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geldauran's review against another edition
4.0
I ended up really enjoying this. And knowing that it is a sequel series, and that the first one took place during the cataclysm, makes SO much sense. It erases any complaint I had about it being a formerly-our-world fantasy.
I also thought it was quite mature for MG, and more toward the line of YA.
I also thought it was quite mature for MG, and more toward the line of YA.
msseviereads's review against another edition
5.0
Well... this one took me a bit. Thirteen days is a long time for me to read the same book! Big book and I kept trying to read too fast. I actually had to pay attention and slow down. This story had great writing, great storyline, great fantasy, true friendship and lots of intrigue! I really liked both Hazel and Hob's characters. The world building was complex and this one will be highly recommended for those advanced readers that crave a big story. And this one is perfectly clean! I'd say advanced readers all the way to third or fourth grade could handle it. It was as good read for me as a grown up too. I'm going to recommend to by husband and see what he thinks -- I'll update when he's finished!
amarasanti's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it because I liked two of the main characters and it had some interesting plots within. I didn't like it enough to recommend it to others though.
hadiqa01's review against another edition
5.0
*stand up and applause for a long time*
*sit down and thinking*, ".... Wow! I really have read all those 500 (and some) pages and oh man what an adventurous ride! This book deserves so much respect and attention from the readers and yet it only has 766 reviews. Smh!
I really wish it was a trilogy man. I want to read more work from this author but I can't find his books in my local (Wake County, NC) library T_T! The books is out of this world and the imagination is astonishing and mature.
*sit down and thinking*, ".... Wow! I really have read all those 500 (and some) pages and oh man what an adventurous ride! This book deserves so much respect and attention from the readers and yet it only has 766 reviews. Smh!
I really wish it was a trilogy man. I want to read more work from this author but I can't find his books in my local (Wake County, NC) library T_T! The books is out of this world and the imagination is astonishing and mature.
enygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This book has a great setting and premise. The characters are interesting and draw you into the story. Definitely a great fantasy to read
britterization's review against another edition
4.0
In which I finally read a middle grade book that I like (that's not a sequel). WHEE!
3000 years ago (aka present day), the earth suffered from "the Cataclysm" - a apocalyptic event that changed the literal shape of the earth (because earthquakes) as well as all of it's political structures. In this 3000 years fast forwarded version of earth, technology has been all but outlawed, and magical folks are treated in a vastly superior way to those without magic. Hob Smythe is a non-magical miner living in the Dusk (outside of present-day Vancouver) who is recruited by a secret society called The Fellowship that wants non-magic folks to have the same rights as magic folks. He is quickly whisked away to the capital (Impyrium) where he is to spy on Hazel Faeregrine - the princess third in line to the throne that the Fellowship suspects is massively powerful. Meanwhile, Hazel is trying to learn how to weild her great magical power, while maneuvering and investigating interesting goings on in the palace.
As you can probably tell from that description, there is a lot of world-building that happens in this book. As a result, the beginning is a little slow, but after a few chapters, I found myself engrossed. Neff creates a dynamic world full of magic, demons, and dragons. The characters themselves are intelligent, likable (if a little gullible), and independent. If you like your heroes with pluck, you'll love Hazel and Hob. The story, once it gets going, is fairly complex, but in a really great way. There's a lot of plotting and conspiracies and it's really fun to try to figure out what is happening along with Hazel and Hob. A lot of little threads are introduced, and many plot points are tied up in the end while paving the way for the next installment in the story. Additionally, there is fun social commentary in terms of non-magic vs. magic folks and their respective treatments.
I liked this enough that I immediately put the author's companion series, which is called The Tapestry tells about the events of the Cataclysm, on hold. Recommended for fantasy readers of all ages. 4 stars.
3000 years ago (aka present day), the earth suffered from "the Cataclysm" - a apocalyptic event that changed the literal shape of the earth (because earthquakes) as well as all of it's political structures. In this 3000 years fast forwarded version of earth, technology has been all but outlawed, and magical folks are treated in a vastly superior way to those without magic. Hob Smythe is a non-magical miner living in the Dusk (outside of present-day Vancouver) who is recruited by a secret society called The Fellowship that wants non-magic folks to have the same rights as magic folks. He is quickly whisked away to the capital (Impyrium) where he is to spy on Hazel Faeregrine - the princess third in line to the throne that the Fellowship suspects is massively powerful. Meanwhile, Hazel is trying to learn how to weild her great magical power, while maneuvering and investigating interesting goings on in the palace.
As you can probably tell from that description, there is a lot of world-building that happens in this book. As a result, the beginning is a little slow, but after a few chapters, I found myself engrossed. Neff creates a dynamic world full of magic, demons, and dragons. The characters themselves are intelligent, likable (if a little gullible), and independent. If you like your heroes with pluck, you'll love Hazel and Hob. The story, once it gets going, is fairly complex, but in a really great way. There's a lot of plotting and conspiracies and it's really fun to try to figure out what is happening along with Hazel and Hob. A lot of little threads are introduced, and many plot points are tied up in the end while paving the way for the next installment in the story. Additionally, there is fun social commentary in terms of non-magic vs. magic folks and their respective treatments.
