Scan barcode
matt357's review against another edition
4.0
A fun action detective set in a supernatural South Africa. It feel a little YA at times, but thankfully doesn't pull its punches like. A lot of that age range.
It starts with a fairly intesting idea, of the main character and world maybe being the dream of someone from 150 years ago, and to be honest it doesn't waste that idea as would be all too easy to do
This merges in a lot more African creatures than you normally see with this sort oof area, which is great really. It means you can't come at these monsters with any idea of what they do, or how you beat them.
It starts with a fairly intesting idea, of the main character and world maybe being the dream of someone from 150 years ago, and to be honest it doesn't waste that idea as would be all too easy to do
This merges in a lot more African creatures than you normally see with this sort oof area, which is great really. It means you can't come at these monsters with any idea of what they do, or how you beat them.
rynnys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
waqasmhd's review against another edition
3.0
i admit i succumbed to the hype, and the tagline "Neil Gaiman meets Tarantino…" was the driving force. so i had to buy it. a paperback version (which also has a brilliant artwork)
lets start by dissecting the tagline. although it says neil gaiman meets tarantino which means i should feel home reading it, but it's really different from what I would normally read.
I could see why this reference was made and its more on Tarantino side i.e. violence/gore than Neil. it started to feel like Gaiman towards the end when all sort of crazy fantastical things started happening. But it was too much too late.
its a weird book. not bad for a debut. i felt it started strongly and it was fun knowing Baxter, the 16-year old kingpin of the gang Spider who is witty and thinks he has everything sussed out. but when his girl friend Esme is kidnapped, he starts losing sense of reality and the crazy ride begins. its not just Baxter who is not sure of the reality, halfway into the book it gets confusing and hard to keep up with the facts. and this is also the point where i start to lose interest.
without giving anything away, its a fun read but it could have been amazing book had the ending was not so jumbled up.
lets start by dissecting the tagline. although it says neil gaiman meets tarantino which means i should feel home reading it, but it's really different from what I would normally read.
I could see why this reference was made and its more on Tarantino side i.e. violence/gore than Neil. it started to feel like Gaiman towards the end when all sort of crazy fantastical things started happening. But it was too much too late.
its a weird book. not bad for a debut. i felt it started strongly and it was fun knowing Baxter, the 16-year old kingpin of the gang Spider who is witty and thinks he has everything sussed out. but when his girl friend Esme is kidnapped, he starts losing sense of reality and the crazy ride begins. its not just Baxter who is not sure of the reality, halfway into the book it gets confusing and hard to keep up with the facts. and this is also the point where i start to lose interest.
without giving anything away, its a fun read but it could have been amazing book had the ending was not so jumbled up.
birgits_bookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
It's really hard for me to rate that book. I enjoyed it but there was some crazy shit going on in there... Maybe I have to change the rating after a few days, when I had enough time to think about it.
shellyt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zaggeta's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the book. It was an interesting, wacky take on urban fantasy, set in my home of Cape Town. I saw other reviews calling it YA, which is a tag I take exception with at the best of times, as the book contains mature themes and imagery. This isn't a kids book and is far weightier than many YA books.
What really stood out for me was the character development of Baxter from a generally unlikable borderline sociopath to someone trying to do the right thing. I disliked Baxter at the beginning but came to resonate with him as he tried to improve as a person.
The pacing of the book was a bit off. Scenes would rush by and I'd flip a page and not know what was going on because I dozed off for a sentence or two. But this does make for an action-packed read.
I found the dialogue a bit stilted. I struggled to differentiate between many of the characters as they all shared the same manner of speaking. The author didn't shy away from the racial conflict of South Africa, so it wouldn't have hurt to put in some bilingualism in speech to indicate who was speaking. I found the relatively boring dialogue odd as Baxter's inner dialogue is very entertaining and illustrative.
Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy from South Africa. I think it contains a little too much South Africanism to be accessible to foreign readers, but can always give it a shot.
I am not presently sure if I want to read the sequel.
What really stood out for me was the character development of Baxter from a generally unlikable borderline sociopath to someone trying to do the right thing. I disliked Baxter at the beginning but came to resonate with him as he tried to improve as a person.
The pacing of the book was a bit off. Scenes would rush by and I'd flip a page and not know what was going on because I dozed off for a sentence or two. But this does make for an action-packed read.
I found the dialogue a bit stilted. I struggled to differentiate between many of the characters as they all shared the same manner of speaking. The author didn't shy away from the racial conflict of South Africa, so it wouldn't have hurt to put in some bilingualism in speech to indicate who was speaking. I found the relatively boring dialogue odd as Baxter's inner dialogue is very entertaining and illustrative.
Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of urban fantasy from South Africa. I think it contains a little too much South Africanism to be accessible to foreign readers, but can always give it a shot.
I am not presently sure if I want to read the sequel.
_b_a_l_'s review against another edition
4.0
Really loved this.
It is oddly Neil Gaimanesque (as per the tag line) as long as all the inherent beauty and nostalgia that threads through Neil's work has been replaced by pornography and dominatrix spider zombies.
It makes me very VERY happy to read urban fantasy filled with African mythos, set in Cape Town.
"I know I should be freaking out more, but in a way I feel it’s a homecoming. I’ve been bathed in the warm glow of supernatural fantasies ever since I can remember. The fairytales my parents read me as a kid, TV, video games, it all kinda feels like they’ve been preparing me for this moment. It feels somehow natural and the other world, the one with taxes, life insurance, twenty leave days a year, cancer, and the realisation that you’re never, ever, going to be a celebrity, is the shadow, the fantasy and the delusion.
The world is as I always intuited it to be: weird, fractured and full of monsters."
Books like this help keep that dream alive ;)
It is oddly Neil Gaimanesque (as per the tag line) as long as all the inherent beauty and nostalgia that threads through Neil's work has been replaced by pornography and dominatrix spider zombies.
It makes me very VERY happy to read urban fantasy filled with African mythos, set in Cape Town.
"I know I should be freaking out more, but in a way I feel it’s a homecoming. I’ve been bathed in the warm glow of supernatural fantasies ever since I can remember. The fairytales my parents read me as a kid, TV, video games, it all kinda feels like they’ve been preparing me for this moment. It feels somehow natural and the other world, the one with taxes, life insurance, twenty leave days a year, cancer, and the realisation that you’re never, ever, going to be a celebrity, is the shadow, the fantasy and the delusion.
The world is as I always intuited it to be: weird, fractured and full of monsters."
Books like this help keep that dream alive ;)
fractaltexan's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting book that hooked me and had me reading it any chance I could get.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
4.0
I found out about this book after seeing a trailer made to promote the making of a movie. The video was great and I loved the book too. The writing is witty and the setting original. It is a bit confusing though because most books with a 16-year-old protagonist would be considered "Young Adult", but this was so "raw" and brutal that it definitely seemed like it was for adults, except then he cries about his girlfriend problems, which again makes it feel like it's a YA book.
So other than that, the book gets points for strange, funny and dark. Would LOVE to see a full-length movie and will definitely be checking out the next book.
So other than that, the book gets points for strange, funny and dark. Would LOVE to see a full-length movie and will definitely be checking out the next book.
traceybookclub's review against another edition
4.0
"Neil Gaiman meets Tarantino", Percy Jackson meets John Dies at the End