bookheart_dreams's review against another edition
3.0
The Plot was fast and definitely engaging. Buuut, for all that happened to characters, I found myself to net really care.
The book is so fast, you don't really have time to care for the characters, the moments in the story go by so rapidly, that there is no real room to develop and in the end, the main characters kind of are the same, even is the book tries to say different.
It still is a good book.
The book is so fast, you don't really have time to care for the characters, the moments in the story go by so rapidly, that there is no real room to develop and in the end, the main characters kind of are the same, even is the book tries to say different.
It still is a good book.
lindasdarby's review against another edition
3.0
I like the way Kenneth Oppel writes - his books are a bit magical and adventurous. I imagine boys would really enjoy them. I thought this book was fun but not great. I enjoyed the Airborn series quite a lot and I don't think this is in the same place for me. A fun and quick read.
jestareader's review against another edition
4.0
A solid 4.5 Stars.
The ONLY reason this book doesn't get the full 5 stars is I felt the beginning was a bit slow, however once we got going, it was a real fun time so much so that I definitely see myself the future looking back on my rating and review of this book and thinking, 'That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean the beginning wasn't all that bad - I may just bump this up to 5 stars real quick.'
This was an awesome read (and bonus points for being super Canadian - heyo! Go Canada!)
So as I mentioned, the beginning was a bit slow but definitely NOT ENOUGH to have people turn away from this book. It's more of me saying "Just FYI, get through the first little bit and then you will be flying. You won't have to wait too long."
The story itself was magical the whole way. I loved being on that train, hearing it work, seeing the snow and landscape fly by. It was really beautiful. Of course the story within the train was even better.
Plot
This is aimed more at middle-grades but this did nothing to the quality of the book, meaning that no matter your age, you can enjoy it. It's Middle-Grade/Meant-For-All, if you know what I mean.
It wasn't a complicated read nor did it leave anything missing. It was paced well, giving you enough time to appreciate each new setting in the train but not staying anywhere long enough for you to get bored.
Writing
Third Person / Present Tense
Kenneth Oppel really brought the world to life. I felt the snow, felt the rumble of the train, saw the different passengers ...etc, which is all you can really ask of an author when writing a story (that and a good story, I guess).
I haven't seen a story written in present tense before (or at least don't remember if I have). It made it more intriguing though. It almost created this sense that even the story teller didn't know what was about to happen, and was just updating you as the story progressed. Pretty nifty stuff.
Characters
I don't believe there were any stupid characters! (You know what I mean, the ones that make stupid mistakes just to create situation with a lil' drama that were otherwise TOTALLY AVOIDABLE, and you're just sitting there thing - "Well, I mean Okay - but I feel more mad at you than worried.")
Will
Protagonist
A shy character but written well. Sometimes I find with shy characters, they are rather bland because "Oh, I am shy so I don't do much." but shy people are still super interesting, they just might not talk as much. Luckily with Will here, we got to see different parts of him, not just shy. He also had a nice character development throughout the story. It made sense and went at a steady pace. I liked who he was at the end of the book compared to the beginning.
Maren
Tight Rope Walker
Overall just a very sweet character. I liked her a lot. She was powerful, capable, and - once again - really sweet. I don't have much more to say about her except it was very easy to root for her -and Will - in the story.
Mr.Dorian
Ring Leader
To put it shortly - an interesting man. His demeanour was wonderful (casual, but purposeful, in control, and a tad mysterious). I don't really know how else to put it except saying, "I like his aesthetic".
Borgan
Brakeman/Antagonist
I can appreciate a good middle-grade villain when I see one. There were actually stakes with this guy, actual danger. While I was reading this I couldn't help think of [b:InkHeart|28194|Inkheart (Inkworld, #1)|Cornelia Funke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538266636s/28194.jpg|2628323]'s villains where we were continually told "These are bad guys. CAREFUL! BAD. GUYS." but didn't really see the extent of it, whereas in The Boundless it was inverted. We weren't told these were bad guys, we were shown, which makes everything more thrilling.
BONUS: Cover
Real quick - can we just appreciate the beauty of this cover. Literally the reason I picked it up (I know, I know) and I was lucky enough to enjoy it as well.
Overall - it was good. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and it does have a little more magic and wonder than you'd expect.
