I had listened to this as an audiobook. I'm still unsure of what I think of my experience with audiobooks. I find most of the narrators that I've encoI had listened to this as an audiobook. I'm still unsure of what I think of my experience with audiobooks. I find most of the narrators that I've encountered so far, with the exception of Stephen Fry, to sound like they're reading a book, as opposed to sounding like they're telling a story.
And, also, I tend to listen when I'm walking or driving, and sometimes my mind wanders and I wonder if that lack of always giving an audiobook my full attention is part of the reason why I don't always feel entirely engaged in them.
Is it the book, or is it me?
But then I read some of the 1- and 2- star reviews of this book, and I found that they had some of the same issues that I had, so then I think, maybe it really is the book?
So, anyway... all that out of the way...
First things first, I hated the ending. Just, ugh.
I also didn't love the characters. Some other reviews mentioned not being able to really like Cisco, because he's this weird sort of neglectful parent/manchild, but I also had a hard time liking Doc, who was one of those "I refuse to believe what's happening, even though I literally see it happening, because it's too weird", and I always hate that kind of character. And I also had moments against Jake's wife who was like, why do you have to save the world when there are kids to deal with... and I'm like... 'cause it's the world?
I generally liked Jake, though.
Also, the book feels like a sequel, but it's not. It's like coming into the second half of IT - when the kids who fought the big evil are now adults, and have to fight the evil again. But now they're middle-aged, out of shape, and have kids that need to get to school and all.
Which could be interesting, except it ends up in this weird montage of general malaise instead?
Also, other reviews mentioned the weirdness with the age of the kids. Cisco's kid, Ben, is supposed to be 8, but reads like he's 4 or something. At one point Doc cuts up his food and feeds it to him. Jake's wife talks about Jake not being around to help put the kids to bed... but one of her own kid is a teenager, and the other's not a super lot younger. And Ben is 8. How much help does she need putting a teenager to bed?
As to the big bad - he pretty much seems evil for the sake of being evil. He wants revenge of Cisco & Co for defeating him the first time (or actually second time, 'cause there's also another group of kids who previously defeated him 100 years prior, and they also tie into this story), but aside from the revenge he just wants to break the "web" and destroy things... because?
Basically, it has the setup of an MG story, which might be fine if it was written as an MG story, but the author also wanted it to be a nostalgia fest for kids who grew up in the 80s and are not looking back on it with fondness.
Which sort of takes us to the 'real point' of the story?
This book seems to be more about nostalgia and growing up. Cisco can't "grow up" because he longs for the "simpler?" times of his childhood. See, he's one of the only ones who actually remembers fighting and defeating Deadman's Grin. The town wrote it off as a gas leak (hello Ghostbusters), and even his friends don't really remember. Even Cisco's memories of it are vague and not entirely reliable. (He forgot the magical fox and his "ghost" friend from the first go-around, but remembered the big bad.)
But because he remembers, this somehow prevents him from taking responsibility for his adult life, and his wife leaves him, but apparently has no interest in their son because Cisco takes care of Ben, even though Cisco can hardly take care of himself.
Doc keeps getting on his case for not growing up, but her version of growing up apparently means leaving behind everything that brought you joy, because, apparently, the only way to be a responsible adult is to leave everything behind and be miserable?
At the end, (view spoiler)[it's Cisco's love for Ben which helps him carry on when all seems lost, but then the resolution is to go back in time and defeat Deadman's Grin properly this time (hello Dark Tower), but then Ben disappears, and Cisco swears he'll find a way to get him back, but then Cisco's memories begin to fade again, and the whole thing is dumb. (hide spoiler)]
Anyway -
Could make for a decent movie, but I didn't feel engaged listening to it. Wasn't as much about 80s games as I thought it would be from the book cover or the blurb - except the kids have magical weapons made out of old 80s consoles that Jake made as a kid with magic that's never explained or explored again, to maybe make upgraded weapons? Meh.
I wanted to like this, but it just didn't land for me....more
This Snow White retelling may possibly be one of my favorite reads of the year, and definitely is so far.
Honestly, it's enough of its own snow that asThis Snow White retelling may possibly be one of my favorite reads of the year, and definitely is so far.
