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A review by mackle13
Down to the Bone by Justina Robson
3.0
3.5
I'm sort of torn on this book.
On one hand, I continue to feel that Lila is a relatable and likable character, and there were real moments of pathos and complexity going on. But, on the other, her constant self recriminations and doubts and everything else seem to bog down the story because despite everything that happens it seems like it's the same notes that get played over and over again. (I never felt bored, per se, but there were a few times where I did think we could move along already.)
And then when things did move along they moved along very quickly, and I sometimes had a hard time following what was going on. Part of this is because there's been a 2 1/2 year gap since I read the last book and I'd forgotten a lot of the details. While Robson does a good job and slipping in little reminders of things that happened, I still felt like I was missing a lot of what I was supposed to know.
And then more things kept getting added to the pile of things to keep straight. New characters and philosophies and revelations, oh my. (And there was some of that whole "it would all make so much more sense if the people who generally knew what was going on would actually explain in instead of playing all coy and mysterious", which I generally hate as a plot device, but I let some of it slide in the whole "well, it's in the nature of things elven and faerie to be mysterious bastards", but, still... )
And then everything sort of happened at once and while I was ultimately satisfied with the conclusion (though I thought the epilogue was a bit hokey), I didn't feel as connected to the characters and the story as I did in the beginning.
So it's like on one hand I'm walking away feeling a bit disappointed by the whole thing but, on the other hand, I kind of actually enjoyed it.
Like I said - torn.
One thing is for certain - I definitely want to read this whole series, back to front, at some point in the future. It'll probably be a few years or so before I get to it, but I do think it'll help me not feel so lost half the damn time and I think that could make the experience infinitely more enjoyable.
I'm sort of torn on this book.
On one hand, I continue to feel that Lila is a relatable and likable character, and there were real moments of pathos and complexity going on. But, on the other, her constant self recriminations and doubts and everything else seem to bog down the story because despite everything that happens it seems like it's the same notes that get played over and over again. (I never felt bored, per se, but there were a few times where I did think we could move along already.)
And then when things did move along they moved along very quickly, and I sometimes had a hard time following what was going on. Part of this is because there's been a 2 1/2 year gap since I read the last book and I'd forgotten a lot of the details. While Robson does a good job and slipping in little reminders of things that happened, I still felt like I was missing a lot of what I was supposed to know.
And then more things kept getting added to the pile of things to keep straight. New characters and philosophies and revelations, oh my. (And there was some of that whole "it would all make so much more sense if the people who generally knew what was going on would actually explain in instead of playing all coy and mysterious", which I generally hate as a plot device, but I let some of it slide in the whole "well, it's in the nature of things elven and faerie to be mysterious bastards", but, still... )
And then everything sort of happened at once and while I was ultimately satisfied with the conclusion (though I thought the epilogue was a bit hokey), I didn't feel as connected to the characters and the story as I did in the beginning.
So it's like on one hand I'm walking away feeling a bit disappointed by the whole thing but, on the other hand, I kind of actually enjoyed it.
Like I said - torn.
One thing is for certain - I definitely want to read this whole series, back to front, at some point in the future. It'll probably be a few years or so before I get to it, but I do think it'll help me not feel so lost half the damn time and I think that could make the experience infinitely more enjoyable.