Very pulpy. It had a few good moments to it, but somehow I got the strong feeling that this premise could have been better served with a thicker book,Very pulpy. It had a few good moments to it, but somehow I got the strong feeling that this premise could have been better served with a thicker book, more careful world-building and a better eye towards pacing. It also took me about two-thirds of the book to realize this was a story with a villain protagonist.
That being said, I liked this book best when it dealt with Jack's relationships with Rosie and Morningstar, because it was in those moments that Jack was most understandable and human....more
This was a really lovely book, and I'm glad I read it. It's full of magic and wonder and colorful characters, and the writing is really well done! This was a really lovely book, and I'm glad I read it. It's full of magic and wonder and colorful characters, and the writing is really well done! ...more
A gem of a collection, full of imaginative sff. What really struck me was the magical-realist style of the stories: we're plopped into these worlds anA gem of a collection, full of imaginative sff. What really struck me was the magical-realist style of the stories: we're plopped into these worlds and some of them are more familiar than others but there's always something weird going on that makes it suddenly and beautifully strange. Some stories are more tragic or beautiful or weird but all feel very real, populated by sympathetic characters and grounded in a Kentucky that is both familiar and alien. But even though the stories all share Kentucky as a sort of base setting, the stories are all very distinct.
Definitely worth the read if you're a lover of truly imaginative fiction....more
A very solid collection of short stories and flash fiction, ranging all across the broad spectrum of SFF. There's a great deal of tonal range too, froA very solid collection of short stories and flash fiction, ranging all across the broad spectrum of SFF. There's a great deal of tonal range too, from the silly to the somber, and Yoachim is a deft hand at playing with structure.
Particular favorites are "The Little Mermaid of Innsmouth" and "Carla at the Off-Planet Tax Return Helpline."...more
I forgot how much I missed the Old Kingdom until I picked this up. I listened on audiobook while I spun at my spinning wheel, and it was lovely to heaI forgot how much I missed the Old Kingdom until I picked this up. I listened on audiobook while I spun at my spinning wheel, and it was lovely to hear again from all of these beloved characters. The narrator really managed to bring the characters to life. Honestly it makes me want to reread the original trilogy!...more
This was a really cool book. It's essentially a love story between a mad scientist and a witch, and their attempts to prevent their respective colleagThis was a really cool book. It's essentially a love story between a mad scientist and a witch, and their attempts to prevent their respective colleagues from destroying the world in an attempt to save it. Some of the early parts were hard to read, if only because the protagonists had such difficult and painful childhoods, for different reasons. But I like the world Anders has created here, and the story was rather un-put-downable. I read it mostly in bits and pieces over meals, but when I switched it to my commute read after the 2/3 mark, I came dangerously close to almost missing my bus stops because I was so engrossed in the unfolding drama....more
**spoiler alert** This book was a resounding "okay" for me. There were parts I liked, and parts I didn't, so my overall impression can be summed up wi**spoiler alert** This book was a resounding "okay" for me. There were parts I liked, and parts I didn't, so my overall impression can be summed up with a shrug.
Things I liked: the characters of Eve and Copper. These were two very interesting characters, along with a few others (like Gloria and whatever happened to Dustin??) whom I felt deserved more time on the page. I would read a book that was this, only entirely from Eve's perspective, and following all her adventures as a BAMF undercover agent of Faerie. Also, the writing was solid, and there was some lovely imagery and some fun world-building going on.
Things I didn't like: Tommin, basically. He was interesting at the beginning, but as soon as he's taken underground he becomes a completely passive dead-weight of a protagonist. In theory, he's supposed to be trying to figure out how to escape, but really, Eve does all the work on that plot, as well as putting up with Tommin's increasingly jerkish behavior. Granted, by that point Tommin is effectively an addict who can't see past his next hit, but when the book spends half the time in his head, and half the time in the head of someone who is actually doing something interesting, it just becomes frustrating. Even after the timeskip, he just lets himself be pushed and pulled around by other people, letting outside forces make almost all his decisions for him.
In that context, Eve's falling in love with him becomes unconvincing. I could see her falling in love with the person Tommin once was, and fighting tooth and nail to get him back to being that person, but that distinction is mentioned once in passing but then never really brought out. So it just feels like a hyper-competent young woman fighting to help out a guy who treats her terribly 95% of the time and who doesn't notice all she's doing for him. But it's supposedly okay because that other 5% of the time, he is a Hero (tm). There's even a last-minute thing where Tommin decides for some reason that Eve is a terrible person who is just trying to trick him.
(Seriously, when a man is constantly begging for a date and a woman says "No, we have to stay friends," and then he uses magic to convince her to date him, and she says "Okay, but we still have to stay friends, I can't tell you why right now but please just trust me, it's better for both of us," and then he decides angrily that she "made him fall in love with her," that is when I am just Done. With. Tommin.)
Also, there were a few plot holes. For example, how exactly Lorcan planned to use his gold-sons to attain the throne. The villain's plot comes across as Step 1: Acquire special gold-sons. Step 2: ???? Step 3: Profit!
And why was the throne left vacant for 200 years, without any other leprechaun stepping in, even as a figurehead? These dudes are all supposed to be self-aggrandizing and selfish backstabbers, so I find it hard to believe that NONE of them would have laid claim to the empty throne, even if it was no longer a true seat of power.
And why did Eve, who'd been tracking Lorcan for two centuries, fail to notice that Copper was still serving him? Seriously, after the time-skip, NOBODY thinks about Copper at all until he shows up again near the end. Like, he was just dropped as a character. Even if they think he's dead or lost, nobody even seems to miss or mourn him, or regret that they were never able to rescue him.
Wow, this review turned longer than I expected. I suppose there was a lot more I had to say about the things I didn't like, but obviously I liked it well enough to finish reading this. Again, I would have loved this book if it had just been from Eve's perspective, with the romance plot either dropped entirely or significantly altered. Heck, just have it be the Adventures of Eve and Copper! I loved those two crazy kids ^.^ The silent warrior and the babbling brook!...more
I jumped on this book as soon as I found out what it was about. I've tried my hand at "after the portal" fantasies--it's such an intriguing area to exI jumped on this book as soon as I found out what it was about. I've tried my hand at "after the portal" fantasies--it's such an intriguing area to explore!--so I was curious what another writer would do with it.
This book was everything that made me happy. I loved the characters, both how they live in our world now and what their own "homes" were like. I loved the concept of "sympathy" and how it related to the doorways. I loved how it ended. And I squeeed in delight when I learned there were more books set in this universe ^.^ Because I want to read more!
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