I enjoyed the world and the characters but it was pretty short and felt more like a setup than a full story as it never concluded in a satisfactory waI enjoyed the world and the characters but it was pretty short and felt more like a setup than a full story as it never concluded in a satisfactory way just sort of stopped.
There is some interesting world building with the various shifter societies how they are kept separate and how Trin with her seemingly human body is an outsider able to move between these groups easily then her unexpected elevation to special dragon putting her into the almost ruling class.
It feels a bit steampunk in tech a bit pseudo victorian in attitudes although it gives some explanation as to why that is the case. I hangs together mostly but due to its brevity is only a tiny glimpse of the world.
It piqued my interest enough to possibly read more books in the series but I hope they are a bit longer and more substantial and complete stories in future.
Merged review:
I enjoyed the world and the characters but it was pretty short and felt more like a setup than a full story as it never concluded in a satisfactory way just sort of stopped.
There is some interesting world building with the various shifter societies how they are kept separate and how Trin with her seemingly human body is an outsider able to move between these groups easily then her unexpected elevation to special dragon putting her into the almost ruling class.
It feels a bit steampunk in tech a bit pseudo victorian in attitudes although it gives some explanation as to why that is the case. I hangs together mostly but due to its brevity is only a tiny glimpse of the world.
It piqued my interest enough to possibly read more books in the series but I hope they are a bit longer and more substantial and complete stories in future....more
Again a very short story and while it has a lot of fun idea and interesting situations it never spends any time going into detail on any of them.
Here Again a very short story and while it has a lot of fun idea and interesting situations it never spends any time going into detail on any of them.
Here is the plot summary I'll spoiler tag it as it's basically the whole book give or take. (view spoiler)[She flees her city after assassin try to kill she meets her shark shifter friend beats up some thugs holding up a shop buys some mugs and tea. She finds out her shark shifter friend is actually a sea dragon. She goes to the village where her mother was born. She meets her family they are weird and a bit cult like. Her aunt (who is also her mothers clone) warns her they will grab her so she escapes taking the aunt with her. They return to the city and talk a bit and she finds out she is an extra special dragon not just a special dragon then they go shopping. They visit a garden tea house where a tea reader seer tells them their future. The end (hide spoiler)]
The story doesn't go into much more detail than that summary. Whole situations pop up then disappear like the whole gang holding up the shop seems to have been just an excuse for a fight it happens there seems to be some story there some element of the world to explore but then it's over the idea dismissed never talked about or mentioned again like so many of the story threads.
I'm not sure I'll bother with these books anymore I like the ideas and the characters but the stories are so bare bones and short nothing is ever explored in any great detail, it's all just glossed over lots of thing happening very quickly and then an unsatisfying end. Bit of a shame really as I think if there was more exploration of the concepts more of the story being fleshed out these could be a lot better books. Even if the length was the same but only one of the short scenes was written more completely it would be better.
Still fun if you don't care out any sort of depth and just want a really quick read in a hour story but nothing there to get your teeth into.
Merged review:
Again a very short story and while it has a lot of fun idea and interesting situations it never spends any time going into detail on any of them.
Here is the plot summary I'll spoiler tag it as it's basically the whole book give or take. (view spoiler)[She flees her city after assassin try to kill she meets her shark shifter friend beats up some thugs holding up a shop buys some mugs and tea. She finds out her shark shifter friend is actually a sea dragon. She goes to the village where her mother was born. She meets her family they are weird and a bit cult like. Her aunt (who is also her mothers clone) warns her they will grab her so she escapes taking the aunt with her. They return to the city and talk a bit and she finds out she is an extra special dragon not just a special dragon then they go shopping. They visit a garden tea house where a tea reader seer tells them their future. The end (hide spoiler)]
The story doesn't go into much more detail than that summary. Whole situations pop up then disappear like the whole gang holding up the shop seems to have been just an excuse for a fight it happens there seems to be some story there some element of the world to explore but then it's over the idea dismissed never talked about or mentioned again like so many of the story threads.
I'm not sure I'll bother with these books anymore I like the ideas and the characters but the stories are so bare bones and short nothing is ever explored in any great detail, it's all just glossed over lots of thing happening very quickly and then an unsatisfying end. Bit of a shame really as I think if there was more exploration of the concepts more of the story being fleshed out these could be a lot better books. Even if the length was the same but only one of the short scenes was written more completely it would be better.
Still fun if you don't care out any sort of depth and just want a really quick read in a hour story but nothing there to get your teeth into....more
I enjoyed this quite a lot the dark humor the interesting characters the horror and the complimentary art.
It played with a lot of tropes I've seen beI enjoyed this quite a lot the dark humor the interesting characters the horror and the complimentary art.
It played with a lot of tropes I've seen before but also made them their own.
The way the town is falling apart due to all the deaths the disease that seems to pervade all the adults and the fear and impotent anger.
I liked the world weary monster hunter how she's both relatively young but also worn down and aged by the weight of her task she's been there done that many times and it's left her numb to the horror.
The subtle world building little pieces hinting at a larger picture and the way we see pieces of what is going on but it fills in a lot of depth.
The bits of humor in the darkness of the overall story. I especially liked the trip to the hardware store.
The art was good mixing the mundane small town with the horror and unsettling elements well.
