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A review by jhbandcats
The Nightingale Gallery by Paul Doherty
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A disappointment. Interesting enough story but I had a lot of problems with the way it was written - or (not) edited. Word repetition - for example, the word "squat," which isn't too common in regular conversation, was used twice in the introduction and again later.
There's an opening scene where Friar Athelstan and the coroner Sir John travel through the poorer area of Cheapside. It seems like the author wanted to include everything he'd ever learned about a medieval city
rubbish piles of dead animals and excrement, "stinking streets", women with "plucked eyebrows and white pasty faces," a skeletal woman "crooning over her dying baby,” etc. It just seemed like these descriptions were checked off on a list of examples of medieval life.
Aside from the friar, none of the other characters is remotely likable. Sir John is repellent, an odd choice for a main character who's a good guy. At least there was a cat.
This is the first of a long series but I won't be reading any more.
There's an opening scene where Friar Athelstan and the coroner Sir John travel through the poorer area of Cheapside. It seems like the author wanted to include everything he'd ever learned about a medieval city
rubbish piles of dead animals and excrement, "stinking streets", women with "plucked eyebrows and white pasty faces," a skeletal woman "crooning over her dying baby,” etc. It just seemed like these descriptions were checked off on a list of examples of medieval life.
Aside from the friar, none of the other characters is remotely likable. Sir John is repellent, an odd choice for a main character who's a good guy. At least there was a cat.
This is the first of a long series but I won't be reading any more.