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plusrich's review against another edition
3.0
Originally, I thought I’d read this previously but discovered I had not.
Maybe it was spiritwalk I’d read.
This was good but uneven and it wandered a little.
I love the house and feel the buzz of promise from both the characters and the writing style.
I did get tired of the French/Catholic exclamations and all those apostrophes in the names of things.
Maybe it was spiritwalk I’d read.
This was good but uneven and it wandered a little.
I love the house and feel the buzz of promise from both the characters and the writing style.
I did get tired of the French/Catholic exclamations and all those apostrophes in the names of things.
kittymamers's review against another edition
3.0
kui ma saaks ajas reisida, siis ma läheksin aastasse 1984 ja räägiksin Charles de Lintile, et kõik läheb hästi. et temast saab tunnustatud kirjanik ja ta kirjutab palju toredaid raamatuid... ja et ei ole vaja hakata kohe alguses rapsima ja panna esimesse raamatusse sisse KÕIKI ideid ja tegelasi, kes vähegi pähe tulevad. aigu om!
sest see kõik oli ju iseenesest kena, aga seda oli lihtsalt LIIGA PALJU. indiaani ja keldi mütoloogiad, ajarännud ja surnust tagasitulekud, politseinikud ja mafioosod, võlusõrmused ja tootemid, bändimehed ja tsiklimehed, maagiline maja jne jne. siit oleks kolm eri raamatut saanud päris kenasti.
või siis oleks võinud 2/3 karmikäeliselt välja toimetada ja lihtsalt ühe hea loo kirjutada. ma kuulasin audioraamatuna ja seda oli kakskümmend tundi. KAKSKÜMMEND. 80% kuulasin isegi normaalkiirusel ära, aga siis murdusin ja keerasin 1.25x peale, sest raamatukogu tahab seda kunagi tagasi ka saada. ja mis ma siis teada sain selle ajaga... hästi palju selle kohta, kes täpselt millal ja kus oma sigareti süütas ja kustutas. (selles osas pole see raamat küll hästi vananenud. kõik kogu aeg suitsetavad. ja kuna see on loo seisukohalt ebaoluline, siis läks sellest kuulamine kiirelt tüütuks.) hästi palju jauramist selle üle, kes on hea ja kes on paha - iga kord, kui see asi enamvähem selguma kippus, lisati uusi tegelasi uue informatsiooniga ja kõik hakkasid oma seisukohti otsast peale uuesti selgitama.
tegelased, oh appi küll. selle raamatu lugemise kõrvale oleks vaja seinasuurust Kanada politsei orgcharti, ikka kohutavas koguses oli igasuguseid officere ja superintendente ja muid tüüpe, kelle omavahelised alluvussuhted ja erinevad korruptsioonitasemed mulle lõpuni segaseks jäid. (kogu selle politseiliini ma oleks karmikäeliselt välja toimetanud, kui ma poleks aastal 1984 olnud Eestis lasteaialaps, vaid Kanadas urban fantasy toimetaja.)
indiaanlasi oli kah liiga palju ja nad läksid mul omavahel segi, vabalt oleks võinud paar suguharu vähem olla ja ikka oleks sama loo kokku saanud.
ja kui ma juba teen nimekirja, siis erinevaid relvi oli ka liiga palju ja mingi tund mu elust on nüüd kulunud selle peale, et ma täpselt tean, kes keda millise kaliibriga revolvrist tulistas. ee, mis seal vahet on, kas oli .38 või .44? igast lasust jäi laip järele (jah, laipu oli ka liiga palju minu maitse kohta. see oli võibolla ka üks põhjus, miks nii palju uusi tegelasi kogu aeg peale tuli, eelmised said veidi otsa kohati).
kõige selle taga oli peidus üsnagi haarav ja armas lugu, täpselt nagu ma de Lintilt ootasin. aga... ma tõesti soovitaks temaga alustada kuskilt Newfordi lugude kandist ja lasta neil varajastel kaheksakümnendatel unustuse hõlma vajuda.
(samas siiski, Tamson House - selle kirjelduste ja kontseptsiooni nimel tasus lugeda/kuulata seda lugu, ja ma panen selle kolmanda tärni ka ikka ära.)
sest see kõik oli ju iseenesest kena, aga seda oli lihtsalt LIIGA PALJU. indiaani ja keldi mütoloogiad, ajarännud ja surnust tagasitulekud, politseinikud ja mafioosod, võlusõrmused ja tootemid, bändimehed ja tsiklimehed, maagiline maja jne jne. siit oleks kolm eri raamatut saanud päris kenasti.
või siis oleks võinud 2/3 karmikäeliselt välja toimetada ja lihtsalt ühe hea loo kirjutada. ma kuulasin audioraamatuna ja seda oli kakskümmend tundi. KAKSKÜMMEND. 80% kuulasin isegi normaalkiirusel ära, aga siis murdusin ja keerasin 1.25x peale, sest raamatukogu tahab seda kunagi tagasi ka saada. ja mis ma siis teada sain selle ajaga... hästi palju selle kohta, kes täpselt millal ja kus oma sigareti süütas ja kustutas. (selles osas pole see raamat küll hästi vananenud. kõik kogu aeg suitsetavad. ja kuna see on loo seisukohalt ebaoluline, siis läks sellest kuulamine kiirelt tüütuks.) hästi palju jauramist selle üle, kes on hea ja kes on paha - iga kord, kui see asi enamvähem selguma kippus, lisati uusi tegelasi uue informatsiooniga ja kõik hakkasid oma seisukohti otsast peale uuesti selgitama.