Honestly, it's enough of its own snow that aside from some obvious tells, like the MC being called Snow, I might not even have made the connection to the original fairy tale. At least not at the start.
I wasn't aware of the... consternation, I suppose, that seems to exist about this book being a rip off of the Lunar Chronicles - a series which I also really enjoyed. But I think that the stories are different enough, and the idea of a "fairy tale retelling with sci-fi background" isn't exactly a patented story device, so, honestly, just take this story on its own...
All that aside -
There are definitely some aspects of the story which are fairly predictable - not just in the "retelling" aspect, but in the general YA aspect. I mean, you know that things are (view spoiler)[more or less going to work on in the romance angle (hide spoiler)] - and that's probably what I had the biggest issue with in the story. On one hand (view spoiler)[I found myself rooting for the romance, but I must admit that there were some problematic aspects. Not nearly as bad as some YA stories, though, and at least there's no dreaded love triangle. But a relationship that starts off with kidnapping isn't always a bit sketchy. (hide spoiler)]
The interplanetary conflicts could've been moved a bit more to the front of the story telling, imo. I was expecting something a bit more... I don't know, epic, I guess? For an interplanetary war sort of footing going on, it was all rather tame?
Overall, the politics and whatnot takes a backseat to the story of Essie dealing with her life and her choices, and the relationship and issues between Essie and Dane.
So, honestly, this probably only bothered me insofar as I came across this book looking for a sort of space opera, and it's much more focused on the interpersonal and relationship stuff, and less on the interplanetary stuff... which almost comes expected, at this point, with YA novels, but I do think it could've done with just a touch more developing of the worlds and the conflicts.
That said -
I did get caught up in Essie's story, so I'm more trying to temper expectations than anything else. ...more
These are the comments/mini-reviews I posted in the group that I read this with. Overall I'll say that the book is overlong, a lot of the storiUgh.
***
These are the comments/mini-reviews I posted in the group that I read this with. Overall I'll say that the book is overlong, a lot of the stories are overlong and either tedious or mediocre. Also, several of them are set in established worlds and don't do enough to introduce or make people not already familiar with them care about them.
There were a few gems, though:
Imaginary Friends was super predictable and, imo, the writing was pretty bland. 2 stars.
Old Holly - what in the actual fuck? 1 star.
Scale Game - Definite Dragonheart vibes, if written for MG level. I liked the turn it went in the end. Generous 3 stars.
Game of Chance is my favourite so far. It's the first once where I cared about the characters at all, though I was also annoyed with Gerald. Like, why bother (view spoiler)[recruiting her and then never listening? I liked the sort of moral about the focus on little things and the importance of just living. (hide spoiler)] 3.5 stars
Martyr of the Roses - knowing nothing of Kushiel, this didn't do much for me. Too much about politics and religion that I didn't grok or care about behind the basic "the big religion of the people is shockingly corrupt". 2-stars, I guess.
Mudboy was ok, but kinda sad. Backstory to a character in a series I won't read the rest of, so maybe not the best as a standalone story. 2.5 stars
Broken Absolutes - I liked the idea of magical music and resonance and stuff, but I felt like the story was never gonna end. Was a bit surprised at the end - kinda liked the musical lesson as metaphor for life thing. 3.5 stars for the idea, but 2 for execution.
