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A review by krisrid
Babayaga by Toby Barlow
1.0
I don't mind a little weirdness in a book, I don't even mind a little more weirdness, but this book was over-the-top in its weirdness quotient, and it was just too much for me. I didn't enjoy this.
Without giving spoilers it is a little difficult to be specific about what didn't work for me about this book, but I can say it was fairly gross, not to mention downright bizarre in the the witchy stuff the Babayagas as part of casting their spells. The violence included in the plot was also very bizarre and while I can't say it didn't make sense in relation to the story, it was just too freaky to be enjoyable for me.
I will say that the characters are interesting, and some of them are quite likeable. I did want to find out what happened to them, so while I finished the book, I confess that I skipped large chunks of the book. That was another aspect I didn't care for - WAY too much unnecessary detail. Again, I don't mind details and description if they are necessary and add to the story, but this book could have been 100 pages shorter without taking away from telling the actual story. I found myself more than once going: "Geez! Could we just get to the next plot-point already?!"
This was just too out there for me ultimately. It definitely has some good bones [pun intended!] so if you like really [and I mean REALLY!] weird mythology-esque, Russian folklore-ish freak-shows, this could be right up your alley. Unfortunately, I didn't get it.
Without giving spoilers it is a little difficult to be specific about what didn't work for me about this book, but I can say it was fairly gross, not to mention downright bizarre in the the witchy stuff the Babayagas as part of casting their spells. The violence included in the plot was also very bizarre and while I can't say it didn't make sense in relation to the story, it was just too freaky to be enjoyable for me.
I will say that the characters are interesting, and some of them are quite likeable. I did want to find out what happened to them, so while I finished the book, I confess that I skipped large chunks of the book. That was another aspect I didn't care for - WAY too much unnecessary detail. Again, I don't mind details and description if they are necessary and add to the story, but this book could have been 100 pages shorter without taking away from telling the actual story. I found myself more than once going: "Geez! Could we just get to the next plot-point already?!"
This was just too out there for me ultimately. It definitely has some good bones [pun intended!] so if you like really [and I mean REALLY!] weird mythology-esque, Russian folklore-ish freak-shows, this could be right up your alley. Unfortunately, I didn't get it.