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jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
Traveling in a labyrinth of memory and the potential future alongside otherworldly spirits, the truth and the bounds of reality are explored in Karen Lord's Unraveling.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
A forensic therapist, Dr. Miranda Ecouvo helped to solve a string of serial killings in the City, but her investigation is not yet quite complete. Faced with a near-death experience where she's almost hit by a bus, Miranda is thrown from time and into a realm of spirits. Guided by the invested interest of Chance and his brother the Trickster, Miranda explores the victims of the serial killer in greater detail, traversing memories via a labyrinth, in the hopes of gleaning vital information to help catch the mastermind behind the murders, one who seeks immortality. Delving deeper and deeper, the trio are faced with increasing questions of a moralistic nature and ponder how they could prevent the mastermind from achieving success.
The story contains elements that are intriguing, matching with the tone and content of the novel's synopsis, and the exploration within the narrative provoked deeper thought; however, it was generally rather difficult to connect with, almost as if the concept was clear in the author's envisioning of it, but that enormity didn't quite translate to the portrayal offered on the page. The cosmic balancing and/or karmic equilibrium of the story eventually comes together, but the journey for the reader to that point was tedious and confusing (though I do wonder if this was intentional to place the reader more deeply inside the story, providing a sense of Miranda's experience). I recognize that I might not be the right audience for this story in this format as I struggled through to the end, but with some further development of the world and characters that would offer a less nebulous how and why, I might enjoy the story more.
Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
A forensic therapist, Dr. Miranda Ecouvo helped to solve a string of serial killings in the City, but her investigation is not yet quite complete. Faced with a near-death experience where she's almost hit by a bus, Miranda is thrown from time and into a realm of spirits. Guided by the invested interest of Chance and his brother the Trickster, Miranda explores the victims of the serial killer in greater detail, traversing memories via a labyrinth, in the hopes of gleaning vital information to help catch the mastermind behind the murders, one who seeks immortality. Delving deeper and deeper, the trio are faced with increasing questions of a moralistic nature and ponder how they could prevent the mastermind from achieving success.
The story contains elements that are intriguing, matching with the tone and content of the novel's synopsis, and the exploration within the narrative provoked deeper thought; however, it was generally rather difficult to connect with, almost as if the concept was clear in the author's envisioning of it, but that enormity didn't quite translate to the portrayal offered on the page. The cosmic balancing and/or karmic equilibrium of the story eventually comes together, but the journey for the reader to that point was tedious and confusing (though I do wonder if this was intentional to place the reader more deeply inside the story, providing a sense of Miranda's experience). I recognize that I might not be the right audience for this story in this format as I struggled through to the end, but with some further development of the world and characters that would offer a less nebulous how and why, I might enjoy the story more.
Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
wolftxxth's review against another edition
It didn't draw me in the first few pages which is a sign I know I am going to dislike it.
claire100's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nefeli's review against another edition
I've read a few books where the readers are simply dropped into the world and left there to fend for themselves and figure out how everything works, but Unraveling took that experience to a whole other level. It was original and ambitious and intriguing but also super confusing and I can't honestly say that I enjoyed the experience of reading it very much. I'll definitely look up more of Karen Lord's work though.
stitching_ghost's review against another edition
DNF at 49% I have only the vaguest idea of what's going on and no sense that it's going anywhere (I'm getting Masters of Death vibes but with less squirrel squabbling) and at this point I feel comfortable that this one isn't for me.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
4.0
I can't say that I totally understood this book but I liked it. It's mysterious and hypnotic and dark but hopeful. I also have never read another fantasy novel like it and all of Lord's books that I've read are so unique. She has an astounding literary imagination.
readingrampage's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jesstonn's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
sustainably_lucia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I loved the beginning of this book but got a bit lost in the middle and then it wrapped up nicely at the end. This book could be a standalone but it makes more sense when you have read the previous one in the series. The writing is beautifully poetic and easy to get lost in. I enjoyed it even though I had no idea what was going on at times. It is a murder mystery novel so I suppose being confused is par for the course.
I adored the interactions between the brothers and enjoyed their discussions about how we perceive time and death.
rpych2's review against another edition
1.0
Apparently this book isn’t really a standalone, it’s a sort of continuation of one of the author’s other stories and it really showed. I don’t hate stories that don’t reveal a lot, but this book took that to another level. It was so needlessly confusing that I had no idea what was happening for most of the story. The reader is just dropped into this world with no explanation of what’s happening and it never becomes clearer. I never connected with any of the characters because of that either. This was just a bad reading experience, and not one that I’d recommend.