Tim
No spoilers here. What a great read. This is one of those books that are hard to put down. Flawed characters, mystery, suspense. But what I really enjoyed about this book is it has heart. Something you don't often see in a suspense novel. I really feel for the characters more than I thought I would. Great read would recommend to anyone who may like the grittier English mysteries like Broadchurch or Vera. This is not set in England but in California. I seriously loved this book and hope to see more like it
I know a lot of people like this book. I did not. I think the story could have been in half the number of pages. Do many times I had to think who some of these people even were. It really lost steam about half way through. Seriously there were about 100 pages were every sentence, every sentence, had the word sex in it. Enough.
By the end I was so tired and became more and more detached from the characters I really did not care what happened to them.
This rating hurt as Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorite authors. This one just seemed a bit off. It felt rushed from one fight scene to another. I really wish there was a bit more character development.
The story is of the Devils who are basically prisoners of the church who are used for special assignments
This assignment is to bring a young street urchin who finds out she s the daughter of the empress who was killed by her sister. The Devils need to bring her to the serpent throne to take her rightful place on the throne. But first she needs to be on the lookout for her cousins the Dukes who also want to take over the throne.
The last 25% of the book was really quite good but the leading 75% was kind of a mess. It just seemed like there really was no flow.
The humor is there is Joe Abercrombie fashion. I truly love that about the book but the world building was not there and the characters seemed a bit flat.
I believe i read this is the first in the series and I will read the next book when it comes out. So it was not all that bad
This was a fantastic book. I did originally “judge the book by the cover” I thought it was a lighthearted comedic book. Boy was I wrong on that. It is very dark with thoughts of suicide and being a “martyr” but it really is about making your life a life worth living.
The conversations between Cyrus and the dying artist, Orkidah, are the true backbone of the novel. Often very poignant.
This is probably one of the best books I have read in years. Thought provoking and very well written. I wish I had a book club to discuss.
I cannot recommend this book more.
Okay it has been a week later and I am still thinking about this book. It has burrowed into my brain. I have so many questions, especially about the ending. I keep having different theories as to what actually happened and what the clues might have been. No spoilers but all I can say is that it is a great book. Updated to 5 stars. If you live in my brain for a week you deserve it
Years ago I watched this mini-series and always meant to read the book. I think I owned the book at least different times. The book starts very slow as McMurtry is really developing the characters who will be the focal point of the entire novel.
As the book is over 800 pages I was not sure I was up to the challenge. I struggled through the beginning as I knew the story was going to improve.
Now that I have completed it I have a new appreciation for Lonesome Dove. When you read a book there is so much a production could do.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants not only an adventure book but also a story of love, a story of hope, a story of loss. The drive itself is a journey to try and reclaim youth.
Just fantastic
Such a fantastic book. Every so often you read a book and it can change the way you feel and think. This book is one of those books. I was easily able to give it 5 stars. O had previously read The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and thought it was quite good but this one really hits you in the feels.
Colson Whitehead is always a challenging author to read due to subject matter but always a pleasant emotional experience even if it is not necessarily a pleasant emotion
I wish it were longer
What a powerful punch in such a short book. Amazing!
I wish it could have been longer but the impact would not have been the same. Reading the note at the end of the book made an even bigger impact not knowing the history.
This is a Christmas classic and makes you believe in the human heart and the kindness of others. I cannot recommend this book more.
I think this is the best of the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. I like the third person on this one along with the interspersed Anthony letting us into his head.
I don't give very many 5 star reviews and usually if I really like a book it would be a four. This one surprised me so I gave the extra star.
Highly recommend if you have read the first four in the series as he writes about some of the past mysteries of Hawthorne himself but still has not answered.
I am sure this will not be the last of the series, at least I hope not.
Anthony Horowitz is turning out to be my favorite writer. Love the Magpie Murders, the Sherlock books and even the James Bond.
Can't wait to see where he takes us next
I think books like this only come once every few years. It was a delight to read the author's prose is fantastic and the story is fantastic. I do not generally give five star reviews unless the book is something magical that tells a great story and one that stays with you for awhile. This is one of those books.
I was a bit hesitant to read as it was an Oprah Book Club choice. I am glad I took the chance on it. Seriously a great read and one that should become a classic. It is a book of hope and how we should treat one another.
Loved the first half. hated the second
I was really enjoying this book in the first half. Really interesting characters and a great plot. When the mother comes home the book really changed. The writing style changed and I became quite bored and confused as to who the narrator truly was. 1st person, second person, third person. But I think it was a mix but I could not tell if the narration was conjuncture or did it happen. Too confusing for me.
Great Insight
What a great book about sex and faith. Who knew the two go hand in hand. I see myself in many of the situations discussed as I was raised in a Catholic church and Catholic school. And then being in college when the Aids epidemic was happening. Sometimes we don't know what messes us up. But this book helps the healing in knowing you are not alone.
I really enjoyed this book! You can tell the author has done research on the topics covered. But there are some things during this period that may be more fiction than fact. I think that Edward Rutherfurd does a good job explaining this as the main individual writing at the time was Edmund Backhouse who has been seen as an unreliable historian. I think Mr. Rutherfurd did a good job of showing the respect that Cixi deserves and not that of the Dragon Empress as people have claimed her to be.
That depiction of her is mostly due to the misogynistic writings of the historian throughout the twentieth century. I think this book explore so much more.
Years ago, I listened to a podcast about “the other side of history” and that is the history of the day-to-day average person. I think this book attempts that by inserting fictional characters in with historical ones.
This was my first book by Edward Rutherfurd, and it will not be my last!
If thou are afraid to read a book with old English, prithee take the chance to give this one a read. Seriously though when I first picked up the book, I was worried it was going to be like reading Shakespeare with language we do not use today. I kept reading though it and for some reason after about 25% into the book you barely notice the language and the book is one of those books that are hard to put down as you really have a connection with the lead character Mary Deerfield.
