Lou

Galaxy Quest is my favorite movie, so of course I had to have this book. I (unjustly) assumed that the book would mostly rehash the stories the Never Surrender documentary had already told, and I was delighted to be wrong. The interviews, photos, and concept art in Galaxy Quest the Inside Story provide new insight into the best Star Trek movie of all time. And it's just plain gorgeous to look at.

Delightful! Somehow not at all what I was expecting and exactly what I was expecting. It's short. Just read it. You'll see.

I adore Sebastian Nothwell's writing style and ability to tell a story, but his characters are always what leave the strongest lasting impression. Our MCs, Evelyn and Morgan, are beautifully realized with histories that inform their actions. Other reviewers have mentioned the lack of open communication between them for a majority of the book, but I think Morgan's unwillingness to be honest about his past makes total sense given the trauma he's suffered and the shame he feels about it. He's never had anyone he could safely unpack his complicated feelings with, and years of emotional isolation aren't easily undone (especially when he's heard Evelyn speak fondly of his abuser!)

Nothwell's secondary characters are always a joy as well. I found the Devereaux siblings delightful in completely different ways, and the character of Aunt Cecily takes the archetypal forbidding aunt and gives background and reason to her stern, judgmental, and proper manner. The cook was also a particular favorite.

Mr Warren's Profession is a compelling, beautifully written, and heartfelt romance which features all of your favorite Victorian tropes (romance complicated by class! complex social rituals! repressed emotions!)

Sebastian Nothwell has a way of describing things that immediately conjure vivid images in your mind and a knack for creating complex and complete characters that you can't help but adore.

The Night Circus is a sluggish story about a circus... that happens to contain two magicians who, for much of the book, have no idea that they're competing or why. There is no “fierce competition” or “duel” and describing their feelings for each other as “deep, magical love” is only accurate in that magic is the only explanation for why either of them would be attracted to the other.

This book had a lot of problems, but the one that bothered me the most was the choice of the 3rd person omniscient narrator. The author tries to build tension by having Celia question Marco's motives, but the attempt falls flat when you remember that you've been privy to both their innermost thoughts throughout the whole book.

If you really like romantic-to-the-point-of-absurdity depictions of circuses, tension-less romance, and clocks, this one might be for you.