Coach with Teeth what in the fuck did I just read? Did that actually happen? Did he get hit in the head? What in the what. Also, reading about play-by-play baseball is kinda boring. 1.5-2 stars
Keeper of Memory - I dug this one. I was actually invested in the Keepers and the history of this place I knew nothing about, and the twist was pretty cool. I had thought, at one point that (view spoiler)[the girl he encountered was a ghost and he was going to join them after he died. This was even better. (hide spoiler)] 4 stars
Heaven in a Wildflower - I kinda like this one. It was weird, but I thought the idea of (view spoiler)[people creating some kind of cloud they could upload themselves into is cool, and the ability to incarnate from there. Not sure why there are so few women, though it could be a commentary on the boys club nature of Silicon Valley. I felt like the attack bots should be programmed to go after people who hurt them, though, not trying to help them. I also liked the post-post-apocalyptic nature of it. The Silicon Valley people were dicks, though, stopping people from producing naturally - or making it hard, anyway. (hide spoiler)] More sci-fi than a lot of the other stories. 3 stars
Dogs - meh. Bit overwrought in the metaphor department. Might require a trigger warning for some people for (view spoiler)[metaphors for sexual assault (hide spoiler)]. 2 stars
Chapel Perilous - interesting take on the Grail story and the Fisher King. Might be a bit biased because I read the first in this series, and I just don't like Atticus. Still think Oberon's thoughts aren't "doggy" enough. 2.5 stars
Select Mode - At least it's short. Hard to follow without knowing anything of the world, but I'm guessing dystopian from the ending. 1.5 stars
Michael Stein - I thought this was gonna make me sad, but it was actually pretty sweet. I'd like to read more about a (view spoiler)[girl detective for ghost cats and her ghost cat sidekick (hide spoiler)] 3.25 stars
Strange Rain - it was ok, but i think The Thirteenth Tale biased me against stories about twins. I liked the cloud, though. 2.5 stars
Nocturnes - got bored about halfway through and bailed. Zero stars.
Unbowed - too long and I could've done without the (view spoiler)[fridging (hide spoiler)]. Swordplay was halfway decent. 2 stars
In Favour With Their Stars - is pretty decent. I read the first Temeraire book and while I don't think I'll continue to series, I'm enjoying this AU short story version well enough. The ending is total "d'awww" 3.25 stars
River of Souls - I know nothing of the Wheel of Time series, so this story and all the names meant nothing to me. Failure to make a standalone story, 1.5 stars.
The Jester - meh, it was all right but not enough to make me want to go back to that series. 2 stars
The Duel - to say I didn't love the first book of The Magicians would be an understatement, but this short story was pretty decent, especially because I imagined Eliot as the guy from the show, which I actually like and whom I met at a ComicCon and he was super nice. 3 stars
Walker and Shade - Well, that was pointless. Brooks admits it's pretty much just a scene cut from a book. Doesn't even try to stand on it's own. Stupid. Zero stars.
Unfettered Knight - Meh. Interesting idea,s - though nothing particularly original - but I agree with Ala - found the writing kinda boring and predictable. No doubt the witch will end up being (view spoiler)[Morgan le Fay (hide spoiler)]. 2.5 - 3 stars
***
Only stories I'd recommend bothering reading:
Keeper of Memory In Favour With Their Stars (Temeraire) Game of Chance Michael Stein The Duel (The Magicians) Heaven in a Wildflower Scale Game Chapel Perilous...more
So, I heard about this because of the Netflix series, like many people, but I haven't seen the series yet, so this is just based on the book.
I thin2.5
So, I heard about this because of the Netflix series, like many people, but I haven't seen the series yet, so this is just based on the book.
I think it's an interesting concept, but the execution doesn't feel fully fleshed out. The characters are kind of one-dimensional, and the story is jumpy. There seems to be more a series of vignettes rather than a solid plotline.
Maybe if we knew more about the characters, some of their actions and decisions would make more sense, but, as it were, things just seemed to happen because.
There was a bit at the end of the first story which says that each chapter was X number of pages - I think it said 22. I felt like the authors were more concerned about keeping to this selection of page numbers than just taking the time that was needed to fill out the characters and the story...
I've heard that the show fleshes out the characters a bit more, so I am looking forward to that aspect of it....more
I really enjoyed this story. It was definitely on the light side, and the romance was sweet. I loved watching Miles and Tristan's interactions, and thI really enjoyed this story. It was definitely on the light side, and the romance was sweet. I loved watching Miles and Tristan's interactions, and their developing relationship from allies to friends to more. *le sigh*
And while I would, personally, say that non-fans of romance stories probably wouldn't like this story, that's far from all it is. There's a mystery aspect involving both magic and medicine, there's a mixture of science and fantasy, there's war and dealing with "shell shock" and the various horrors suffered in the course and war, and there's the usual classism issues between the wealthy and the working classes (though we don't see too much of folks in actual poverty). There's also political and familial dynamics to navigate - generally within the same family.
