The Cruel Prince is a very cruel book. It made me fly through the pages when I just started reading it, then stopped at full speed and pretended to goThe Cruel Prince is a very cruel book. It made me fly through the pages when I just started reading it, then stopped at full speed and pretended to go downhill from then on, yet carried me over the abyss by the very end, and then I finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Thankfully, Holly Black is much better a writer than I am, so she made me fully aware of all breathing problems, heartbeat issues, and general obsession I stumbled upon while reading this story.
Jude has never felt as if she belonged. Not in the human world, from which she was brutally taken when she was only 7, not in the Faerieland, where her species is always overlooked. It's not easy to go through daily mockery and humiliation, to bend your head down every time some princeling passes by. And it's for sure not easy to strive for more when all everyone wants from you is to smile politely, hide in shadows and not to stick out your nose. But when the perfect opportunity comes into view, how can she possibly tell no, even if it means saying yes to the terrifying things in the world full of heartless creatures.
“Because you’re like a story that hasn’t happened yet. Because I want to see what you will do. I want to be part of the unfolding of the tale.�
From the very beginning The Cruel Prince glamoured me with both its beauty and violence. The prologue met me with a hard blow to the stomach that completely knocked sweet images of faeries out of my head. Creatures inhabiting the Faerieland are the most depraved, dirty, corrupt beings out there. They won't think twice if they decide to compromise you or if someone offers a high enough price for your head. And while they can't lie to your face, you'd be a fool to trust them. Never accept a drink from them, never dance in their surrounding and never, never even think that you might become one of them or at least be someone they might reckon with. Follow these simple rules and you have a 3% probability of not being found in someone's backyard.
Little did Prince Dain know that my real skill lies in pissing people off.
The Cruel Prince is a brilliant tale about black and white world, where all creatures tend to run to extremes, yet at the same time reach for halftones.
Everyone has flaws. Even faeries aren't invincible. Not everyone lets others see them, but they're always in the back of one's mind, waiting for the right moment to hit. And while not all those flaws are meant to inflict a mortal blow, there are fatal flaws that will be the death of their holders.
I rarely like a lot of characters in books, but Holly Black filled them with such peculiar personalities, no, let them develop their own traits, that I couldn't not fall in love with all of them.
Locke, fully justifying his so-similar-to-Loki name, is such a gulp of fresh air with his mysterious personality. He made me wonder whether he created all the circumstances in his life or they created him the way he is. A sweet boy with a devilishly charming smile, he swept me off my feet and carried to someplace entirely different. He's like some character from Shakespeare's stories. (view spoiler)[
“If I can’t find a good enough story, I make one.�
His nonchalance about everything never ceased to amaze me. The way he talked about how he wanted things to happen around him, how he lived for the thrill, the rush of emotions, even if someone got hurt between the acts. Such approach to life couldn't neither shock nor inspire. I still can't believe how easily he let one mask slide from his face and put on the one he's been holding for a while behind his back. He never seemed trustworthy to me, but the way he carried himself and glided through life is bewitching. I'm sure his fatal flaw � dramatics � will play a bad joke on him one day, but maybe even then he will smoothly disappear when the curtain falls. (hide spoiler)]
“I love my parents' murderer; I suppose I could love anyone.�
Bloodthirsty Madoc is almost the only character in The Cruel Prince I can't quite picture in my mind. The portrait of a loving father that will sacrifice everything for his kin fights a cold-hearted monster in my head. His hands painted with blood and a redcap he wears only add to the picture. (view spoiler)[The way he ended up the one who's underestimated his own mortal daughter is ironic, considering how high of himself as a general he thought, a true plotter. But it was all due to him being blinded by the idea of war. (hide spoiler)]