The ONLY reason this book doesn't get the full 5 stars is I felt the beginning was a bit slow, however once we got going, it was a real fun time so much so that I definitely see myself the future looking back on my rating and review of this book and thinking, 'That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean the beginning wasn't all that bad - I may just bump this up to 5 stars real quick.'
This was an awesome read (and bonus points for being super Canadian - heyo! Go Canada!)
So as I mentioned, the beginning was a bit slow but definitely NOT ENOUGH to have people turn away from this book. It's more of me saying "Just FYI, get through the first little bit and then you will be flying. You won't have to wait too long."
The story itself was magical the whole way. I loved being on that train, hearing it work, seeing the snow and landscape fly by. It was really beautiful. Of course the story within the train was even better.
Plot
This is aimed more at middle-grades but this did nothing to the quality of the book, meaning that no matter your age, you can enjoy it. It's Middle-Grade/Meant-For-All, if you know what I mean.
It wasn't a complicated read nor did it leave anything missing. It was paced well, giving you enough time to appreciate each new setting in the train but not staying anywhere long enough for you to get bored.
Writing
Third Person / Present Tense
Kenneth Oppel really brought the world to life. I felt the snow, felt the rumble of the train, saw the different passengers ...etc, which is all you can really ask of an author when writing a story (that and a good story, I guess).
I haven't seen a story written in present tense before (or at least don't remember if I have). It made it more intriguing though. It almost created this sense that even the story teller didn't know what was about to happen, and was just updating you as the story progressed. Pretty nifty stuff.
Characters
I don't believe there were any stupid characters! (You know what I mean, the ones that make stupid mistakes just to create situation with a lil' drama that were otherwise TOTALLY AVOIDABLE, and you're just sitting there thing - "Well, I mean Okay - but I feel more mad at you than worried.")
Will
Protagonist
A shy character but written well. Sometimes I find with shy characters, they are rather bland because "Oh, I am shy so I don't do much." but shy people are still super interesting, they just might not talk as much. Luckily with Will here, we got to see different parts of him, not just shy. He also had a nice character development throughout the story. It made sense and went at a steady pace. I liked who he was at the end of the book compared to the beginning.
Maren
Tight Rope Walker
Overall just a very sweet character. I liked her a lot. She was powerful, capable, and - once again - really sweet. I don't have much more to say about her except it was very easy to root for her -and Will - in the story.
Mr.Dorian
Ring Leader
To put it shortly - an interesting man.
Spoiler
I liked him a lot but had conflicting feelings about him in the end.Borgan
Brakeman/Antagonist
I can appreciate a good middle-grade villain when I see one. There were actually stakes with this guy, actual danger. While I was reading this I couldn't help think of [b:InkHeart|28194|Inkheart (Inkworld, #1)|Cornelia Funke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538266636s/28194.jpg|2628323]'s villains where we were continually told "These are bad guys. CAREFUL! BAD. GUYS." but didn't really see the extent of it, whereas in The Boundless it was inverted. We weren't told these were bad guys, we were shown, which makes everything more thrilling.
BONUS: Cover
Real quick - can we just appreciate the beauty of this cover. Literally the reason I picked it up (I know, I know) and I was lucky enough to enjoy it as well.
Overall - it was good. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and it does have a little more magic and wonder than you'd expect.
weheartgames's review against another edition
2.0
Somewhat enjoyable but not nearly as much as his Airborn series.
I kind of liked the characters but didn’t love them.
I heard that it was “full of Canadiana”, but other than the occasional mention of a handful of Canadian cities, it could’ve been set anywhere.
There were a couple scenes that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the book; like he wanted to add some super creepy parts that would fit in well in a horror movie. Throw in a splash of extremely graphic violence at the end, and I’d have to say this is not for kids younger than mid-late teens.
I kind of liked the characters but didn’t love them.
I heard that it was “full of Canadiana”, but other than the occasional mention of a handful of Canadian cities, it could’ve been set anywhere.