It was one of those graphic novels that uses all the pieces well the art and the story meshing together to make something more....more
I read this for my bookclub and I've not read any of the surrounding books so I knew very little about the world and the characters. As such it's not I read this for my bookclub and I've not read any of the surrounding books so I knew very little about the world and the characters. As such it's not very interesting as a stand alone. I feel like it must be relying on me already knowing the characters and the setting as it does very little to introduce either just a brief scene set about magic and multiple parallel London's and something causing them to seal themselves off from each other and there is a prince who is being sent off to the wilds for being too head strong. It then gives us a very brief sketch of the town he is exiled to which can be boiled down to two points it's rowdy and it's on the coast. That's all we ever learn.
Then we have some intro to the soldiers and a training montage which details the princes powers very vaguely ... Seems to be control over metal maybe.
Then the enemy turns up. Some shenanigans trying to defeat them some cliched surprise revelations another fight and we're done.
It's very bare bones as a story you could get it all on the back of a napkin. Most of the characters don't get names. even the main characters seem like cardboard cutouts (maybe they are better detailed in the other stories).
It doesn't really explore or detail the location or the characters we see nothing of the town and it doesn't explain the setting.
The magic was also frustrating the story only details two of the characters abilities the prince and the antagonist. No one else has their powers described and it has a lot of fight scenes where stuff is happening but it's very unclear what just a lot of swirls of colour. Maybe you can infer from the art what is happening but I found that difficult most of the time.
The art is pretty and the swirls of colour and action scenes look nice enough but it does all feel a bit empty because there is nothing backing it all up just this paper thin story with no details or explanations.
Maybe a nice addition if you are familiar with the books but as a stand alone its not very satisfying...more
It felt like this was almost two different stories with the first half a story of an unconventional friendship between this old curmudgeon and a youngIt felt like this was almost two different stories with the first half a story of an unconventional friendship between this old curmudgeon and a young kid who's had a rough past. Then the second story is a dark fantasy in a magical world under a terrible curse. They have very different feelings to them. I did enjoy Charlie's journey him offering help to someone who needed it to pay back what he perceived as a debt. The gradual reveal that the cranky old man in the psycho house is more than he seems to be and leading to the adventure Charlie undertakes. The fairytale world was an interesting construction elements of fairytale stories we know but woven into a unique and complete world with its own dark history. The horror of the grey and the cursed people Charlie encountered a really grim world on the edge of total collapse. I enjoyed both halves of the story but the construction did mean it took a while to get going first having to lay out Charlie's sad backstory then introduce Mr Bowdich and Radar before finally getting to the Fairytale world. It was an interesting story and I liked the little additional feature in the audiobook where Stephen King himself voiced Mr Bowdich's tape. Generally a pretty good book although as I said if you are expecting a straight fantasy story you first need to get through the first half which is not that at all....more
I'm not sure what to make of this book on one hand I hate most of the characters bar a few like Hobie but I still found the story compelling even if aI'm not sure what to make of this book on one hand I hate most of the characters bar a few like Hobie but I still found the story compelling even if a lot of time very little is actually happening as Theo just meanders along.
It was one of those stories that doesn't really come to any sort of point or conclusion till the very end and it's a very long journey to get there that isn't always that interesting or fun to get through at points.
On the whole I mostly enjoyed the experience the text was good detailed and did a good job of painting a picture. It had characters with depth even if they were unlikable it showed them in a variety of lights and angles none of them wholly good or wholly bad....more
I really enjoyed this book it was entertaining and full of great characters the titular Amina Al-Sarifi was great and the sort of character you get soI really enjoyed this book it was entertaining and full of great characters the titular Amina Al-Sarifi was great and the sort of character you get so few stories about in that she is a older woman a capable and wily pirate captain but someone who has regrets and scars. Someone with demons in their past and enemies aplenty.
I really liked her voice in the story very funny and world weary but still willing to put her life on the line to help others yet also aware of the potential cost and risk to her friends and family. She's someone who can't just throw themselves at things and damn the cost because she has others who would suffer.
She's called out of retirement to save a kidnapped girl, one last job a chance to seek out adventure one last time before the perils of age make her incapable and in so doing earn a fortune that will see her and her family set for life. What could go wrong?
It's a classic sort of start for one of these tales and so it proceeds getting her crew back together her deadly poisoner friend, her first mate, and her navigator each of them nicely detailed and unique characters. But of course things don't quite go to plan and soon there is disaster peril and black magic wielding foes to contend with.
It was a very fun tale with great characters and exciting swashbuckling adventure the writing drew you into the world. Amina is a great character flawed human and also larger than life. She's trying to atone for her past misdeeds but she also misses the adventure out on the high seas. She wants to protect her family and feels guilty for the urge to leave them and sail off in search of plunder and adventure. She has unfinished business and is haunted by mistakes in her past not all of which are really her fault she feels the passage of time and how she is not as young as she was.
I listened to the audio book and it was pretty good I liked the parts where Amina is telling the story and then turning away to talk to the scribe recording it interspersed with notes from the scribe in another voice inserting little stories or bits of history. It was well done.
I hope there are more adventures with Amina and her crew it definitely concludes in a manner that would hint and further voyages to come and I would eagerly snap up any sequels should they be written. That said it is a nice complete story elements left that could be explored but the main threads neatly tied up at the end which I appreciate....more
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