lindzy's review against another edition
4.0
Original Review Here
I had no idea what I was letting myself in for with this book. This is the first dark fantasy I have read and I wasn’t sure whether it would get too dark for my liking. But although the beginning annoyed me for reasons I will mention later, I ended up gripped and enjoying the tale.
The narration style instantly had me hooked with this book. It is set after events have happened, so although the narrator is telling his own story, it is with a detached air of someone who is almost bemused by what has befallen him. It works and makes David’s character likeable from the start. With slight detours along the way and addressing the reader directly, the narration provides amusement, a light-hearted break from the darkness of events.
David is a strongly developed character. From a boy to a monster to a man, he connects with the audience in such a way that you want him to survive the trials he must go through. The more of his monster – Cuthach – he becomes, the more his humanity reveals his vulnerabilities. All the characters play their part, but their purpose feels as if they are purely there to help progress David rather than having any true story of their own. It works though – you engage with them just enough to care who lives and who dies.
The reason the book irritated me was the language. During the first half, there is a lot of swearing and crude language. It felt over-done – like the narrator was trying to show off – and when one considers the child is only supposed to be eight, it did not feel natural. As David ages, this actually tones down and adds to the story rather than proving to be a distraction. While I am not offended by crude language, it has to earn its place like any other word in a novel.
Once the language settled down, I became engrossed with the story and gripped to find out what the end result was going to be. I don’t know how it compares to other dark fantasy books, but I enjoyed it enough to seek out more from this genre and author.
I had no idea what I was letting myself in for with this book. This is the first dark fantasy I have read and I wasn’t sure whether it would get too dark for my liking. But although the beginning annoyed me for reasons I will mention later, I ended up gripped and enjoying the tale.
The narration style instantly had me hooked with this book. It is set after events have happened, so although the narrator is telling his own story, it is with a detached air of someone who is almost bemused by what has befallen him. It works and makes David’s character likeable from the start. With slight detours along the way and addressing the reader directly, the narration provides amusement, a light-hearted break from the darkness of events.
David is a strongly developed character. From a boy to a monster to a man, he connects with the audience in such a way that you want him to survive the trials he must go through. The more of his monster – Cuthach – he becomes, the more his humanity reveals his vulnerabilities. All the characters play their part, but their purpose feels as if they are purely there to help progress David rather than having any true story of their own. It works though – you engage with them just enough to care who lives and who dies.
The reason the book irritated me was the language. During the first half, there is a lot of swearing and crude language. It felt over-done – like the narrator was trying to show off – and when one considers the child is only supposed to be eight, it did not feel natural. As David ages, this actually tones down and adds to the story rather than proving to be a distraction. While I am not offended by crude language, it has to earn its place like any other word in a novel.
Once the language settled down, I became engrossed with the story and gripped to find out what the end result was going to be. I don’t know how it compares to other dark fantasy books, but I enjoyed it enough to seek out more from this genre and author.
lindzy's review against another edition
4.0
Original Review Here
It took me a while to get into The Whisper King, mainly because of the crude language from the start. But you adapt to the writing style and get swept up in the story. The originality of the first book, plus the fact I thoroughly enjoyed it, meant I was eager to read Daughter of Shadows and see how David’s story progresses.
First of all, there is very little of David’s daughter in the book, despite the title. The whole plot stems around his desire to rescue her, first from the Whisper King, then from new and unexpected enemies. He gets a little side-tracked on the way by Yeller creating monsters out of average human beings and unleashing chaos.
David adapts to being human again, and isn’t prepared to let that stop him. Although human, he is far from average as he can still make it back to the Shadow Mountain for a duel with Ned and a couple of chats with the Whisper King. You do witness him becoming a leader though. He is also fighting for something more than himself – he has Donna and Adam to protect now.
Donna herself isn’t a driving force in the story. Her sister, Sam (introduced briefly in the first book), is a force to be reckoned with and a cool character – she takes everything in her stride and goes along with anything in order to keep people safe. The sudden relationship between Pitch and Sam felt a little off though – far too fast and sugar-coated for the tone of the rest of the book. These guys may be monsters, yet it was this romance that felt unreal for me.
Pitch, Lump and Dreck, along with Ned and some new Cuthachs are there to back David up. Their characters develop in the book, but they still remain, very much, the side-kicks.
Th pacing is steady despite the level of violence throughout the book. Two missions are underway: find David’s daughter, and stop the Mac Tire corporation from messing up the world. There is a lot of time going back and forth between worlds while the characters figure out what to do. Although this is interspersed with some fights along the way, the pace remains steady.
I knew what I was getting myself into with this book. But for some reason, I found the level of swearing annoyed me. It works in the first book; it matches their situation. The swearing didn’t add anything to the dialogue this time, it just felt as if it was there because Radcliffe knew he could get away with it.
It works as a shock-factor for the first book, setting the tone for what is about to come. But this is the second book – we know what to expect and if you start noticing the language, it isn’t working naturally. So what’s the point?
I enjoyed Daughter of Shadows – even if David’s daughter was a bit of a disappointment when we met her! Radcliffe is an original writer!
It took me a while to get into The Whisper King, mainly because of the crude language from the start. But you adapt to the writing style and get swept up in the story. The originality of the first book, plus the fact I thoroughly enjoyed it, meant I was eager to read Daughter of Shadows and see how David’s story progresses.
First of all, there is very little of David’s daughter in the book, despite the title. The whole plot stems around his desire to rescue her, first from the Whisper King, then from new and unexpected enemies. He gets a little side-tracked on the way by Yeller creating monsters out of average human beings and unleashing chaos.
David adapts to being human again, and isn’t prepared to let that stop him. Although human, he is far from average as he can still make it back to the Shadow Mountain for a duel with Ned and a couple of chats with the Whisper King. You do witness him becoming a leader though. He is also fighting for something more than himself – he has Donna and Adam to protect now.
Donna herself isn’t a driving force in the story. Her sister, Sam (introduced briefly in the first book), is a force to be reckoned with and a cool character – she takes everything in her stride and goes along with anything in order to keep people safe. The sudden relationship between Pitch and Sam felt a little off though – far too fast and sugar-coated for the tone of the rest of the book. These guys may be monsters, yet it was this romance that felt unreal for me.
Pitch, Lump and Dreck, along with Ned and some new Cuthachs are there to back David up. Their characters develop in the book, but they still remain, very much, the side-kicks.
Th pacing is steady despite the level of violence throughout the book. Two missions are underway: find David’s daughter, and stop the Mac Tire corporation from messing up the world. There is a lot of time going back and forth between worlds while the characters figure out what to do. Although this is interspersed with some fights along the way, the pace remains steady.
I knew what I was getting myself into with this book. But for some reason, I found the level of swearing annoyed me. It works in the first book; it matches their situation. The swearing didn’t add anything to the dialogue this time, it just felt as if it was there because Radcliffe knew he could get away with it.
It works as a shock-factor for the first book, setting the tone for what is about to come. But this is the second book – we know what to expect and if you start noticing the language, it isn’t working naturally. So what’s the point?
I enjoyed Daughter of Shadows – even if David’s daughter was a bit of a disappointment when we met her! Radcliffe is an original writer!
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