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mbs1236's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
smiorganbaldhead's review
5.0
4.5/5. (Vague spoilers.) I really enjoyed these stories. In particular, I enjoyed the first two stories’ exploration of the consequences of revenge. Still, I wish the central relationship in those stories had been more developed. Jirel’s romantic feelings in the second story are strange, though perhaps they are a magical consequence of her actions in the first story. The plot would have still worked if her feelings were of compassion and pity without being romantic. In the later stories, Jirel’s “violence” takes a magical quality, giving her power but also luring her back into the same mistake from the first story. In this way, the final line of the last story is tragic, and perhaps dramatic irony as Jirel doesn’t seem to see the parallel with her previous actions.
eric_conrad's review
4.0
Jirel, the heroine, has these adventures that are dark, brooding and puzzling. I wonder if they are meant to be allegorical in nature.
I can see Lovecraft here and as someone who enjoys the work of Michael Moorcock and his character Elric, I can appreciate the mood of the Jirel stories.
I can see Lovecraft here and as someone who enjoys the work of Michael Moorcock and his character Elric, I can appreciate the mood of the Jirel stories.
xeni's review
I read the first story of this collection, and I was loving the weird, strange hellscape and odd creatures Jirel was encountering. It was really cool. And then... what was written to be a feminist work, something that was described as "going against the he-man brawn of the 1930's pulp stories" turned into sexual assault apologizing. So, I'm not finishing this series of short stories.
valyvre's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ashleylm's review
3.0
Echoing what some others have said: I found the descriptions worked well, Jirel herself not terribly interesting, and the plots godawful dull. The climax was almost always some variation of Jirel thinks/endures/waits/focuses/looks/imagines/stands/concentrates, which is about a dull a climax as you can wish for. The author appears not to care for multiple characters and/or dialogue very much, and eschews them as much as possible. It's mostly Jirel standing somewhere, with description of what she sees.
She also has an apparent obsession with blackness (story 1: the black god, story 2: the black god again, story 3: black stones, black stump, black hair, black-robed wizard, black sky (despite it being daytime), black mountains, black blob at the doorway, story 4: entire black dimension, black villain with black beard, black mountains, black ocean, black black black black black etc. ...
If she had written some variant of William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land it might have been amazing. But as far as sword and sorcery goes, yowzer, this is tiresome meat. So 5 stars for description, 1 star for plot/character, kind of a low 3.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
She also has an apparent obsession with blackness (story 1: the black god, story 2: the black god again, story 3: black stones, black stump, black hair, black-robed wizard, black sky (despite it being daytime), black mountains, black blob at the doorway, story 4: entire black dimension, black villain with black beard, black mountains, black ocean, black black black black black etc. ...
If she had written some variant of William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land it might have been amazing. But as far as sword and sorcery goes, yowzer, this is tiresome meat. So 5 stars for description, 1 star for plot/character, kind of a low 3.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alexiachantel's review
5.0
This compilation of short stories is stunning. Black God's Kiss is eerie and by far my favorite. Jirel's vibrancy and the alienness of the landscape that is hell are wonderfully written. There is so much writing inspiration within these stories.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
5.0
Some of the best dark, raw, brutal, and libidinous sword and sorcery to come out of the pulp eras; puts Robert E. Howard to shame. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/planetary-peril-and-seductive-sorcery/
gorillotaur's review
2.0
Podcast review (swedish) http://lashart.podbean.com/e/cl-moore-jirel-of-joiry/