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annabechtel28's review against another edition
4.0
Loved all the mystery & plot twists in the story! But I did find the ending to be a little disappointing & felt that the story was a dragged out too much. Overall very good tho!
magsimum_overdrive's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
saramoadi's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant. Had to let the dust settle after finishing this one, but it was one of my favorite books in the past two years.
I went in looking for mischief and high jinks and a bit of tomfoolery as a detective and his right hand man worked to solve a mystery. Boy was I in for a ride. The book had absolutely none of that and was very dark and mature (in a good way).
Very well written and organized. The author has you believing in a devil at work until the very end (and I mean the final four chapters) when all is revealed. The mystery is slowly unraveled through the perspective of the many characters riding upon the ship as they navigate their own troubles (both present and past). The point of view switches between the characters seamlessly and I did not experience any confusion. This style lent itself to the increasing air of mystery as you try to figure out who is responsible for the crimes being committed (as each character does seem to have their own motive). There was a good balance of foreshadowing and explanations in the book where everything is not spelled out or the reader is not confused most of the time. The characters were very dynamic and well developed and their development throughout the story is great.
My one note of criticism is that I would have loved some sort of clearer indication of the passage of time as the ship travelled across the sea. The characters would casually mention how many weeks have passed but (unless you are great at doing math and remembering between each read) you didn’t really get a good sense of how much time has passed since their departure.
I am looking forward to the next book if this becomes a series (and I hope it does!)
I went in looking for mischief and high jinks and a bit of tomfoolery as a detective and his right hand man worked to solve a mystery. Boy was I in for a ride. The book had absolutely none of that and was very dark and mature (in a good way).
Very well written and organized. The author has you believing in a devil at work until the very end (and I mean the final four chapters) when all is revealed. The mystery is slowly unraveled through the perspective of the many characters riding upon the ship as they navigate their own troubles (both present and past). The point of view switches between the characters seamlessly and I did not experience any confusion. This style lent itself to the increasing air of mystery as you try to figure out who is responsible for the crimes being committed (as each character does seem to have their own motive). There was a good balance of foreshadowing and explanations in the book where everything is not spelled out or the reader is not confused most of the time. The characters were very dynamic and well developed and their development throughout the story is great.
My one note of criticism is that I would have loved some sort of clearer indication of the passage of time as the ship travelled across the sea. The characters would casually mention how many weeks have passed but (unless you are great at doing math and remembering between each read) you didn’t really get a good sense of how much time has passed since their departure.
I am looking forward to the next book if this becomes a series (and I hope it does!)
julia_no's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
gordonwaddell's review against another edition
3.0
So I'm listening to the [a: Stuart Turton|17160667|Stuart Turton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1537181882p2/17160667.jpg] books in reverse order but not sure it makes a difference here. This is a somewhat complicated, mostly ship-in-a-bottle (almost literally) whodunnit, with some very unlikely co-incidences, parallel stories and very unexplained things not done in the investigation. I'm not sure the story held together, I didn't like the ending (more Doyle-magic the Christie-work-it-out), the narrator was either unreliable or the copy editing was bad in some places (why continually refer to the 8th lantern long after there is less than that number of ships) or both and there seemed to be a lot of repetition (emphasized by being an audiobook I feel). There is also a short-chapters-and-need-to-have-a-cliffhanger style to it that is at times very exciting and at others just Saturday morning Buck Rogers boring.
I'm going 3 stars here because certainly the first half is really compelling, then it starts to unwind a little IMO.
I'm going 3 stars here because certainly the first half is really compelling, then it starts to unwind a little IMO.
readingtotravel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
Wow. A must read. Super fun and entertaining, keeps you on your toes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
kells30's review
3.0
Following on from the success of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton’s new release brings us another murder mystery which also has a lot of fantastical elements to it, so much so that I thought I was reading a fantasy novel at times. This book also manages to be historical fiction at the same time - it is set aboard an east indiaman spice ship bound from Batavia (Jakarta!) to Amsterdam in the year 1634. The crew and passengers become convinced that the voyage is cursed by the devil, known as ‘Old Tom’ and that if they don’t bargain with him, they will not survive. Our protagonists are Arent Hayes, a mercenary who is aboard the ship to try and protect his friend and business partner (a Sherlock-type character who has been arrested for treason); and Sara Wessel, the wife of the Governor General of Batavia who is sailing back home to Amsterdam to take up a new position in the East India Company. This unlikely duo band together to work out the truth behind Old Tom, beginning with the murder of a ship carpenter on the docks shortly before the ship sails. The sinister occurrences on the ship lend a great deal of atmosphere which was a successful part of the book for me.
While it turns out that most of the fantastical elements of the book had rational explanations, many elements still felt wildly unbelievable to me - there are too many genius-level intelligences onboard, for one thing, as well as too many characters that seemed too modern in outlook. While I enjoyed the read, these aspects stopped me from becoming fully immersed in the time period. It also felt like it should be a sequel, though I’m not sure why!
My thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 1st October in the UK.
While it turns out that most of the fantastical elements of the book had rational explanations, many elements still felt wildly unbelievable to me - there are too many genius-level intelligences onboard, for one thing, as well as too many characters that seemed too modern in outlook. While I enjoyed the read, these aspects stopped me from becoming fully immersed in the time period. It also felt like it should be a sequel, though I’m not sure why!
My thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 1st October in the UK.
kells30's review against another edition
3.0
Following on from the success of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turton’s new release brings us another murder mystery which also has a lot of fantastical elements to it, so much so that I thought I was reading a fantasy novel at times. This book also manages to be historical fiction at the same time - it is set aboard an east indiaman spice ship bound from Batavia (Jakarta!) to Amsterdam in the year 1634. The crew and passengers become convinced that the voyage is cursed by the devil, known as ‘Old Tom’ and that if they don’t bargain with him, they will not survive. Our protagonists are Arent Hayes, a mercenary who is aboard the ship to try and protect his friend and business partner (a Sherlock-type character who has been arrested for treason); and Sara Wessel, the wife of the Governor General of Batavia who is sailing back home to Amsterdam to take up a new position in the East India Company. This unlikely duo band together to work out the truth behind Old Tom, beginning with the murder of a ship carpenter on the docks shortly before the ship sails. The sinister occurrences on the ship lend a great deal of atmosphere which was a successful part of the book for me.
While it turns out that most of the fantastical elements of the book had rational explanations, many elements still felt wildly unbelievable to me - there are too many genius-level intelligences onboard, for one thing, as well as too many characters that seemed too modern in outlook. While I enjoyed the read, these aspects stopped me from becoming fully immersed in the time period. It also felt like it should be a sequel, though I’m not sure why!
My thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 1st October in the UK.
While it turns out that most of the fantastical elements of the book had rational explanations, many elements still felt wildly unbelievable to me - there are too many genius-level intelligences onboard, for one thing, as well as too many characters that seemed too modern in outlook. While I enjoyed the read, these aspects stopped me from becoming fully immersed in the time period. It also felt like it should be a sequel, though I’m not sure why!
My thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out on the 1st October in the UK.
pblack17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Honestly was surprised by this, went in thinking it would be a bit too on the dark and spooky side for me but it set up all of the characters really well and trekked through the story at a good pace - with a twist ending that definitely surprised me but in the best way!