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A review by punkcalf
Shadows of the Dark Crystal #1 by J. M. Lee
1.0
This book killed my willingness to read for almost a year. I couldn't get through it no matter how hard I tried.
I used to read a lot but then stuff happened so I called it quits. Having fallen in love with the original movie and prequel show on Netflix, I decided to give it a go. I mean, what better way to start reading again than by starting with something you love?
Oh, boy was I wrong. I know the franchise has trouble with canon with some things being said in the comics not being true in the show or movie or vice versa so I was absolutely willing to see it as its stand alone universe. But this book is just so boring. So boring that I clawed my way through it and felt cheated near the end as wasting my time royally. I didn't pick up a book until January 2021 and it's because of this novel.
I'll try to voice my opinion a little bit as just slamming things is easy;
Having watched the show first didn't do me any favors. This novel is basically a retelling of the Netflix show but more boring, padded and with nothing actually happening. This book almost demands that you have knowledge of the franchise otherwise you're out of luck. They don't explain anything and I missed some words in the glossary at the end too. This is confusing. Especially since these books are aimed at a younger audience. So it doesn't work as a stand alone series.
The characters fall flat. Nothing about them just speaks to me in a way that I can say that I enjoyed. I know the later books have skekLi and skekSa, two skeksis not seen in the movie or show but I heard that even they play second fiddle to the gelfing. Seeing as they are the main villains and barely appear in the books, this is a chance really missed. I know these books are about the gelfing and I don't fault them for that but seeing how little the main bad guys show up is jarring.
The book is just so boring. It takes them forever to get somewhere and then the action is over in half a page. It also follows the generic 'pick me' character trope of a character that is obviously good at what they do but they are crippled by self doubt until they find their voice or talent or whatever and voila; they are suddenly the best. Naia not having her wings yet is a whole plot point but it's rarely explained upon why that's so special. She's twins with Gurjin so that makes him a prince and this is never mentioned in the show? Why didn't their Maudra show up at all if they knew something was up?
It's just a whole mess of the author wanting to write [or being forced to write?] too much but spending too little time on everything, what leaves you is a poorly written boring mess of a book that is too complicated for younger audiences and too simple for [young] adults.
Just read fanfiction, I promise it's 100% times better than this.
I used to read a lot but then stuff happened so I called it quits. Having fallen in love with the original movie and prequel show on Netflix, I decided to give it a go. I mean, what better way to start reading again than by starting with something you love?
Oh, boy was I wrong. I know the franchise has trouble with canon with some things being said in the comics not being true in the show or movie or vice versa so I was absolutely willing to see it as its stand alone universe. But this book is just so boring. So boring that I clawed my way through it and felt cheated near the end as wasting my time royally. I didn't pick up a book until January 2021 and it's because of this novel.
I'll try to voice my opinion a little bit as just slamming things is easy;
Having watched the show first didn't do me any favors. This novel is basically a retelling of the Netflix show but more boring, padded and with nothing actually happening. This book almost demands that you have knowledge of the franchise otherwise you're out of luck. They don't explain anything and I missed some words in the glossary at the end too. This is confusing. Especially since these books are aimed at a younger audience. So it doesn't work as a stand alone series.
The characters fall flat. Nothing about them just speaks to me in a way that I can say that I enjoyed. I know the later books have skekLi and skekSa, two skeksis not seen in the movie or show but I heard that even they play second fiddle to the gelfing. Seeing as they are the main villains and barely appear in the books, this is a chance really missed. I know these books are about the gelfing and I don't fault them for that but seeing how little the main bad guys show up is jarring.
The book is just so boring. It takes them forever to get somewhere and then the action is over in half a page. It also follows the generic 'pick me' character trope of a character that is obviously good at what they do but they are crippled by self doubt until they find their voice or talent or whatever and voila; they are suddenly the best. Naia not having her wings yet is a whole plot point but it's rarely explained upon why that's so special. She's twins with Gurjin so that makes him a prince and this is never mentioned in the show? Why didn't their Maudra show up at all if they knew something was up?
It's just a whole mess of the author wanting to write [or being forced to write?] too much but spending too little time on everything, what leaves you is a poorly written boring mess of a book that is too complicated for younger audiences and too simple for [young] adults.
Just read fanfiction, I promise it's 100% times better than this.