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lucky_bucket 's review for:
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
by Natasha Pulley
On this episode of Lucky Hates Everything...
A book I really enjoyed and yet I feel it could have been better. No, it should have been better.
The premise and plot are cool and unique. The characters too. The writing is accessible yet fluid and at times, poetic. This is writing that I got lost in, in a good way. I don't think I cringed once at a strange metaphor attempt. The whole comes together in a well-crafted, balanced way. I just kept reading, and that's a story that gets four stars (at least).
And yet, and yet, I can't get past how incredibly selfish all the characters are. It's remarkable, really. They have no qualms whatsoever over using each other, fracturing lives, destroying property, and worse, and yet somehow are depicted as caring (in a way, I suppose) and heroic (erhm...ish?). These aren't typical "flawed" heroes, they're more like reality show self-absorbed nincompoops written as clever and far more socially, legally, and scientifically adept. That's the best way I can describe it. It's like...I cared for them a lot, until they ruined it all in the last 25% of the book. And then it all leads to an ending that was less satisfying than I expected.
Despite my irritation at the characters questionable morals and decision making, I did enjoy the majority of the book. Not perfect, in a very strange sort of way, but well written, and not a plot concept you're likely to see elsewhere.
A book I really enjoyed and yet I feel it could have been better. No, it should have been better.
The premise and plot are cool and unique. The characters too. The writing is accessible yet fluid and at times, poetic. This is writing that I got lost in, in a good way. I don't think I cringed once at a strange metaphor attempt. The whole comes together in a well-crafted, balanced way. I just kept reading, and that's a story that gets four stars (at least).
And yet, and yet, I can't get past how incredibly selfish all the characters are. It's remarkable, really. They have no qualms whatsoever over using each other, fracturing lives, destroying property, and worse, and yet somehow are depicted as caring (in a way, I suppose) and heroic (erhm...ish?). These aren't typical "flawed" heroes, they're more like reality show self-absorbed nincompoops written as clever and far more socially, legally, and scientifically adept. That's the best way I can describe it. It's like...I cared for them a lot, until they ruined it all in the last 25% of the book. And then it all leads to an ending that was less satisfying than I expected.
Despite my irritation at the characters questionable morals and decision making, I did enjoy the majority of the book. Not perfect, in a very strange sort of way, but well written, and not a plot concept you're likely to see elsewhere.