Unfortunately, if you know anything about history you pretty much know what happens to anyone accused of being a witch. I do not think this is a spoiler at all.
The characters are rich, the setting describe nicely, and the pace of storytelling is quite fast. I really enjoyed this one. I gave it 4 stars as I usually reserve (recently) to books that change me as a person. Really great book and I hope to read other stories by this author.
The book felt like watching an episode of CSI. Pretty much a popcorn book but none of the characters stood out as being in any intriguing. Pretty much cardboard. Served their purpose but no depth. No spoilers but the book seemed really unresolved, obviously this will continue into the next book but I doubt I will be picking that one up.
What a waste of my time. Seriously that ending came from nowhere. I like books that have plot twists and turns and you think back as to how you missed the clues that were right in front of you. This was more like a magician that asks you to pick a card and then tells you your number was 62.
Yep that random. I do not recommend anyone read this book who likes mystery novels. Oh there is no horror either don't know why they compared to The Shinning except there was a hotel and snow. Perhaps that person looked at the cover.
When they say don't judge a book by the cover they meant this book
I actually quite enjoyed this book. I agree with Nick Offerman's political stance but even I thought it could have been toned down a bit and developed more of his time in the outdoors. What was it like on the road. I think if I were to look at my journal during this time period that would be writing about politics as well.
I would give this book a solid C+. It was enjoyable to read just a bit jumbled in thought.
And Brett Kavanaugh is the worst Supreme Court pick ever
Ruth Ozeki is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. The book is one of the best I have read and I feel that this one will will stick with me for some time. It is very similar to feel, tone, and themes as A Tale for the Time Being. I think these are is the same literary universe and could be companion books. Ms. Ozeki understands readers and know that each book is different with each reader. People may read the same words but come away with very different feelings and understandings. I loved this book.
Basically the story is of Benny Oh. His father was killed in a freak accident and soon after he begins to hear voices from different object. The main on being a book. The book of Benny. It is also about his mother Annabelle who become a hoarder. Each deals with their own mental issues separately.
I really felt of these characters as well as the secondary characters. They are so well written and complex but also easy to understand you can see yourself in this story with them.
I loved the book and I hope you give it a try. Perhaps the book is not for you. But that is okay as books have a life and perhaps this one may fall to the bottom of the pile on your nightstand. It will be sad. Don't make this book sad.
Excellent read.
As i write this review it was a very weird week in the world. There is a school board in Tennessee that banned the book Maus which is about the holocaust in WWII. It was also Holocaust Remembrance Day this week. I did not know when I picked up this book it was about anti-semitism through the ages. As a novel it is not overly dramatic in that sense but it does bring about what has happened in the past.
The author writes in the novel “That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox.” I feel this is the heart of the book. It is a book about being a human and treating everyone with respect.
Another reason I loved the book is that I am one of those people who go into museums and think about the person who made an item and how it was used. Just trying to imagine what the item meant to people even if it was just a tool. I feel that in this book. It is the story of a book and the people who lived around the book. Very imaginative and full of life.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
Very Intersting
Lucien and his mother are in a cult. But seeing the cult through Lucien's eyes is different. He is still a child and this is the only life he has ever known. We as readers know where this eventually will lead. We want to see him get out. But, how can he still obeys his mother and elders. But there is that golden age between 12 and 13 when you start to question authority.
Very well written and very hard to put down. I almost put the book down in the first few pages because I really did not like how Lucien was being treated and thought this book was going in a different direction. Glad I decided to stick it out. Since this was an Amazon first read there were not many reviews so I needed to decide for myself. The book is fascinating, sad, suspenseful and engrossing all at the same time. This is not a mystery but a very good work of fiction
Absolutely a fantastic telling of the story of Ai Weiwei's father, himself and China in the 20th and 21st centuries. Helps to understand Weiwei's art and how to interrupt what he has completed. Before reading this book I knew little about his art and more about his activism. But now I see how they go hand in hand.
This almost reads like fiction.
I guess we need to add story teller to Ai Weiwei's list of talents.
At first I was unsure if I was going to like this book at all. I almost gave up after about half way through. But boy that ending was fantastic. I was going to rate this book between 2 and 3 stars but the pace really picks up and does not let go. No spoilers but I think the twist of this book is really great. Plus Mystery and Sci-fi and I think late 19th early 20th century who would have thought up that combo. Look forward to the authors next book
Amazing Book
I cannot believe how much I loved this book. I thought that WWII was a bit overused these days but this is truly not a book about the war it is a story of a journey. One might call it a classic quest story.
But I truly felt involved with these characters. I really felt for them and their journey. I am not sure if this is a true story or all fiction. Either way I thought it was so well crafted.
I literally was emotional all by the end.
The boom has everything, Nazis, cannibals, chickens, etc. I think this book should go down as a classic
Man was this book a chore to finish. I didn't hate it but I really did not like it. This book could have been edited down or broken down to a trilogy.
Many of the characters were very flat and even if the story was semi autobiographical I felt I heard most of the gangster parts in other books or movies. The godfather comes to mind.
The book then became very soap opery when characters thought too be dead came back. Oof. The love story did not capture me either.
I did enjoy the story of when he was a medic in the slums and the people he met there. that is the reason I gave this book two stars rather than one. I have no idea why this book was recommended and why the reviews are so high. I guess you either loved this book or really did not.
I had this on my nightstand for a long time. I had read The Starless Sea and was not impressed. So this one sat. One of my Twitter friends said this one was much better and I should read it. This book is fantasy and a fairy tale and an adventure tale all in one. Well written and quite engaging. One of the best books I read this year