I also enjoyed the alt-history aspect of the story. It had a sort of Victorian or Edwardian vibe to it, but set in an AU where everyone rides bicycles and people always knew opium was bad, and the various ways in which is felt both similar and also different from what we might expect.
I was a bit iffy with the Amaranthine as substitutes for faerie thing, but it works in the AU world that the author builds.
The various aspects of the story are almost are strong, and weave together well... though, ultimately, I just really liked the characters and watching them together.
I'm really looking forward to the next in the series - even though the focus seems to switch from Miles as MC to his sister, who was not my favorite character for much of the book, though she certainly steps up when it's needed....more
Short review for now: This book has so much potential and so many interesting things - Korean mythology in space! Ships with gi energy! Fox magic! 2.5
Short review for now: This book has so much potential and so many interesting things - Korean mythology in space! Ships with gi energy! Fox magic! Shape-shifting! Ghosts!
The world-building and the idea of the story and characters was really interesting.
But the execution just left me flat. The writing was such a snooze.
There was no real development to any of the characters outside of Min, and they were just place-fillers to suit the plot. No real personalities or "breath" to speak of.
Min sort of floats from "adventure" to adventure, without any real trouble and with mostly lucking through. She never seems to have to really struggle or fight for anything that much - her biggest obstacle is having to clean toilets.
Now, I know some people are like, "Well, it's an MG book", but I don't know why books should get passes just because they're written for younger audiences. That's no excuse to be boring. If anything, it should be the opposite, so... *shrugs*...more
This was a series that I went in to with middling expectations, and then ended up enjoying more than I thought I would - even though it never quite2.5
This was a series that I went in to with middling expectations, and then ended up enjoying more than I thought I would - even though it never quite fully escaped 3-star territory. At the end of the third book I was on tenterhooks for find out what happens and how it all gets resolved, and I waited until I could read books 4 and 5 back-to-back and then...
I don't know, it just kinda fizzled.
The pacing of this story was really odd, and some of the choices even odder. Some of the 'character choices' seemed just plot-devices to keep the story moving, filling out time and pages, until we finally got to the ending.
I said this once back in book three and I'm even firmer in my opinion now - this should've been a trilogy. There's easily a trilogy worth of story here, but, unfortunately, it's filled out to fill five books and it ends up just feeling off and underwhelming, in the end.
Another downer for this book is that what made me love the first book was the growing relationships between these characters who don't fit in, and don't really like each other, at first, and then grow to become allies and friends and, eventually, family.
But due to the 'war' aspect of this book, and the characters having grown into their separate roles, they mostly end up in different parts of the story, away from each other, for most of the book.
Also, the perspective shifts are part of the aforementioned oddness. We would spend time with one character for awhile, and then switch to a different character and part of the war, but time still moves forward. But then we go back to the first character and find out all this interesting stuff had happened off-page and it's like, what? Why did you tell us pages of boring shit and then exposition us with something that happened off-screen?
Like I said - there's just some really odd choices made in this book, both with the pacing and with the plot, and I ended up feeling disappointed and underwhelmed.
There's a part of me that wants to blame it on quarantine-brain, so maybe I'll give this series another chance some day when I can read them all back-to-back. Maybe it was just the time between books and the waiting and high expectations which did me in, in the end....more
In the continuing adventures of Horatio Lyle, Lyle is forced to ally with former enemies to stop a threat based on the principle that you can't judge In the continuing adventures of Horatio Lyle, Lyle is forced to ally with former enemies to stop a threat based on the principle that you can't judge an entire group of people based on the actions of some.
It's a worthy and timely message that I hope doesn't get lost in the shuffle of the adventure.
I enjoyed this one, though perhaps not as much as the last in the series. The children, Tess and Thomas, felt a bit sidelined in this story - especially Thomas who doesn't even come into the story until around page 80.
That said, I enjoyed getting some of Tess's back story, and also meeting Thomas's parents. The colliding of Thomas's two worlds was an interesting part of the story.
My favorite part of the story was the addition of Ms. Lin, who is rather Loki-ish in her not-entirely-evil-but-not-entirely-night-revelry-of-mayhem.
