The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
roseparis's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
fuchsia_groan's review against another edition
4.0
Esta entretenidísima rareza encantará a los fans de las novelas y autores clásicos a los que homenajea: Gormenghast, Narnia, Terramar, el Orden y el Caos, Entrebrumas, La hija del Rey del País de los Elfos, William Morris, George MacDonald...
Este libro, además de ser una historia de aventuras, fue escrito como tributo a Lin Carter y su serie de fantasía del Signo del Unicornio, editada entre 1969 y 1974. Espero que quienes reconozcan entre estas páginas referencias a tierras retratadas por otros sepan entenderlo como el homenaje que es. En cuanto a mí, puesto que no he pisado nunca ni Nueva York ni Narnia, debo dar crédito por igual a ambas.
Genial la combinación de novela de aventuras y la creación de ese mundo-homenaje a otras novelas de fantasía, que me ha gustado todavía más porque muchas son de novelas que me han encantado.
Parece increíble que a partir de esa mezcla, de que los otros mundos dentro de Evenmere están claramente sacados de otros libros, le haya salido una novela que no suena a ya leída, que tiene su originalidad a pesar de que todo, constantemente, recuerda a mundos conocidos.
La prosa de Stoddard es buena, y me ha gustado la manera de llevar el ritmo, la mezcla de narración lenta, descriptiva, como no podía ser de otra manera teniendo en cuenta las novelas a las que homenajea, con la acción propia de cualquier novela de aventuras.
Este libro, además de ser una historia de aventuras, fue escrito como tributo a Lin Carter y su serie de fantasía del Signo del Unicornio, editada entre 1969 y 1974. Espero que quienes reconozcan entre estas páginas referencias a tierras retratadas por otros sepan entenderlo como el homenaje que es. En cuanto a mí, puesto que no he pisado nunca ni Nueva York ni Narnia, debo dar crédito por igual a ambas.
Genial la combinación de novela de aventuras y la creación de ese mundo-homenaje a otras novelas de fantasía, que me ha gustado todavía más porque muchas son de novelas que me han encantado.
Parece increíble que a partir de esa mezcla, de que los otros mundos dentro de Evenmere están claramente sacados de otros libros, le haya salido una novela que no suena a ya leída, que tiene su originalidad a pesar de que todo, constantemente, recuerda a mundos conocidos.
La prosa de Stoddard es buena, y me ha gustado la manera de llevar el ritmo, la mezcla de narración lenta, descriptiva, como no podía ser de otra manera teniendo en cuenta las novelas a las que homenajea, con la acción propia de cualquier novela de aventuras.
bmip666's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
annars's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ineffablebob's review against another edition
3.0
Teenage me would have loved The High House, first in the Evenmere Chronicles series. Middle-aged me has seen enough of the classic heroic fantasy genre.
Evenmere is a Victorian mansion of apparently infinite size, containing entire nations within it, somehow linked to the entire universe. Wind the clocks, light the lamps, keep Order and Chaos in check within the house, or else the entire universe suffers the consequences. The son of the Master of the House, Carter Anderson, has lived away from the House but must take over when his father disappears and is presumed lost. He has to find his way and learn the powers he needs to become Master and keep Evenmere safe and secure.
This story is very familiar fantasy, with lots of magic, some fantastic creatures, and mystical forces. It's also a pretty standard "hero's journey" story, with the unready youngster given a trial by fire and emerging heroic. Other than Carter, the characters are largely one-dimensional stereotypes who fill one role with little complexity. The idea of an infinite house is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's divided into nations and regions much like any fantasy world.
Reading through The High House feels almost like deja vu. Hey, this bit sounds like Lord of the Rings. There's a part that reminds me of Narnia. Oh, some strange people that would fit nicely into the Wizard of Oz. Hey, that odd creature could be right out of Alice in Wonderland. And so on. This isn't a bad thing, exactly, it just means that I've read so much of the classic heroic fantasy genre that the story needs something pretty significantly different to stand out. And the infinite-house setting just wasn't enough do it, for me at least.
I didn't dislike The High House by any means, but I wasn't drawn into the story either. It just was too much like other similar series to hold my interest, so I'm in no rush to read the other books. Others who like this kind of fantasy story, particularly those who aren't as prone to compare to the classics as I am, may like it better.
