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A review by shanaqui
Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Skyward Inn sounded quite up my street, from the comparison to Ursula Le Guin and the way it sounded... well, quiet and almost domestic. The summary I read mostly just talked about Jem and Isley, and their existence together -- it made it sound like the Stuff Happening was in the past. This is not quite the case, and I should've paid attention to the comparison with Jeff VanderMeer's work as well.
It actually started off well enough, and I plunged into it for 100, maybe 150 pages. I didn't love Fosse's part of the story -- not much that grabs me about a boy sneaking away from school, partially undressing, masturbating to orgasm and then grabbing an axe to chop things, and that was the majority of his story for that time -- but Jem's relationship with Isley intrigued me.
After a certain point, though, things start getting weird. Partly it was just the visuals that I disliked, and partly it was the increasing reliance on Fosse's part of the story. Jem never really manages to get anywhere, and her relationship with Isley is never quite fully explained -- meaning the part that actually intrigued me didn't get off the ground.
I finished it, because I was just curious enough, but it just didn't go somewhere I was interested in. Perhaps I might've been, if I hadn't felt kind of bait-and-switched; it's difficult to say. Some of the visuals still ick me out, so maybe not.
It actually started off well enough, and I plunged into it for 100, maybe 150 pages. I didn't love Fosse's part of the story -- not much that grabs me about a boy sneaking away from school, partially undressing, masturbating to orgasm and then grabbing an axe to chop things, and that was the majority of his story for that time -- but Jem's relationship with Isley intrigued me.
After a certain point, though, things start getting weird. Partly it was just the visuals that I disliked, and partly it was the increasing reliance on Fosse's part of the story. Jem never really manages to get anywhere, and her relationship with Isley is never quite fully explained -- meaning the part that actually intrigued me didn't get off the ground.
I finished it, because I was just curious enough, but it just didn't go somewhere I was interested in. Perhaps I might've been, if I hadn't felt kind of bait-and-switched; it's difficult to say. Some of the visuals still ick me out, so maybe not.