I also like how the stories have been trying together, and I'm interesting to see how things wrap up in the next and, apparently, final book of the series....more
The continuing adventures of Jess & Co start immediately on the events that ended the last book, finding our group the prisoners of the Burners in 3.5
The continuing adventures of Jess & Co start immediately on the events that ended the last book, finding our group the prisoners of the Burners in their territory of Philadelphia.
Being a Philadelphian native, it was definitely interesting, for me, to see this alternate history version of the city. I liked how it was still a sort of center for the Colonies, and an important location - despite being walled off by the Library and left to its own devices.
That said, not much happens in good ole' Philly until the end of their time there, and I found myself wondering, at times, if this series could've been a trilogy because there does seem to be a bit of filler padding out these books.
Honestly, I would say that most of this book was 3 stars.
My biggest issue continues to be Jess, really - specifically his constant, "It's ok for me to take risks and I'm willing to sacrifice a few people, but I'm going to constantly try and protect my friends, especially Morgan, and keep trying to stop her from doing what needs to be done to help, because I need to protect her."
I try to convince myself it's just Jess's stupid hero complex, but it tinges heavily with sexism and the only saving grace - not of Jess but of the story - is that he gets called out on it and, eventually, learns that he doesn't have the right to stop people from making their own damned choices.
Thank you Glain and Khalila, because I would've smacked this boy so far upside his head!
The best parts continue to be Wolfe and Santi, and I love them so much. I saw another review refer to them as "my favorite gay dads", and they really are awesome.
Anyway -
So, after Philly they find themselves in another situation that they have to escape from and, oh my gods, that ending. That's what bumped this story from a solid 3 to a 3.5 (rounded up to 4). It left me gasping for the next book in the series - but I've already decided I'm not going to start that until the last book comes out. So now there's the waiting. Gah!
***
Can't really say too much more without giving stuff away, so, to remind myself for later...
(view spoiler)[They escape Philly, as we knew they would, but leave devastation in their wake, as Philadelphia is destroyed by Greek fire and so many people die - a fact which haunts them all, but Jess especially...
They escaped with the help of Santi's company and Jess's brother, who then takes them to their father's new stronghold, which is a literal castle with, like, a mercenary army.
Jess knows his father and knows they're not safe... but has also been busy laying out a plan to get to the Archivist and defeat the Library... so when all hell breaks lose, he lets it and, omg, everything goes to shit and that's how it ends! (hide spoiler)]...more
After the events of the first book, Jess & Co are split into their various assignments, but all, luckily enough, are still stationed in Alexandria. JeAfter the events of the first book, Jess & Co are split into their various assignments, but all, luckily enough, are still stationed in Alexandria. Jess finds evidence that Thomas may still be alive, and once he finally decides to share this information with everyone else, the story of trying to go against the Library and rescue Thomas commences. (Which is another way of saying it would've been better if we got to the meat of the story a bit sooner.)
That said, I do enjoy this world and these characters. I was nice to see more of Santi and Wolfe together, actually acting like a couple - but Santi kind of came across as that annoying alpha guy in this book, where he constantly wants to save Wolfe from himself, but not wanting him to be able to make his own choices. Blech. Fortunately Wolfe is strong-willed enough that he was able to do what he needed to do anyway.
We get a bit more of Jess and his family, see bits of the others, and watch as the plan slowly comes to unfold. Of course, the Library is not without their resources, and they are determined to stop the group from rescuing Thomas by any means necessary.
Duh duh DUH.
I do enjoy this series. There's something about the writing which really evokes the story well, and, as I said, I like the characters, generally.
I find myself wishing that it was a trilogy, though, instead of a 5-book series, because I do feel like there's more filler than really necessary in these books.
That said, the next book is in Philly, which could be interesting... and I do like the fact that the series does have an end in site. With few exceptions, I kind of hate series that just keep going on and on and on and on with no end in site. They tend to lose their steam after awhile - unless the stories, themselves, as episodic instead of an arc....more
This book didn't grab me quite as quickly as the first book in the series, and it took me a little while to warm to the characters. I liked Alvie w3.5
This book didn't grab me quite as quickly as the first book in the series, and it took me a little while to warm to the characters. I liked Alvie well enough, and her charming awkwardness, but for awhile the story seemed to be just about that and while she was quirky and all, I get a little bit tired of the Cute Clumsy Girl thing.