Evenmere is a Victorian mansion of apparently infinite size, containing entire nations within it, somehow linked to the entire universe. Wind the clocks, light the lamps, keep Order and Chaos in check within the house, or else the entire universe suffers the consequences. The son of the Master of the House, Carter Anderson, has lived away from the House but must take over when his father disappears and is presumed lost. He has to find his way and learn the powers he needs to become Master and keep Evenmere safe and secure.
This story is very familiar fantasy, with lots of magic, some fantastic creatures, and mystical forces. It's also a pretty standard "hero's journey" story, with the unready youngster given a trial by fire and emerging heroic. Other than Carter, the characters are largely one-dimensional stereotypes who fill one role with little complexity. The idea of an infinite house is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's divided into nations and regions much like any fantasy world.
Reading through The High House feels almost like deja vu. Hey, this bit sounds like Lord of the Rings. There's a part that reminds me of Narnia. Oh, some strange people that would fit nicely into the Wizard of Oz. Hey, that odd creature could be right out of Alice in Wonderland. And so on. This isn't a bad thing, exactly, it just means that I've read so much of the classic heroic fantasy genre that the story needs something pretty significantly different to stand out. And the infinite-house setting just wasn't enough do it, for me at least.
I didn't dislike The High House by any means, but I wasn't drawn into the story either. It just was too much like other similar series to hold my interest, so I'm in no rush to read the other books. Others who like this kind of fantasy story, particularly those who aren't as prone to compare to the classics as I am, may like it better.
smcleish's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in January 2000.
Were it not for the prior existence of [a:Peake|22018|Mervyn Peake|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206549489p2/22018.jpg]'s Gormenghast trilogy and Crowley's [b:Little, Big|90619|Little, Big|John Crowley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171217093s/90619.jpg|518635], High House would certainly seem far more original than it actually does. Like these novels, its focal point is a huge house which has a strange magical atmosphere. (The Gormenghast novels are far more dark than either of these others.) Like Gormenghast, the High House is full of strange people and places; in High House, these are often allusive.
The High House comes under attack from the Anarchists, who seek to harness its power. When the young child Carter, son of the Master of the House, is tricked into losing the keys - by which the doors which should remain locked are kept locked, and vice versa - he is sent away, to grow up in the normal world in which we live. This is as much for his own protection as for any other reason, but when his father disappears some years later he has to return to search without much knowledge of the house and its customs.
As as the House itself being huge, it groups together a large number of countries which are mostly allied with the Master against forces seeking to disturb the House and through it the entire universe, with which it is mysteriously connected. As well as the dinosaur in the attic and the Room of Horrors which terrifies Carter as a child, these countries are inventive little pieces of fantasy. There are subtle allusions to famous classics of the genre, such as the Narnia series.
To say that High House is like the Gormenghast trilogy is to praise it rather than to put it down; I suspect that, like Peake's work, its riches will be revealed again each time it is re-read.
Were it not for the prior existence of [a:Peake|22018|Mervyn Peake|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1206549489p2/22018.jpg]'s Gormenghast trilogy and Crowley's [b:Little, Big|90619|Little, Big|John Crowley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171217093s/90619.jpg|518635], High House would certainly seem far more original than it actually does. Like these novels, its focal point is a huge house which has a strange magical atmosphere. (The Gormenghast novels are far more dark than either of these others.) Like Gormenghast, the High House is full of strange people and places; in High House, these are often allusive.
The High House comes under attack from the Anarchists, who seek to harness its power. When the young child Carter, son of the Master of the House, is tricked into losing the keys - by which the doors which should remain locked are kept locked, and vice versa - he is sent away, to grow up in the normal world in which we live. This is as much for his own protection as for any other reason, but when his father disappears some years later he has to return to search without much knowledge of the house and its customs.
As as the House itself being huge, it groups together a large number of countries which are mostly allied with the Master against forces seeking to disturb the House and through it the entire universe, with which it is mysteriously connected. As well as the dinosaur in the attic and the Room of Horrors which terrifies Carter as a child, these countries are inventive little pieces of fantasy. There are subtle allusions to famous classics of the genre, such as the Narnia series.
To say that High House is like the Gormenghast trilogy is to praise it rather than to put it down; I suspect that, like Peake's work, its riches will be revealed again each time it is re-read.
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