“There are so few children in Faerie that I’ve never seen one of us twinned. Is it like being doubled or more like being divided in half?�
Twins are always portrayed in books as some inseparable creatures, either always supportive of each other or blood enemies. Jude and Taryn are none of the above. Taryn never struck me as interesting. Out of all characters, she seemed the bleakest, the dullest. Maybe apart from Vivi, but even she managed to catch my eye by the end of the book. But as we all know, it's always the quiet ones... (view spoiler)[
“Just tell me something about him. Tell me that he is kind. Tell me that you love him and that he’s promised to be good to you. Tell me.� “He’s a faerie,� she says. “They don’t love the way we do. And I think you would like him—there, that’s something.�
I couldn't even guess Locke would be the one Taryn fell in love with, the one she chose over her sister who suffered so much for Taryn's happiness. She's one of the most selfish characters in the book and that says something, when we have such a nasty company. From the very moment she abandoned Jude in the river, she struck me as a bitch, but I couldn't fathom how far she might go not caring about anyone's but her own well-being. Her pursuit of being loved will destroy her, I'm sure of that. (hide spoiler)]
There's something about Jude that made her a perfect hero and a depraved fraud in equal parts. I had a suspicion Vivi might end up being a protagonist of the story, but thankfully, this part was taken by Jude, the very girl that impressed me both with her persistence and vulnerability. She never belonged among faeries, those gorgeous creatures with hearts made of stone, but maybe she didn't need to. She can be as cruel as they are, yet at the same time as strong as they might never be. What I loved about Jude was her confidence. The way she carried herself and never let anyone leave her with too much of doubt within. The way she knew when to smile and swallow all insults, and when to strike. No matter what she always stood out for what she believed in, even though it could've brought too many problems for one mortal girl to handle. And Cardan with all his friends was among those problems. (view spoiler)[
He rises from the throne. “Come, have a seat.� His voice is replete with danger, lush with menace. The flowering branches have sprouted thorns so thickly that petals are barely visible. “This is what you wanted, isn't it?� he asks. “What you sacrificed everything for. Go on. It's all yours.�
While Cardan was heading in the right direction, he went a tiny bit astray. Jude's fatal flaw is not power, it's pride. Against such background, all other fatal flaws seem bleak. She's been in shadows for too long now, bowed her head too many times. The Liar. The Queen of Nothing is indeed a very suitable title for someone like Jude, whose story can't have a happy ending. (hide spoiler)]
“Oh, he’d like to make you believe he’s our leader, but it’s more that Nicasia likes power, I like dramatics, and Valerian likes violence. Cardan can provide us with all three, or at least excuses for all three.�
Everyone knows better than to cross prince's path, especially if he's surrounded with a quite sick company. Power, dramatics, violence, patronage make rather an interesting combination, the one that might end up with a huge explosion.
His eyes are barely open, but I can see the shine of them, wet as tar. He watches me as the girl kisses his mouth, watches me as she slides her hand beneath the hem of his silly, ruffly shirt.
Most people try to seem powerful when they're most powerless. Even if he's a faerie, Cardan is no exception. Leading an idle life, this powerless prince managed to keep so many in awe. A torturer, a player with a smirk on his lips, a careless 'leader', a charming cruel prince. He confirmed all my fears and expectations about him, but also appeared to be more than that. Cardan embodies the perfect proportion of, should I say, perversity, charm, duplicity, spiced with indifference and even tiredness. (view spoiler)[I still can't quite decipher what his fatal flaw is � is it some need to be understood? be accepted as he is? lack of control over his own life? � but I can't wait to unravel this mystery. While I was much more interested in his character before he confirmed Jude's assumptions about why he hated her, he became an extremely interesting character in the very end.
I have a bargain with him for a year and a day. I have a year and a day to come to a bargain for longer than that. And not for one minute more.
