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A review by madiganinwonderland
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
3.0
4.5
This world is such a rich one. I don't know how Mcguire can pack such a strong and developed story into such a small package.
You not only feel for the characters on a personal level, but you can clearly picture the surroundings and what it looks like as the story moves. Such a story, at that.
This was a kind of prequel, and I knew that going in but I didn't think it would be that way the whole way through. Eventually I got used to it and I'm not mad about now knowing as much about Jack and Jill as I did before. I love Jack, of course, and Jill is what she is, but either way this book gave me developed reasonings for feeling this way or that about the characters. They weren't flat.
I don't know if I want to look at the synopsis for the next one quite yet. I think I'd be happy with a sequel or a prequel. We shall see! But if it is a prequel, I hope eventually we would get one for everyone we meet in book one.
I love this world and I'm excited to get more from it. I would recommend this to anyone who loves dark fantasy and a quick read (read each in a day.)
Second read: 3.5
This time around the first half of this book was just really dragging for me, and it's not even that long. I guess remembering this book, I mainly remembered the second half. I didn't realize it took them so long to even find their own door. (I don't consider that a spoiler since this is the second book to a story about magical doors.) And once we were there the narrator basically said "blah blah blah you get the idea" about their time there. If that was the whole point, why didn't we get more? Why did we get so much of their shitty parents and their Grandma especially when they're only so important to the story, not really the main part in the end.
It felt weirdly drawn out in the first half and rushed in the second.
That being said, I do still feel like Jack and Jill were well fleshed out characters for a short story and I did feel for them (though not as much this time).
I don't know, I just didn't enjoy this as much as I did the first time overall.
This world is such a rich one. I don't know how Mcguire can pack such a strong and developed story into such a small package.
You not only feel for the characters on a personal level, but you can clearly picture the surroundings and what it looks like as the story moves. Such a story, at that.
This was a kind of prequel, and I knew that going in but I didn't think it would be that way the whole way through. Eventually I got used to it and I'm not mad about now knowing as much about Jack and Jill as I did before. I love Jack, of course, and Jill is what she is, but either way this book gave me developed reasonings for feeling this way or that about the characters. They weren't flat.
I don't know if I want to look at the synopsis for the next one quite yet. I think I'd be happy with a sequel or a prequel. We shall see! But if it is a prequel, I hope eventually we would get one for everyone we meet in book one.
I love this world and I'm excited to get more from it. I would recommend this to anyone who loves dark fantasy and a quick read (read each in a day.)
Second read: 3.5
This time around the first half of this book was just really dragging for me, and it's not even that long. I guess remembering this book, I mainly remembered the second half. I didn't realize it took them so long to even find their own door. (I don't consider that a spoiler since this is the second book to a story about magical doors.) And once we were there the narrator basically said "blah blah blah you get the idea" about their time there. If that was the whole point, why didn't we get more? Why did we get so much of their shitty parents and their Grandma especially when they're only so important to the story, not really the main part in the end.
It felt weirdly drawn out in the first half and rushed in the second.
That being said, I do still feel like Jack and Jill were well fleshed out characters for a short story and I did feel for them (though not as much this time).
I don't know, I just didn't enjoy this as much as I did the first time overall.