a little on this; I hope we see at least some clues of how clans were turned against each other during the rest of the book series.
As a lovely bit of extra material, the illustrations provided every few chapters for key narrative moments were beautiful.
Overall, a good book as the introduction to a series, but doesn't stand on its own.