Oh, that ending. While I was mostly not impressed with the events that took place after the bloodshed, I couldn't imagine a better ending for the first chapter of this story. This is just the beginning of a new age for the Faerieland and when the stakes are that high, the worst thing you can do is to second guess if the ruler you created was the wrong choice to make. I can't wait to see more of Cardan and Jude, as well as the future (if there is one) of the Faerieland and its creatures. (hide spoiler)]
Holly Black created a brilliant world and filled it with thrill, danger and unthinkable monsters that live among magical creatures and mortals. She also sprinkled it with just enough of perversity and lust. (view spoiler)[What a relationship awaits us in the following books! While I really enjoyed the tension between Jude and Cardan until the very culmination (and the motive behind her kissing him made it even more depraved, yet exciting), I enjoyed Jude's relationship with Locke as well. How he didn't think twice about it, his nonchalance and elegant betrayal. And how Cardan knew it all from the very beginning and hated himself for being attracted to a mortal girl. (hide spoiler)]
As I mentioned in the very beginning of this review, The Cruel Prince is a very cruel book. It occupies your mind and makes you plot, come up with incredible stories of how it might end. It steals your time and turns it into a breathtaking adventure filled with blood, betrayal, loss, and living fear for every soul trapped in the story. But it also makes you realize how sometimes our fatal flaws are our main advantages we only have to accept and learn how to use....more
Of all the days I chose April 1 to finish reading The Rook, and while it's a lovely little coincidence, let me tell you this: it's only fair because tOf all the days I chose April 1 to finish reading The Rook, and while it's a lovely little coincidence, let me tell you this: it's only fair because this book is a complete joke.
I can't believe: 1) I spent a month reading this 500 pages-ish book; 2) I've just written an entire review explaining why it wasn't worth giving it a try, and it has just vanished. Not gonna repeat it again, so a short version coming.
Myfanwy Thomas lost her memory an woke up as a completely new person. What a great way to begin a story, don't you think so? Well, Daniel O'Malley thought the same, when he went on the "tell, not show" crusade. Because I simply can't understand, why on earth would you tell us everything, Daniel, if not for that reason. The Rook, or rather letters-from-old-Myfanwy, tells you e v e r y t h i n g. What she used to do, what The Checkquy is, what she wore a couple of days ago, how she speaks with her colleagues, who has 4 bodies, what she eats in the morning... It is basically an encyclopedia about everything at the same time, and it is delivered in a terribly boring way. I honestly tried to follow all the things I was told throughout the book, but oh boy was it tiresome. I've never seen such infodumps before, and, I hope, I never will again. Don't do that. Ever. Please.
Now let's move to the second secret ingredient. Uninteresting cardboard characters with no personalities. I've read the entire book, and I still have no idea what should I think about any of them. Were they funny? Smart? Fearsome? I can only tell you who's bad and good, because it was almost written on everyone's forehead. Again: told, not shown!
It's actually kind of alarming to see a duck in person. They're taller than you would think, and more... immediate. We stared at each other, the duck and I, and I hate to admit it, but I blinked first
Fine, I'll be honest, I didn't hate the entire thing. Only 99% of it. The parts where something happened (which can easily be summed up as 1%) were actually pretty exciting. But in the middle of them, O'Malley would suddenly realize we never got to know about... oh, wait, a letter! It will explain everything, hold on a sec.
Dear You, I don't even know why I'm still giving The Rook a chance, but it seems only fair. So many people loved it, why can't I join them? Sometimes it reminds me of a TV-show I used to like - Fringe. Sometimes - of Neil Gaiman's books, the other times - Douglas Adams'. What a mixture, eh? Not a good one, I should say. I've already reached the so-called "big reveal" part and oh my, was it disappointing. Actually, if I really think about it, it was not. I could neither care enough to be disappointed nor could I follow any longer where the story went. Whenever I tried to tell anyone about the book I was reading, I met the confused glances, as if people were asking whether I'd gone mad (and the more I spoke about the plot, the madder I felt, to be honest. The duck scene was the end of me!). When you finally read this letter, you will have probably formed your opinion already. I hope it's a nice one. I bet it's not. This letter will add literally nothing to the review you will probably want to put it into, but just thought it might buy you some time to come up with where the story is heading (ain't it right, Daniel?). The rook is a powerful piece, but only in hands of those who know how to play. Just like Myfanwy Thomas, The Rook should've just stayed The Pawn it was supposed to be. OK, leaving you here completely smitten, confused and... wait, to make it look like you've just learned something from this letter, I'll leave you this:
Phrenology A pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.
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