"...“How did we go from tea to death so quickly?” wondered Quesnel. “Sometimes,” said Prim darkly, “there is a very fine line between the two*** 4 ***
"...“How did we go from tea to death so quickly?” wondered Quesnel. “Sometimes,” said Prim darkly, “there is a very fine line between the two.”..."
This was very cute. Not as wonderful as the original series, but I have hope it will improve as we go. After all, it is hard to follow character as Alexia Tarabotti! The infant inconvenience, Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama, or Rue, now grown to the age of 20, is trying to come out of the shadow of her three overwhelming parents. It will be difficult both for her and the author to pull that off, but I am rooting for them!
"...“Rue carried her mother's parasol, which was too ugly to match any of her outfits, but was more sturdy than any of her fashionable ones. This one, felt Rue, could really cause damage to a noggin if applied with enough enthusiasm. Somehow this made her feel more secure about life in general.” ― Gail Carriger, Prudence”..."...more
An absolute delight! I love everything about this series, but the melody of the language and turn of phrase, as over the top as they are, *** 4.75 ***
An absolute delight! I love everything about this series, but the melody of the language and turn of phrase, as over the top as they are, are definitely my favorite part of this wonderous world! Victorian England with ghosts, vampires and werewolves is a place I would love to visit, but as a guest to Lord Akeldama only, because he is a man after my own heart and he would be a lot of fun to hang out with. ...more
A buddy read with my friends @ BB&B! Because we love great writing!!!
What a great find! When I decided to join on the buddy read for this *** 4.35 ***
A buddy read with my friends @ BB&B! Because we love great writing!!!
What a great find! When I decided to join on the buddy read for this book, I had only seen the beautiful cover - I miss this type of art on the currently publishing trends .. I had no idea what the book is about and from the name surmised that it must be about the strife of humanity to reach g-d like power. So, being a reader who is up for anything, I thought it looked interesting and after all, what could it hurt?
Well, I have to say, this book did hurt. First, the writing style was so beautiful and simple at the same time, it was a painful reminder of how often all of us are being subjected to mediocre and sub-par all the way down to incompetently written works, to the point that when we encounter a thoughtful and well crafted work, it seems like a rare treasure!
Second, it hurt my soul seeing this vision of the way humanity could have gone if G-D never destroyed the Tower of Babel... The land of Ur, the Tower becoming the center of human culture and advancement. Those who have been given the chance of generations to climb up the "ringdoms" of the Tower and have never stepped outside of its construction, see themselves as higher beings than anyone of "lower" birth. The author gives us a very disturbing and cruel picture of the human condition by juxtaposing the Babel life with the experiences of an optimistic but somewhat starched schoolmaster and his new wife, who come to the Tower for their honeymoon. Although not a very young man, he is full of idealistic views and ideals, wanting to believe only the best of people. His wife is a perfect match for him, despite being younger, because she awakens in him a sense of Whimsy and color in his black and white personality. This bright eyed couple, which we could easily identify with, gets separated almost from the start and we spend the book with Tom Senlin on his frantic search up the Tower for his lovely Marya. The human decay he is faced with is absolutely horrifying!!! It tries to change him and shape him in its own image, and the valiant battle Senlin wages to keep his basic values is vicious and violent. My soul was deeply hurt by the selfish and indifferent way people treated each other. The division of class which comes with the levels of the Tower and the cheapening of values and dignity the lower you are, are only some of the painful examples the author makes us consider. In the tumultuous political and social upheaval we find ourselves today, I can only pray that we can be as strong in spirit and grounded in decency as Senlin shows himself to be!!!!!!!
And lastly, it hurts to be the reader, a person outside the action of the story, not only because it would be awesome to enter this imaginative but so real world, but because of not being able to reach out to the protagonist in some of his most difficult and lonely moments and share his pain with him. The way the Tower culture strips the person to the bare bones, rips away all sense of community, culture as a food for the soul, not a currency exchange, and makes the individual live either lost in the oblivion of slave labor, drunken stupor, basic instinct of survival, or mindless persuites of the flesh, is painful and demoralizing!!! I felt like weeping for the sparks of humanity which were extinguished by the Tower reality. It once again restored my commitment to rejecting the temptation to give in to the bitterness and hate those who want to reduce us to mindless slaves in spirit if not in action, keep trying to bait us to surrender to. We have to be better than that! Senlin manages to learn the rules of his new reality, but stays firm on his beliefs and I personally want to be him when I grow up ☺☺☺!!!
As I went on this tangent, I need not point out how deeply this book affected me. The thoughtfully structured plot had some slower parts, but they didn't bother me, because they felt like quiet moments for us to surrender to the melancholy of the loneliness Senlin was experiencing... They added to the intimate connection we developed with him and his tribulations... The prose was immaculate and being a first in a series of three, we are left with an open ending, looking forward to the next chapter in the ascending of Senlin up the uncharted hights of the Tower!!!...more
This book is not easy to qualify. It is a Fantasy with pirate adventure, low tech, and generously tintedThanks to my buddies for this read!!!
*** 4 ***
This book is not easy to qualify. It is a Fantasy with pirate adventure, low tech, and generously tinted dark. It flies in dark and tumultuous skies, it deals with characters dealing with dark pasts and shady present and, no one has clearly defined motives in a twisted desperate world... Yes, its all some shade of dark. But that doesn't make the book difficult to read, exactly the opposite. It is a magnetic story with characters who draw you in and you want to dive into the murky waters of their adventures. Steam Punky sky flying pirate wannabees are rocketed to a most wanted status when someone sets them up to explode a plane with some VIP on it. Panic and a game of cat and mouse ensue, with the gang of very incompetent and insecure pirates being the mouse. Along the way we find out about the reasons why the Katy Jay is their best chance for survival and their only refuge.
As always, my favorite characters are the strong kick-ass heroine, a big animated metallic creature, and a very bossy and independent minded cat. The ship is the Star of the book and the one around which all revolves. All the players are flawed, I thought the captain most of all, but all those flaws make them unpredictable and human.
If you like adventure and Fantasy with some less than heroic main characters, I would definitely recommend this for you! Beware, no rainbows or fluffy romantic feelings!!!...more
This book has been bi-polarly reviewed in general, and mostly negatively by my GR friends. From what I gather, the primary complaint has to d*** 3 ***
This book has been bi-polarly reviewed in general, and mostly negatively by my GR friends. From what I gather, the primary complaint has to do with the author insulting the Japanese culture by not doing even cursory research on it and presuming to set his story in a futuristic world influenced by The Land of the Rising Sun, its culture, language and mythology...
Upon completing the first in the trilogy of books, I pretty much have to agree... However, not being an expert in said culture, I am not as sensitive to all offenses and it didn't impede my reading it. The way I see it is that this talented and very imaginative young writer loves all the Manga that has been flooding the West in the last 30 years, had an idea for a plot, and on a whim decided that it would be cool to set it in Japan, doing so by thinking that since it will be a Fantasy, no research is necessary.
Putting aside the cultural gaffes, I thought the story was pretty cool! The main girl could be a bit annoying with all the internal angst in personal dialogue and a total brat when it came to the older women in her life, but the connection with Burru was nice. The steam punk being this doom for the world is a different concept and the fertilizer being "people" is gruesome too!
Overall I think it is a good start for a new writer and I will read the next book for sure....more
Oooo, it was charming! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Hope Ashton and the two ladies who were supporting the main female characters find their stories as weOooo, it was charming! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Hope Ashton and the two ladies who were supporting the main female characters find their stories as well:):):) ...more
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