I do appreciate a female character who is more interested in work and comfort than on the latest fashion trends and all - especially since she didn't seem to put other girls down who might be interested in those sorts of things - but what is it with the "one fatal flaw = clumsiness" thing?
Anyway -
Once the story got into the plastic magic a little bit more, and once the actual story started to get going, I found myself enjoying it much more. That said, I feel like it didn't go into the magic nearly as much as Paper Magician did. Or maybe I just found Plastic magic a little less interestingly described?
The story itself was somewhat obvious from the train, and it didn't really take much in the way of twists or turns, but it was still a fun read, with a sweet little romance and a bit of suspense. Enjoyable, over all, and a decent addition to the series - though no replacement for my love of the original pairing.
This is a magi-tech retelling of Frankenstein - but it's more a retelling of the Hammer Horror version of Frankenstein as opposed to the actual boo2.5
This is a magi-tech retelling of Frankenstein - but it's more a retelling of the Hammer Horror version of Frankenstein as opposed to the actual book story, because the monster is clearly just a monster with no redeeming qualities, which sort of belies the whole point of original book.
Anyway -
So, it's an interesting version of England - or Nova Albion - where stone circles like Stonehenge are discovered to be some kind of electric grid which powers magical devices which replace technology in this world. Actual technology is not only frowned on, but stomped down, by the magical elite - to the point where the Luddites of this world are pro-technology, instead of being anti-technology as they are in our world.
Which is why it's actually magi-tech and not steampunk, because steampunk should be anachronistic technology, not magic.
There's a fair bit of name dropping in this story, where the main soldier/romantic interest is named Shelley and of course the other part of the pairing is Mary... as in Mary Shelley. Yeah, it's that kind of thing.
Also, Keats is a doctor who used to be a poet. So on and so forth.
Basically, all the poets and writers and things of our world are soldiers or doctors or things in this world, but with artistic leanings or backgrounds.
As to the romance, it's pretty tepid. Mary dreams about Shelley dying and wants to stop it, but they're both very prim and proper around each other. Not a whole hell of a lot of frission, to be honest.
But it was a decent enough story, fun in its own way, and, honestly, I didn't go in with really high expectations or anything. I wouldn't be like, "Oh my gods, you have to read this" or anything, but it was a decent way to pass a few hours....more
I wasn't thrilled with the last book in the trilogy, and while this one was better - because at least the things that were happening felt relevant andI wasn't thrilled with the last book in the trilogy, and while this one was better - because at least the things that were happening felt relevant and weren't pointless side quests - I still wasn't all that invested in the story and got through via a prodigious amount of skimming.
I don't know whether it's the writing itself, or just a lack of investiture in the story, but there was just so much extraneous description type stuff that I could get away with skimming without actually missing much of the story.
Meh.
I didn't even find myself caring that much when (view spoiler)[three of my favorite characters were killed off. I mean, would've rather Kairo died sacrificing herself after realizing how much of an ass she was, but, no, it's 3 of the better characters... (hide spoiler)]- which I assume was on purpose, as the author was probably trying to wring the most tears out of us, but even then I was like, "Well, that sucked" or "That was stupid and these people are stupid", but no real emotional reaction at all.
Maybe it's just because the build up to certain events made it so obvious that it was more a foregone conclusion, in some cases, and so lost it's momentum?
I don't know.
Anyway -
Now for a rant.
One thing that really started bugging me in book 2 and continued in this last book was the repetitiveness of the descriptions, especially certain phrases.
I got tired of hearing how pale, like Iishi snow, all the Kitsune clan are - because of course we need our heroines to be pale beauties, because colorism is real.
I also got tired of the phrase "bee stung lips". Yes, Michi is a beautiful and sultry femme fatale. I'm sure we all get it by now without repeatedly lingering on her curves and her litheness and her fucking "bee stung lips".
And of course Hana, because of her mixed race, has blonde hair and "too large eyes", because, clearly, white features are deemed attractive, as evidenced by an abundance of anime.
Really, as I read it I realized how, despite the claims of it having strong, kick-ass female characters, the whole thing is really very male gazey and weeaboo.