I liked this enough that I immediately put the author's companion series, which is called The Tapestry tells about the events of the Cataclysm, on hold. Recommended for fantasy readers of all ages. 4 stars.
jljohasky's review against another edition
3.0
Popsugar 15/50: two books that share the same title (1). This was fun read. Well imagined. It took me a long time to read and I can’t put my finger on why.
mackle13's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Overall, I enjoyed this story. It reads like a sort of MG High Fantasy, and I liked the world building and how it didn't seem, to be, to be overly info-dumpy. Things were gradually laid out as they became relevant, and I liked the different perspectives we got to see through the two main characters eyes.
Really, I think the characters were a highlight for me. They were written so well - so believable and relatable, and they came from very different backgrounds with very different perspectives, so it was nice to see the world through their eyes and also to watch their growing friendship.
It was also nice to see characters slightly out of the norm. Hazel is a young albino girl and Hob is part First Nations - not demographics we often see portrayed in positive lights. (I recall reading something once about how almost all albino characters in books and movies are evil, and here we have no just a non-evil albino character, but a main character as well.)
One of the best things about the story, for me, was that it wasn't entirely straight forward. People's loyalties were questioned and tested, and while I didn't fall for the obvious red herring, I did find myself turning pages eagerly to find out exactly what was going on and who was betraying who.
The said - while I enjoyed the story as I was reading it, I can't say it left all that strong of an impression on me. I do want to continue the series - assuming the series does get continued - but I could also see myself sort of forgetting about it after a few months, let alone years.
***
ETA: One thing I had wanted to mention that I forgot to was the seeming ages of the girls.
The three sisters are triplets, all around 12; however, Hazel was the only one who actually seemed to be roughly 12 - perhaps slightly younger. Isabel read closer to 15 and Violet around 18, which made Hazel seem very immature by comparison. It was a bit jarring and I had to keep reminding myself that the girls are actually all meant to be the same age.
I think it actually would've worked better if all the girls were a bit older - like if they were all meant to be 15. Especially because of the things that are expected of them in this story.
Hob also seemed a bit older than his given age, but he had a rough life and was forced to take care of his family early on, so it made a little more sense in his case.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. It reads like a sort of MG High Fantasy, and I liked the world building and how it didn't seem, to be, to be overly info-dumpy. Things were gradually laid out as they became relevant, and I liked the different perspectives we got to see through the two main characters eyes.
Really, I think the characters were a highlight for me. They were written so well - so believable and relatable, and they came from very different backgrounds with very different perspectives, so it was nice to see the world through their eyes and also to watch their growing friendship.
It was also nice to see characters slightly out of the norm. Hazel is a young albino girl and Hob is part First Nations - not demographics we often see portrayed in positive lights. (I recall reading something once about how almost all albino characters in books and movies are evil, and here we have no just a non-evil albino character, but a main character as well.)
One of the best things about the story, for me, was that it wasn't entirely straight forward. People's loyalties were questioned and tested, and while I didn't fall for the obvious red herring, I did find myself turning pages eagerly to find out exactly what was going on and who was betraying who.
The said - while I enjoyed the story as I was reading it, I can't say it left all that strong of an impression on me. I do want to continue the series - assuming the series does get continued - but I could also see myself sort of forgetting about it after a few months, let alone years.
***
ETA: One thing I had wanted to mention that I forgot to was the seeming ages of the girls.
The three sisters are triplets, all around 12; however, Hazel was the only one who actually seemed to be roughly 12 - perhaps slightly younger. Isabel read closer to 15 and Violet around 18, which made Hazel seem very immature by comparison. It was a bit jarring and I had to keep reminding myself that the girls are actually all meant to be the same age.
I think it actually would've worked better if all the girls were a bit older - like if they were all meant to be 15. Especially because of the things that are expected of them in this story.
Hob also seemed a bit older than his given age, but he had a rough life and was forced to take care of his family early on, so it made a little more sense in his case.
librarianlayla's review against another edition
5.0
A magical world, with a well thought out and complex history. Parts of non fiction woven deeply within the fantasy, that makes this world, feel all the more real.
I sincerely hope that a sequel will be written. I adore it so much. It has made my heart ache. I feel I need more.
Beautiful, compelling, dark, enthralling.
I sincerely hope that a sequel will be written. I adore it so much. It has made my heart ache. I feel I need more.
Beautiful, compelling, dark, enthralling.
moonbeam89's review against another edition
5.0
I read the Tapestry series and loved them . this book is Legend of Korra to the Tapestry's avatar the last air bender. The world between the first series and Impyrium has evolved not into what it had been which is our current world but into a world where technology is limited . Magic is used more but only a fraction of people are born with it. It's nice to see how Rowan looks again but also sad so much has happened and most people think of Max, David and Mina as myths almost not believing half the things that they did. This book was a little slow and I just wanted answers most of the answers I wanted where about the past and why Impyrium was the way it was . I could tell who was fooling who for the most part but I would think the two main characters who are children put the Pieces together pretty well for there age . The pace was a bit slow at times and I did get Board waiting to see what would happen next but the last 20% really made up for it. And I relies the world the author was trying to make and how I should feel about the characters and that does make the progress slow for me but I'm thinking there won't be a need for that in the next book unless they travel to a land that is new . I can't stop thinking of the book and I know I will have to wait forever for the next one but it was worth going back to this world are world just altered . I also think you could read this without reading the other books but I think it would be way more enjoyable if you read the tapestry books first .