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A review by thegoblinempress
The Conductors by Nicole Glover
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
I received an eARC of The Conductors from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at 21%
I'm so sad to DNF this one because the blurb makes this sound like a novel I would love, but I'm just not feeling it. In some ways I can't help feeling the publisher haven't done the best job here; there were quite a few missing words in the section that I read, so I'm guessing they've sent a very early draft out to reviewers, which, in my opinion, isn't fair on the author. This novel isn't due out until March so there would have been time for them to wait until a later, more polished draft was available. It's very difficult to enjoy a novel for the story at the heart of it when the way it's formatted is an obstacle in and of itself.
This is Glover's debut and I think that's clear from the way she's thrown everything at it. I love the idea of reading about a post-Civil War married couple who were conductors on the Underground Railroad and now solve murders, but this novel was trying to do too much at once. It's historical fiction, but also fantasy, and therefore has elements of alternate history, and a mystery novel and it didn't need to be all of these things. I love historical fantasy but, for me personally, this novel didn't need the fantasy elements and I found the magic system quite confusing and hard to picture. In fact I found a lot of this novel difficult to picture--people and places weren't really described in any detail--and I'm hoping this is something that has been worked on for the book's release. I'm very tempted to borrow this book from the library when it's available and give it another try because I do wonder if the finished book will be easier to read.
There are lots of good things about this book, though. Even though I found the magic system confusing and I'd rather this book hadn't been a fantasy novel, it is interesting! I don't think I've come across celestial magic in a book before. I was also very intrigued by the relationship between Hetty and Benjy because their marriage is one of convenience, but it's clear they care about each other more than they realise and I love seeing that kind of relationship unfold.
Ultimately I kept waiting for this book to grip and excite me and it just didn't. I could feel myself heading for a slump, so unfortunately I'm giving up on it.
DNF at 21%
I'm so sad to DNF this one because the blurb makes this sound like a novel I would love, but I'm just not feeling it. In some ways I can't help feeling the publisher haven't done the best job here; there were quite a few missing words in the section that I read, so I'm guessing they've sent a very early draft out to reviewers, which, in my opinion, isn't fair on the author. This novel isn't due out until March so there would have been time for them to wait until a later, more polished draft was available. It's very difficult to enjoy a novel for the story at the heart of it when the way it's formatted is an obstacle in and of itself.
This is Glover's debut and I think that's clear from the way she's thrown everything at it. I love the idea of reading about a post-Civil War married couple who were conductors on the Underground Railroad and now solve murders, but this novel was trying to do too much at once. It's historical fiction, but also fantasy, and therefore has elements of alternate history, and a mystery novel and it didn't need to be all of these things. I love historical fantasy but, for me personally, this novel didn't need the fantasy elements and I found the magic system quite confusing and hard to picture. In fact I found a lot of this novel difficult to picture--people and places weren't really described in any detail--and I'm hoping this is something that has been worked on for the book's release. I'm very tempted to borrow this book from the library when it's available and give it another try because I do wonder if the finished book will be easier to read.
There are lots of good things about this book, though. Even though I found the magic system confusing and I'd rather this book hadn't been a fantasy novel, it is interesting! I don't think I've come across celestial magic in a book before. I was also very intrigued by the relationship between Hetty and Benjy because their marriage is one of convenience, but it's clear they care about each other more than they realise and I love seeing that kind of relationship unfold.
Ultimately I kept waiting for this book to grip and excite me and it just didn't. I could feel myself heading for a slump, so unfortunately I'm giving up on it.