Though, in defense of it's weeaboo-ness, this story would probably be really good as an anime, because the story itself, while somewhat predictable, isn't all bad. There are some decent characters, and some decently flawed characters, and a nice lesson about environmental pollution and whatnot, and lots of action and fight scenes.
So I sort of take back what I said earlier - I think it is the writing that's the problem. I think this story would be much better served in a visual medium, to cut out a lot of the clutter of the narration. ...more
Have you ever read a book that actually makes you nostalgic for another book which you didn't like that much at the time but then you read somethin1.5
Have you ever read a book that actually makes you nostalgic for another book which you didn't like that much at the time but then you read something worse which gives you a new appreciation for that other book?
Yeah.
Reading this book was like that, and made me consider bumping A Gathering of Shadows up a notch, because while both books suffered form some of the same issues - i.e. second-book-in-trilogy slump, not much actually happening aside from meeting a few new characters and mostly setting up the last book, and unlikable people - at least GoS wasn't so insufferably boring while doing it.
I started skimming in this book, skipping entire paragraphs at a time, which is something I try to avoid. The funny thing, though, is that I don't feel like I actually missed anything, because there wasn't anything to miss. So I'd originally give this a 2-stars, but I'm bumping it down to 1.
So, anyway...
After the events of the first book, Yukiko finds her Kenning powers magnifying to the point where she is a danger to herself and others, both people and animals. She buggers off to try and find an answer and a way to control her powers - and then ends up on this side story which is pretty much just an excuse to waylay her for most of the story, and to introduce a new (view spoiler)[thunder tiger to the fight (hide spoiler)], and also to find out that Yukiko is (view spoiler)[pregnant with Hiro's kid (hide spoiler)], because of course she is.
We get some backstory on Buruu and discover he is the titular Kinslayer, but we never actually get the whole story. We do find out, though, that he's apparently entirely incapable of controlling himself around a female in heat, and reverts to being more of a beast than he was when we first met him...
Meanwhile, Kin is with the Kagé, and the Kagé are the biggest bunch of assholes. Kin has sacrificed much to be there - mostly for Yukiko, true - and tries to help the Kagé, but they're so busy being assholes to him, that they eventually drive him to doing something stupid... which neither a) came as much of a surprise when it happened, for all the belaboring of points this book does and b) isn't entirely unwarranted.
Meanwhile, there's Hiro and the Guild trying to solidify their reign, with Hiro just wanting revenge on Yukiko, and there's Michi trying to help Aisha, but she's locked up, so she spends most of the book seducing her jailer to try and get him to release her.
The most interesting character of the book is Hana, aka No One, who is a low-born girl who works in the palace and joins with the city Kagé - who seem much more relevant than the forest Kagé.
Of course, lots of things go wrong for, like, everybody. There's the requisite violence you get in war - along with a lot of whining about people actually daring to kill someone in war - but there's also a fair amount of torture, rape, threats of rape - (pretty much every main female character in this book is either raped or threatened with rape) - and random unnecessary killing of animals.
It was like Kristoff was hell bent on showing that YA books can be Grimdark, too. Yay.
And I wouldn't even necessarily mind if I felt like any of it actually served a purpose or a point to the story, but a whole hell of a lot of it just didn't.
So...
I already have the last book from the library, so I'll finish it, and just hope that it's not as slow and meandering and pointless as a lot of this book ended up being....more
This book started really well, and I enjoyed the meta humor of it - especially the author asides about how he shouldn't have to explain things to peopThis book started really well, and I enjoyed the meta humor of it - especially the author asides about how he shouldn't have to explain things to people who are just jumping into the series, because what kind of monster starts a series at book 5? (I mean, really. Who does that?)
But while there was a smattering of humor throughout the book, things did take a turn slightly more for the serious - but I ended up wishing there was more humor. I mean, there was some especially from Madame Zarenyia, but I felt like a lot of that humor was sort of repetitive and felt forced as time went on.
Anyway - some of the trials and whatnot were interesting, but I felt like they went on a bit too long in places, and my mind would sort of start wandering from time to time.
I did appreciate the character growth on Johannes we've seen through the series, and I particularly liked the final confrontation, and the sort of reliving-but-not-really the events of the first 4 books in the series.
