Steve
This was interesting, with what felt like a unique take on the space opera genre (the slightly more mature main characters were a nice touch). While most of the prose was very good, with a nice turn of phrase, there was the occasional rushed scene that felt a little "boy's own", although not enough to detract from the overall story. In summary, very good and I am curious about the next in the series (and indeed, the wider series).
Not sure whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. On the one hand it is a very good exercise of norse-themed world-building; on the other hand not much really happens, other than to move all the pieces into position for the third and final book. People do a lot of travelling, and much blood is spilt, but it could have all been done in a much shorter book.
If you liked the first book and want more of the same world, this is exactly what you are looking for. However, if you want a dynamic plot, you might be sorely disappointed. This is not Brandon Sanderson. Hopefully the final book, when it appears, will bring things to a crashing, satisfying conclusion, although I do slightly dread a drawn-out plod through the world before we get there.
This was short and fun, but an awful lot of hand-waving was involved. I am curious exactly what proportion of the work is Hamilton's and which is Powell's, since this felt a little under-powered for a Peter F. Hamilton novel (although, to be honest, I've only read his longer works, so maybe this is typical).
After such a long wait for this time be published, you might be concerned that it is not going to live up to expectations. Well, I can reassure you: this is excellent. As good, if not better than Shades of Grey. While the first book sets up the initially baffljng world, this expands the world and answers many of the questions. I am now very much looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy, although hopefully we won’t have to wait another 14 years for it (having said that, if it is as good as this one, I’d be happy to wait).
I'm not sure whether to rate this 4 starts or 5 stars. On the one hand, the world-building is amazing and actually feels like the book was written in the 19th Century. On the other hand, the book assumes a virtually expert-level knowledge of 19th Century sailing terminology. How you get on with the book will largely depend on how willing you are to set aside the dictionary and just go with the flow.
In any event, the book is very well written and is genuinely thrilling at times (in fact, one of the battles manages to be thrilling even though witnessed from a distance). I'm very much looking forward to the next in the series...
Boy! If ever a book needed to be an ebook, this is it. When the package arrived in the post, I initially thought I had mistakenly ordered a brick. Of course, this is a not a criticism; it merely makes receiving the book as much an event as reading it.
The story builds as it progesses, starting simply and moving to a satisfying climax. As has been noted in other reviews, there are similarities with Lord of the Rings, with the simple bucolic beginning building to world shattering finale, however where LOTR is solidly serious, this coats its tale with a lot more humour, both visual and verbal. It is not often that a book makes me genuinely smile or laugh, however this one managed it on page after page. Remembering the arrival of winter, or the cheshire cat like appearances of the dragon, has me smiling even now. I am also never going to look at quiche the same.
The book, although hefty, generally avoids the tendancy of some long running comics to pad out the story with random asides or unnecessary placing of characters in peril. The story moves along quickly, with the reveals happening with sufficient frequency to keep things fresh.
I would like to say I read this from cover to cover in one sitting, however in truth I need to sleep and eat and avoid alienating my family. I tried my hardest though. It is not often that you encounter a true tour de force, however this graphic novel is worth all of the awards that have been heaped upon it. If you only ever read one graphic novel, this should be the one.
God this was long and, to be frank, felt it. Granted it came together in the last 10%, but there was a lot of travelogue up to that point. Won’t stop me reading the final book however - or at least it wouldn’t if it weren’t for the fact that the next book is not available on Kindle in the UK. WTF. Hopefully it finally appears before this fades from my memory…
Surprisingly uninvolving, with some pretty gruesome violence. I think the disjointed timeline acted to distance the reader (well, me) from the characters. While the story is competently told, I don't really understand why this is apparently considered a “buzzy” book. 3.5 stars, rounded down since it felt less than the sum of its parts.
4.5 stars. Almost perfect. Very slightly ups the stakes compared to Legends & Lattes, although not enough to take it out of cosy territory. Maybe the threat is dealt with just a little too easily (hence the dropping of half a star), but I guess that is not why we're here, so I'm happy to round it up. In any event, I loved the setting and characters, and it sets up the L&L world nicely. Might even be better than L&L.
A somewhat shameful (on my part) DNF. The story was fine, but a little uninvolving, probably because this is a basically a radio play rather than a book. Given this constraint, a lot of the scene-setting was left to the foley work and music, which, while ok, didn't really make up for the lack of show-don't-tell. I made it to around 60%, but then started to get distracted by other, better things in my TBR list.
A book of two radically different halves. One is the story teased by the blurb; an engrossing, horrifying ride through an endless, pointless war. The other, which felt like the majority, is a wandering, muddy story that seems to serve no purpose other than as a frame for the more interesting tale. The ending was very predictable, so much so that I was eventually reading diagonally simply to get to the big reveal.
The writing also feels very dated, particularly most of the female characters. As with most things in the book, the best written woman is in the Felix storyline, with very strong overtones of the Rita character in All You Need Is Kill (a.k.a. Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat), so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if this was the inspiration for the Japanese novel.
Frankly, the disparities between the two halves of the book make this feel like it was written by two different people.
I'm not sure whether I'd recommend this book. It is true that the Felix plot line is a classic, but there is an awful lot of padding around this.
Within the first few pages I was already reading this in Cillian Murphy's Brummie accent - and that was before I discovered that this was inspired by Peaky Blinders. In fact, inspired is probably an understatement; this is essentially Peaky Blinders relocated to Anhk-Morpork. Having said that, don't let that comparison mislead you into thinking this is humorous. This is very much hard people doing hard, violent things. Dark as it is however, it is still a highly propulsive story. Very much looking forward to the next in the series.
