Kam
So this was a pretty entertaining read. The whole Beast of Gevaudan thing made me think this would go Brotherhood of the Wolf when I first heard about it, but it turns out it’s actually a lot more like Witcher.
However, there was some issue with the worldbuilding, especially with specificity in time and place whenever Sebastian (or Livia) was talking about anything that wasn’t directly related to the events that they talk about (the death of Joan of Arc and the hunt for the Beast of Gevaudan, respectively). This can be attributed to Sebastian’s especially long life and imperfect memory (ditto Livia), so I’m willing to let that slide. Still, some structure would have been appreciated.
Structure would be appreciated for the way magic is used in this novel, too. It’s quite clear that the author is pulling from ancient and world religion; folklore; alchemy; and the writings of John Dee, Aleister Crowley, and Helena Blavatsky, among others, but there’s something about the way it all hangs together that WORKS for the purposes of this novel, but which seems to lack a deeper consistency.
The need for further elaboration and structure applies to the characters. While Sebastian, Sarmodel, and Antoine appear to be well-drawn, the other characters suffer by comparison. Again, this might be attributable to the narrator’s unreliability, but it would have been nice to see those other characters get a chance to shine, no matter how briefly. This is especially true for the women: even Livia, who is herself briefly a narrator, is not characterized to the same degree as the three aforementioned characters.
What I feel is the problem here, is that the overall writing lacks a certain level of craft to really bring these large and lofty ideas together in a way that would make this novel truly stand out. While the writing does not feel utterly juvenile (thankfully), it’s also very clear that this is a debut effort. Fortunately, the writing shows the author’s promise, so I hope that they build on that promise in any books that come out in the future.
Overall, this was not a bad read: the characters (especially the protagonists) are interesting; the plot is engaging; and the themes of humanity versus monstrosity; the burden of immortality; and the weight and corrupting influence of power are all played out quite well in the narrative. However, there is a certain lack of structure and elaboration that makes things like the characterization and the world-building come off a bit thin, and makes somewhat obvious that this is the author’s debut work. Despite that, though, there is promise here, and I look forward to seeing if any sequels related to this one come out in the future.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.
So this was a pretty entertaining read. The whole Beast of Gevaudan thing made me think this would go Brotherhood of the Wolf when I first heard about it, but it turns out it’s actually a lot more like Witcher.
However, there was some issue with the worldbuilding, especially with specificity in time and place whenever Sebastian (or Livia) was talking about anything that wasn’t directly related to the events that they talk about (the death of Joan of Arc and the hunt for the Beast of Gevaudan, respectively). This can be attributed to Sebastian’s especially long life and imperfect memory (ditto Livia), so I’m willing to let that slide. Still, some structure would have been appreciated.
Structure would be appreciated for the way magic is used in this novel, too. It’s quite clear that the author is pulling from ancient and world religion; folklore; alchemy; and the writings of John Dee, Aleister Crowley, and Helena Blavatsky, among others, but there’s something about the way it all hangs together that WORKS for the purposes of this novel, but which seems to lack a deeper consistency.
The need for further elaboration and structure applies to the characters. While Sebastian, Sarmodel, and Antoine appear to be well-drawn, the other characters suffer by comparison. Again, this might be attributable to the narrator’s unreliability, but it would have been nice to see those other characters get a chance to shine, no matter how briefly. This is especially true for the women: even Livia, who is herself briefly a narrator, is not characterized to the same degree as the three aforementioned characters.
What I feel is the problem here, is that the overall writing lacks a certain level of craft to really bring these large and lofty ideas together in a way that would make this novel truly stand out. While the writing does not feel utterly juvenile (thankfully), it’s also very clear that this is a debut effort. Fortunately, the writing shows the author’s promise, so I hope that they build on that promise in any books that come out in the future.
Overall, this was not a bad read: the characters (especially the protagonists) are interesting; the plot is engaging; and the themes of humanity versus monstrosity; the burden of immortality; and the weight and corrupting influence of power are all played out quite well in the narrative. However, there is a certain lack of structure and elaboration that makes things like the characterization and the world-building come off a bit thin, and makes somewhat obvious that this is the author’s debut work. Despite that, though, there is promise here, and I look forward to seeing if any sequels related to this one come out in the future.
Originally posted at kamreadsandrecs.tumblr.com.