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A review by cupiscent
The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle
2.0
Hmm. HMM. Frankly, I was disappointed with this, but for various reasons I went in really hopeful about it, so perhaps the letting down of my high hopes evens out at not bad really.
My feeling, though, is that the plot lacked power and significance (by which I mean it didn't build itself solidly, or have big damn consequences front and centre keeping one's attention riveted), the storytelling was too caught up in minutiae and justifications (by which I mean there were a lot of little scenes of characters doing little things for little reasons that were too closely explained), and the prose was workmanlike and not sufficiently elevated by its Elizabethan gracenotes.
Mostly, I was just hoping for more - more skullduggery, more magic, more machinations, more breathtaking scope - and mostly this was concerned with theatre and personal issues.
My feeling, though, is that the plot lacked power and significance (by which I mean it didn't build itself solidly, or have big damn consequences front and centre keeping one's attention riveted), the storytelling was too caught up in minutiae and justifications (by which I mean there were a lot of little scenes of characters doing little things for little reasons that were too closely explained), and the prose was workmanlike and not sufficiently elevated by its Elizabethan gracenotes.
Mostly, I was just hoping for more - more skullduggery, more magic, more machinations, more breathtaking scope - and mostly this was concerned with theatre and personal issues.