elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
Score breakdown:
- 4 for the world building, the fascinating cultures based on alchemical elements
- 2 for plot, characterization, the abrupt romance that lacked any build-up or foundation, and the general lack of character logic
This world being full of book yet me short on minutes, my primary gauge for what constitutes a good book is if it keeps me flipping the pages. Despite the thin plot and characterization, THE POISON MASTER kept me up to the wee hours trying to reach its (telegraphed and kinda wimpy) conclusion. The worlds described therein are fascinating--parc-verticales and the various dramatic architecture, drugs that have "souls" which could be convinced to do one thing or another. Creative stuff.
On the downside, the main characters are basically cardboard. The novel ends with more questions left unanswered than not. The heroine is a strong female with a single preoccupation in life--to save her twin from the evil villains. However, despite being born in what seems like a backwater world where high tech is outlawed from the masses, she accepts seemingly-too-good offers from mysterious off-worlders with amazing calmness. Just off she goes to overthrow the masters of all the known planets, armed with a plan as insubstantial as when mice plot to overthrow supersonic jetfighters.
And what about that mysterious off-worlder? No background information for him, really. No details on his origin or background, only the barest reasons for his motivation, no interactions shown between him and his fellows. For a man with the novel named after him... he is a blank, and blandly so. Finally, what's the story behind those red eyes? I was captivated by their description--"two garnets set on a fan of bone"--lovely. ...AND?
I could go on, but won't. Regardless, I recommend this book for an interesting journey to the four worlds, but nothing more.
- 4 for the world building, the fascinating cultures based on alchemical elements
- 2 for plot, characterization, the abrupt romance that lacked any build-up or foundation, and the general lack of character logic
This world being full of book yet me short on minutes, my primary gauge for what constitutes a good book is if it keeps me flipping the pages. Despite the thin plot and characterization, THE POISON MASTER kept me up to the wee hours trying to reach its (telegraphed and kinda wimpy) conclusion. The worlds described therein are fascinating--parc-verticales and the various dramatic architecture, drugs that have "souls" which could be convinced to do one thing or another. Creative stuff.
On the downside, the main characters are basically cardboard. The novel ends with more questions left unanswered than not. The heroine is a strong female with a single preoccupation in life--to save her twin from the evil villains. However, despite being born in what seems like a backwater world where high tech is outlawed from the masses, she accepts seemingly-too-good offers from mysterious off-worlders with amazing calmness. Just off she goes to overthrow the masters of all the known planets, armed with a plan as insubstantial as when mice plot to overthrow supersonic jetfighters.
And what about that mysterious off-worlder? No background information for him, really. No details on his origin or background, only the barest reasons for his motivation, no interactions shown between him and his fellows. For a man with the novel named after him... he is a blank, and blandly so. Finally, what's the story behind those red eyes? I was captivated by their description--"two garnets set on a fan of bone"--lovely. ...AND?
I could go on, but won't. Regardless, I recommend this book for an interesting journey to the four worlds, but nothing more.
jovvijo's review against another edition
3.0
Nurse, after examining the patient's internals I deduce that this was possibly not as good a book as we had hoped for, for all it wasn't ghastly either. Please note that down.
Marks on it indicate a struggle to keep us entertained, with the heart *thomps table* decidedly not functioning and probably what killed it for us.
Oh now if you look at the brain, well then you can tell that the world building was fantastic, see these convoluted bits? It shows the story contained an interesting air and fascinating premise, a fine specimen indeed, but, alas, do you see this huge gaping hole over here? That m'dear, is where the plot should have gone! How it managed to function so long without such a vital piece is beyond me!
Overall I have to say that this book will appeal as a once of read, before you get to know the ins and outs of it.
Then I'm afraid it's just DEAD!
Time of death: Mid-book.
Marks on it indicate a struggle to keep us entertained, with the heart *thomps table* decidedly not functioning and probably what killed it for us.
Oh now if you look at the brain, well then you can tell that the world building was fantastic, see these convoluted bits? It shows the story contained an interesting air and fascinating premise, a fine specimen indeed, but, alas, do you see this huge gaping hole over here? That m'dear, is where the plot should have gone! How it managed to function so long without such a vital piece is beyond me!
Overall I have to say that this book will appeal as a once of read, before you get to know the ins and outs of it.
Then I'm afraid it's just DEAD!
Time of death: Mid-book.
teaandpetrichor's review against another edition
As much as I loved the world building and the magic in this, there's a certain whimsicality or humour missing here, something that anchors the fantastical elements to something more relatable. I'm not going to continue, but I certainly see what others see in it. The characters just weren't for me.
yasmeanie's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
fyoosha's review against another edition
5.0
So, first of all, from the reviews I'm getting the sense that people think Alivet is 16 and they're grossed out by the romance with Ghairen, who is at least 43. But.......Alivet is 22: "And it had been in the Month of Dragonflies that the Unpriests had come for Inkirietta: five years ago now, her sister and herself no more than seventeen." So why in the world do people think Alivet is a teenager or that this is meant to be a YA book? What am I missing here? Anyway, I enjoy May-December relationships so I enjoyed the romance, although I will say I wish there had been more of it! Alivet and Ghairen have perhaps one steamy scene, but the rest of the book is more heavily focused on their plot to overthrow the Lords of Night. I have this tagged as "villain romance" but it's.......really not. It's more like "enigmatic man" romance.
