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schwimfan 's review for:
Rotherweird
by Andrew Caldecott
It's interesting reading some of the other reviews on this book. I can see why they are somewhat divided.
On the one hand, the world building is fantastic. The town itself, the idea of the history - it does feel fleshed out and straight out enjoyable. On the other hand, as others have suggested, it does require some suspension of disbelief. Not only in the improbability of such a thing being possible, but maybe moreso in the general acceptance of it by the characters. This doesn't bother me a ton, I can just accept it for what it is, but I do see how others mentioned it. I definitely raised an eyebrow, but nothing more.
I did find some of the characters a little hard to follow - Finch, Fanguin, Ferenson - maybe all a little similar not only in name but in character type so sometimes I found myself pausing to remember who it is we are talking about here.
I also found some of the anagrams to be a bit of a stretch. Maybe it would have been more appropriate to have the devisors of the anagrams reveal them - rather than to have people solve anagrams that are all but impossible. Specifically the Box Calle anagram. But, then again, maybe that is just part of the magic and intelligence of Rotherweird. People there have minds that work differently than ours. But, also then again, maybe I'm being too forgiving here.
All of that said, I loved it. I'm excited to read the next one. The plot unfolds slowly. Most of the fun in the first 2/3 of the book is just enjoying the town. Again, if you're hung up on verisimilitude, it's going to be a little difficult. But if you can accept things for what they are, you'll have a really enjoyable experience. I look forward to the next book.
On the one hand, the world building is fantastic. The town itself, the idea of the history - it does feel fleshed out and straight out enjoyable. On the other hand, as others have suggested, it does require some suspension of disbelief. Not only in the improbability of such a thing being possible, but maybe moreso in the general acceptance of it by the characters. This doesn't bother me a ton, I can just accept it for what it is, but I do see how others mentioned it. I definitely raised an eyebrow, but nothing more.
I did find some of the characters a little hard to follow - Finch, Fanguin, Ferenson - maybe all a little similar not only in name but in character type so sometimes I found myself pausing to remember who it is we are talking about here.
I also found some of the anagrams to be a bit of a stretch. Maybe it would have been more appropriate to have the devisors of the anagrams reveal them - rather than to have people solve anagrams that are all but impossible. Specifically the Box Calle anagram. But, then again, maybe that is just part of the magic and intelligence of Rotherweird. People there have minds that work differently than ours. But, also then again, maybe I'm being too forgiving here.
All of that said, I loved it. I'm excited to read the next one. The plot unfolds slowly. Most of the fun in the first 2/3 of the book is just enjoying the town. Again, if you're hung up on verisimilitude, it's going to be a little difficult. But if you can accept things for what they are, you'll have a really enjoyable experience. I look forward to the next book.