There were a couple scenes that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the book; like he wanted to add some super creepy parts that would fit in well in a horror movie. Throw in a splash of extremely graphic violence at the end, and I’d have to say this is not for kids younger than mid-late teens.
turrean's review against another edition
3.0
There's plenty going on in this novel, with circus performers, the occasional Sasquatch, and a wonderful steampunk train. I thought it suffered from an overbusy plot, though, and I find books in the present tense annoying. The Airborn trilogy was better done.
roseice's review against another edition
4.0
I love Kenneth Oppel. He restores my faith in Canadian authors (most of which tend to be horrid, but I probably have my Canadian education to thank for that--we're required to study Canadian authors, and curriculum more often than not dictates studying the dark, depressing, shocking and violent shades of life. If I were a teacher, all my kids would be studying Oppel.)
Anyway, Oppel is one of my favourite authors on the whole, not just in Canadian fiction. The Boundless was a stellar addition to his collection. The premise was flawlessly executed--a train with four classes and a circus. The train itself was richly sketched--a movie theatre, a swimming pool, a shooting gallery? Anything you can think of, it's a part of that train. As always, Oppel writes a meticulous, high risk adventure--a boy from first-class struggling his way back from the caboose while a bunch of murderers tail him. Oh, and he joins the circus! Seriously. Kenneth Oppel's mind must be bursting with ideas, he's so ridiculously creative.
One element of the story that I thought fell short though was the characterisation of the two main characters, Will and Maren. I found I wasn't interested in either of them, despite Maren being a talented tight-rope walker and escape artist. Will himself was fairly bland, just an ordinary boy rolling with the chaos around him. Rather than being shaped as a character, I felt he was only reacting to the busyness of his circumstances and the colourful setting. Not a terrible character by any means, but not very interesting, either.
That said, there was a character I loved. From the beginning, having a character named "Dorian" reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray, so I warmly appreciated how the plot unfurled. Naturally, there's a portrait, I loved Mr. Dorian as a character; he couldn't be more different from Dorian Gray. He's the ambigious type--you're not sure if he's good or evil, and that made him a little uncomfortably attractive, especially with how suave and brilliant he is. He's the ringleader of a circus, adept in magic, and directly orchestrates important elements of Will's journey that we only learn about later. We see flashes of his true nature when he mentions his Metis heritage, and these little pieces really enrichened his character, made him intriguing to me. Which is why
Anyway, Oppel is one of my favourite authors on the whole, not just in Canadian fiction. The Boundless was a stellar addition to his collection. The premise was flawlessly executed--a train with four classes and a circus. The train itself was richly sketched--a movie theatre, a swimming pool, a shooting gallery? Anything you can think of, it's a part of that train. As always, Oppel writes a meticulous, high risk adventure--a boy from first-class struggling his way back from the caboose while a bunch of murderers tail him. Oh, and he joins the circus! Seriously. Kenneth Oppel's mind must be bursting with ideas, he's so ridiculously creative.
One element of the story that I thought fell short though was the characterisation of the two main characters, Will and Maren. I found I wasn't interested in either of them, despite Maren being a talented tight-rope walker and escape artist. Will himself was fairly bland, just an ordinary boy rolling with the chaos around him. Rather than being shaped as a character, I felt he was only reacting to the busyness of his circumstances and the colourful setting. Not a terrible character by any means, but not very interesting, either.
That said, there was a character I loved. From the beginning, having a character named "Dorian" reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Gray, so I warmly appreciated how the plot unfurled. Naturally, there's a portrait,
Spoiler
and it's a life or death situation. That nod toward Oscar Wilde was rather irresistible.Spoiler
his death at the end was abrupt and disappointing for me. He says throughout the book he doesn't believe in magic, but his life motivation centers around finding this canvas that, when he portrait is painted on it, will allow him to live past 39 years. In the end, when this goal is accomplished, it simply doesn't work, and he dies. I felt like I'd pulled the short straw, because I loved him, but alas. And Mr. Beauprey! Ahh, I'm so glad he got to toss two people off the train in the end... (his character was also amazing, if only for comic value.)momoclouds's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
muse2323's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Read to my son for bedtime reading. I think he had a hard time envisioning the train because he’s never been on one and has barely seen them in movies or tv shows.
reggiethebird's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
It's like snow piercer, but for kids! Mr.Dorian is absolutely a favorite character, and the ambiguity behind his skills is really nice. A good adventure, thank you Kenneth Oppel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Colonisation, and Death