And I did appreciate that several threads got tied up, this being the possible last book of the series - but I was also disappointed to find that the one thread which has tied together the whole series - the point of the whole thing, really - wasn't resolved. (Of course, I have a secret hope that (view spoiler)[Cabal will decide that resurrecting his love won't be what she actually would've wanted, and that he ends up with Leonie instead.) (hide spoiler)]
Anyway -
This is the second book in a week which I read which I felt was a good addition to the series, but was kind of weak for a finale. I hold out hope that there will be at least one last book in the series where that major thread finally gets some kind of resolution - even if it's not the one I hope for.
Other than that, though, the series, has a whole, is one I recommend, and I really enjoy all of the characters and, as I said, I've enjoyed watching Cabal's growth throughout the series....more
I finished this last night. I liked it well enough that I'll probably continue the series, but I didn't love it.
I think, ultimately, it felt like a "cI finished this last night. I liked it well enough that I'll probably continue the series, but I didn't love it.
I think, ultimately, it felt like a "cozy mystery" to me, which is fine. I quite like cozy mysteries - but I don't think that's what I expected going in.
My main complaint is that I wish things were explored more. That we knew more about the Library, that the characters had a bit more depth, that the rules were actually explained via action rather than exposition, and that they didn't seem so contradictory.
For instance, at one point Irene says something about you can't tell a locked door to to open, but you can tell the lock itself to open... but then later someone tells the door to open, and it opens, locks and all.
The "rules" just seemed sort of arbitrary based on the plot needs at the time, and for something which spent so much time telling us what the rules were, it would be nice if they were followed. (Also, I still didn't quite understand the rules by the end. I mean, I expected chaos to be more, well, chaotic?)
Anyway -
I'm hoping that things gets a bit tighter in future books, and that more of the Library is explored. The way it ended, with Copellia (sp?) sort of telling Irene she needed to do more research, does suggest that this will be the case.
I was somewhat disappointed that Irene is (view spoiler)[going back to this particular alternate in the end, though. I get her being happy about it, because of her attraction/admiration/whatever for Vale and all - but one of the things about setting up a world with the ability toe hop into alternate universes is the promise to actually explore alternate universes - not to get stuck in one magi-tech like Victorian world which, frankly, already exists in quite a few stories. (And, don't get me wrong, I love Victorian stories, but the premise of this series sort of hints to the possibility of a different world every book, and, for now at least, it just seems like we're not getting that.) (hide spoiler)]
I also wish that this was a trilogy or at least a series with a set number of books. I tend to prefer those to ones which have no clear end in site, for fear of getting mired down into the endless filler books which such series sometimes end up producing...
So - what did I like?
I did actually like the characters, especially Vale and Kai, even if I wish they had a bit more depth to them. And it was a quick and fast-paced story, despite being bogged down in too much telling vs showing sometimes.
I sort of liked that it reminded me a lot of the 'The Librarian' movies, and now 'The Librarians' TV show which was sadly cancelled.
And I do like the idea of the rogue Librarian and questions about whether the Library is really a force for good or not - despite it being a bit too close to the plotline of the last season of 'The Librarians'... :-/...more
I had considered bumping this up to a 3-star rating, because I did like some of the stories - in particular the magical realism elements of some of2.5
I had considered bumping this up to a 3-star rating, because I did like some of the stories - in particular the magical realism elements of some of the stories - but considering that my first thought when I finished the collection was, "Thank the gods that that's over", I figure I had to go with the 2-star rating.
As some others have said, I didn't really connect with any of the stories. I found some mildly interesting or amusing, the title story did almost evoke a tear (though I was aware of the (view spoiler)[mother's death (hide spoiler)]* before reading), and some had interesting history... but none ever got me past that sense of mild interest or whatever. None really stuck with me. There are none that wowed me or really made me think past, "Wow, that history sucked" or "Hmm, that's kind of cool" - and then it'd be gone.
I think part of it is that some of the stories were very similar, so while the concept of alien consciousness was cool in the first story, it was less interesting in the second story. That sort of thing...
So, yeah... some cool ideas, both sci-fi philosophizing and some magical realism humanizing - but, overall, kind of forgettable, for me.
colleen the convivial curmudgeon
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