tegelased, oh appi küll. selle raamatu lugemise kõrvale oleks vaja seinasuurust Kanada politsei orgcharti, ikka kohutavas koguses oli igasuguseid officere ja superintendente ja muid tüüpe, kelle omavahelised alluvussuhted ja erinevad korruptsioonitasemed mulle lõpuni segaseks jäid. (kogu selle politseiliini ma oleks karmikäeliselt välja toimetanud, kui ma poleks aastal 1984 olnud Eestis lasteaialaps, vaid Kanadas urban fantasy toimetaja.)
indiaanlasi oli kah liiga palju ja nad läksid mul omavahel segi, vabalt oleks võinud paar suguharu vähem olla ja ikka oleks sama loo kokku saanud.
ja kui ma juba teen nimekirja, siis erinevaid relvi oli ka liiga palju ja mingi tund mu elust on nüüd kulunud selle peale, et ma täpselt tean, kes keda millise kaliibriga revolvrist tulistas. ee, mis seal vahet on, kas oli .38 või .44? igast lasust jäi laip järele (jah, laipu oli ka liiga palju minu maitse kohta. see oli võibolla ka üks põhjus, miks nii palju uusi tegelasi kogu aeg peale tuli, eelmised said veidi otsa kohati).
kõige selle taga oli peidus üsnagi haarav ja armas lugu, täpselt nagu ma de Lintilt ootasin. aga... ma tõesti soovitaks temaga alustada kuskilt Newfordi lugude kandist ja lasta neil varajastel kaheksakümnendatel unustuse hõlma vajuda.
(samas siiski, Tamson House - selle kirjelduste ja kontseptsiooni nimel tasus lugeda/kuulata seda lugu, ja ma panen selle kolmanda tärni ka ikka ära.)
khobb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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
3.75
I really enjoyed the characters in this book, there are many and some have very little page time but they all feel complex and realistic.
The folklore aspects of the story were interesting, but found that all the more magical parts of the story from Sara or Kieran’s point of view were boring when compared with the Blue, Tucker, Jamie storylines that took place mostly in the “world of the here and now”. The other world story lines outside of Tamson house didn’t seem particularly important, even the climactic parts like Kieran’s duel feel like they have no affect on the overall plot or his character.
My one other critique is the Kieran and Sara romances of the story feel shallow. They fall in love in a timespan of a day which to me made the intense feelings that they had for their partners feel fake. That being said the non romantic relationships plus Blue/Sally and Tucker/Maggie romances felt a lot more real and I really enjoyed most of the characters relationships and their dialogue be quite funny, heartwarming, and gut wrenching.
The folklore aspects of the story were interesting, but found that all the more magical parts of the story from Sara or Kieran’s point of view were boring when compared with the Blue, Tucker, Jamie storylines that took place mostly in the “world of the here and now”. The other world story lines outside of Tamson house didn’t seem particularly important, even the climactic parts like Kieran’s duel feel like they have no affect on the overall plot or his character.
My one other critique is the Kieran and Sara romances of the story feel shallow. They fall in love in a timespan of a day which to me made the intense feelings that they had for their partners feel fake. That being said the non romantic relationships plus Blue/Sally and Tucker/Maggie romances felt a lot more real and I really enjoyed most of the characters relationships and their dialogue be quite funny, heartwarming, and gut wrenching.
amandaskye's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
glendaleereads's review against another edition
4.0
I think De Lint is my new favorite author, this is his third book I've read and he has not disappointed me. The only complaint I would have about this novel and mostly of just De Lint's writing style than the plot of the story, is that he sometimes goes off on irrelevant things, hes so detailed that at times it can become tedious because it makes the story drag on, this is something I've noticed in the previous books I've read of him. But even though he does this. it still gives readers such descriptive details that make you feel like your one of the characters of this book.
I've always enjoyed reading fantasy but I've never really ventured outside young adult fantasy, this is a definite change from what I'm used to reading, way more sophisticated and detailed and I really enjoy it.
I've always enjoyed reading fantasy but I've never really ventured outside young adult fantasy, this is a definite change from what I'm used to reading, way more sophisticated and detailed and I really enjoy it.
marissa_richie's review against another edition
2.0
I really like the worlds that the author creates but the dialogue is often terrible. The characters seem like they are well developed until they speak...
dreadpirateshawn's review against another edition
2.0
Does everyone have that one Spiritual Friend who is a self-proclaimed Thinker of Deep Thoughts? But then they talk and they just sound kinda hand-wavey?
That's what most of this book felt like to me.
There was an aura of spiritual depth, but it seemed to be just a veneer over a conceptual MacGuffin. There was a lot of talk of great Evil, but it mostly came across as a strong creature that Lurked in the Shadows for much of the book.
The world-building was interesting (albeit slow), but the characters felt a bit archetypal -- Gruff-but-straightshooting-cop, Hot-sometimes-girlfriend, Professor-type... I did find Ex-biker to grow fairly interesting. And there were various events that were engaging enough to continue reading. But ultimately I finished it mostly on principle.
That's what most of this book felt like to me.
There was an aura of spiritual depth, but it seemed to be just a veneer over a conceptual MacGuffin. There was a lot of talk of great Evil, but it mostly came across as a strong creature that Lurked in the Shadows for much of the book.
The world-building was interesting (albeit slow), but the characters felt a bit archetypal -- Gruff-but-straightshooting-cop, Hot-sometimes-girlfriend, Professor-type... I did find Ex-biker to grow fairly interesting. And there were various events that were engaging enough to continue reading. But ultimately I finished it mostly on principle.
jonahbarnes's review against another edition
Interesting premise, but the book seemed too long to tell this story.
carolined314's review against another edition
2.0
Blue-eyed Native Americans, colonialism, magic girl gets makeover and still can barely save the day, needing lots of tough men for support
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual content
selaana01's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0