The setup seemed promising: A group of men are receiving treatment for tuberculosis at a secluded resort. Early on, there'Too slow, too little payoff.
The setup seemed promising: A group of men are receiving treatment for tuberculosis at a secluded resort. Early on, there's a death under mysterious circumstances that may or may not be foul play. There are rumors of more deaths and a mystery surrounding the local graveyard; strange noises coming from the attic; strange figures in the woods. There's the inherently precarious position of these men, who are severely ill and isolated from the outside world, so that deaths are easy to cover up/explain away.
But it was all setup until like 90%, and when the horror finally emerged it was lukewarm and not worth slogging through the rest of the book.
This is where I'd normally say "It's my fault for expecting this book to be something it wasn't" but it bills itself as a horror story in the subtitle, so I don't think my expectations were unreasonable....more
A story about an ex-cop dog working as a private investigator. What's not to like? I would definitely read a novel set in this world.A story about an ex-cop dog working as a private investigator. What's not to like? I would definitely read a novel set in this world....more
The King had never really believed in New York City.
More precisely, he had always imagined it was no more or less a true place than the Fields of F
The King had never really believed in New York City.
More precisely, he had always imagined it was no more or less a true place than the Fields of Fancy or the Forest of Wonder and Moderate Peril: a place sustained entirely by the belief of its citizens and the untold millions of dreamers who willed it into being every morning.
When he arrived, he found that this was true. New York was no less impressive for being mostly fictional. Of course, the place was lousy with writers.
The King felt right at home.
A charming fairytale about storytelling and personal agency. Also the innkeeper's wife is lowkey one of the best minor characters of 2019.
sometimes you just wanna read about a girl who is Super Special because her latent powers could tip the balance in the war immemorial bemmm, junk food
sometimes you just wanna read about a girl who is Super Special because her latent powers could tip the balance in the war immemorial between the realms of light and darkness. naturally, both realms send their Hottest Boy to recruit her. let the drama begin.
it’s So Serious and yet fundamentally unserious at the same time. multiple characters are introduced solely to kill them off 10 pages later so the main character can be emotionally devastated. never a dull moment, really.
some additional thoughts: - there’s so much worldbuilding, and yet it seems so inadequate. the premise is that people are being recruited to pledge their eternal support to one of the warring realms, but we know virtually nothing about the war. why are they fighting? who is winning? no clue! instead we get promo vids of a beach party and sea turtles. - the main character’s internal monologue about which realm to support is pretty much “idk who to choose. idk. idk.� then she gets distracted by a hot boy and/or someone trying to assassinate her. - the main character is obsessed with numbers. a lot of reviewers are hating on this, which I think is fair, but it’s significant that she’s using it as a coping mechanism. when she’s about to panic or emotionally overload, she distracts herself by reciting factoids about numbers until she can get ahold of herself. not my favorite character quirk, but I do think it’s relatable.
overall, this will not be winning any high literature awards, but I was in a mood and I had fun with this....more
Santangel and Luzia were both instantly likable and easy to root for. Their relationship moved very quickly from3 stars. Strong characters, weak plot.
Santangel and Luzia were both instantly likable and easy to root for. Their relationship moved very quickly from "mutual attraction with fun banter" to "raging passion," but I'm willing to let that slide in a standalone. Also, thematically, their relationship was less about romance than a decision to live life to the fullest. It was a mutual pact between two slaves to stop living as slaves and instead live for themselves, come what may.
However, the magical competition that forms the backbone of the book's plot wasn't that interesting. There were no rules and no judging criteria; each successive trial was just "do whatever you feel like, hope it impresses the judges, hope it doesn't get you branded as a heretic." And it was slow. And the political angle of Perez's ambition and his favor at court was never explored in an interesting way.
Also, a quibble with the magic system and the ending (MAJOR SPOILERS): (view spoiler)[You expect me to buy that teleportation is Great Magic that can only be performed via sacrificing a magical artifact, and duplicating coins is flat-out impossible, but reviving someone who has disintegrated to ash is just a simple spell you can do every morning before breakfast? (hide spoiler)]...more
started reading this and then had to go to bed due to an early-morning appointment the next day. spent all night dreaming trying to figure out what Sastarted reading this and then had to go to bed due to an early-morning appointment the next day. spent all night dreaming trying to figure out what Saloninus was up to. good times...more
let me be clear, I'm super happy the ship sailed, 10/10 OTP
however I thought the meta-plot of this season was monotonous (mostly a bunch of walking, ylet me be clear, I'm super happy the ship sailed, 10/10 OTP
however I thought the meta-plot of this season was monotonous (mostly a bunch of walking, yeah I know that's sorta the point) and the statements weren't really doing it for me either. having the horror be abstracted to "a parent or relative or maybe a friend, can't remember their name or face" took out a lot of the oomph for me.
overall, most of this season was a slog. on the other hand, a few of my favorite eps were from this season (The Sick Village, The Processing Line, the one where Martin chats with a tape recorder for 30 minutes) so it's hard to rate. also OTP was very cute...more
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