My enjoyment of this book is mainly rooted in my love for the main character, Alivet, who is frankly one of the better heroines I've come across in a while! She's got an admirable tenacity and resourcefulness, and takes things in stride in a way that I've often wanted to see in fictional characters. She's so practical and unfazed and even downright snarky, and it's wonderful to be in the head of a character like that. I also loved that she was an apothecary, and that particular skill itself is written in a fascinating way here; apparently, in this world, drugs have spirits that you can talk to.
This is a weird mix of fantasy and science fiction, which is one of my reservations about the book. I don't mean to say it wasn't done well, but I just don't tend to prefer a mixture of a medieval-type setting and highly advanced technology. It just doesn't mesh well for me. I can see why it was done and of course it makes sense within the narrative, but it's just not my jam. I also think this book was probably a tad too slow-paced, but I think it was purposely trying to mimic a Gothic novel (weirdly enough), and hey, I was never bored and I absolutely loved reading this, so kudos.
Finally, I think the writing here is so solid; it's lush and descriptive without being too purple. It feels just right for a high fantasy. It just has that old-school fantasy vibe that some books do, and I enjoyed it very much. I don't think it's going to become one of my all-time favorites but I still think it's a five-star read because of various aspects that I enjoyed about it, including the main character.
My enjoyment of this book is mainly rooted in my love for the main character, Alivet, who is frankly one of the better heroines I've come across in a while! She's got an admirable tenacity and resourcefulness, and takes things in stride in a way that I've often wanted to see in fictional characters. She's so practical and unfazed and even downright snarky, and it's wonderful to be in the head of a character like that. I also loved that she was an apothecary, and that particular skill itself is written in a fascinating way here; apparently, in this world, drugs have spirits that you can talk to.
This is a weird mix of fantasy and science fiction, which is one of my reservations about the book. I don't mean to say it wasn't done well, but I just don't tend to prefer a mixture of a medieval-type setting and highly advanced technology. It just doesn't mesh well for me. I can see why it was done and of course it makes sense within the narrative, but it's just not my jam. I also think this book was probably a tad too slow-paced, but I think it was purposely trying to mimic a Gothic novel (weirdly enough), and hey, I was never bored and I absolutely loved reading this, so kudos.
Finally, I think the writing here is so solid; it's lush and descriptive without being too purple. It feels just right for a high fantasy. It just has that old-school fantasy vibe that some books do, and I enjoyed it very much. I don't think it's going to become one of my all-time favorites but I still think it's a five-star read because of various aspects that I enjoyed about it, including the main character.
elusivity's review
3.0
Score breakdown:
- 4 for the world building, the fascinating cultures based on alchemical elements
- 2 for plot, characterization, the abrupt romance that lacked any build-up or foundation, and the general lack of character logic
This world being full of book yet me short on minutes, my primary gauge for what constitutes a good book is if it keeps me flipping the pages. Despite the thin plot and characterization, THE POISON MASTER kept me up to the wee hours trying to reach its (telegraphed and kinda wimpy) conclusion. The worlds described therein are fascinating--parc-verticales and the various dramatic architecture, drugs that have "souls" which could be convinced to do one thing or another. Creative stuff.
On the downside, the main characters are basically cardboard. The novel ends with more questions left unanswered than not. The heroine is a strong female with a single preoccupation in life--to save her twin from the evil villains. However, despite being born in what seems like a backwater world where high tech is outlawed from the masses, she accepts seemingly-too-good offers from mysterious off-worlders with amazing calmness. Just off she goes to overthrow the masters of all the known planets, armed with a plan as insubstantial as when mice plot to overthrow supersonic jetfighters.
And what about that mysterious off-worlder? No background information for him, really. No details on his origin or background, only the barest reasons for his motivation, no interactions shown between him and his fellows. For a man with the novel named after him... he is a blank, and blandly so. Finally, what's the story behind those red eyes? I was captivated by their description--"two garnets set on a fan of bone"--lovely. ...AND?
I could go on, but won't. Regardless, I recommend this book for an interesting journey to the four worlds, but nothing more.
- 4 for the world building, the fascinating cultures based on alchemical elements
- 2 for plot, characterization, the abrupt romance that lacked any build-up or foundation, and the general lack of character logic
This world being full of book yet me short on minutes, my primary gauge for what constitutes a good book is if it keeps me flipping the pages. Despite the thin plot and characterization, THE POISON MASTER kept me up to the wee hours trying to reach its (telegraphed and kinda wimpy) conclusion. The worlds described therein are fascinating--parc-verticales and the various dramatic architecture, drugs that have "souls" which could be convinced to do one thing or another. Creative stuff.
On the downside, the main characters are basically cardboard. The novel ends with more questions left unanswered than not. The heroine is a strong female with a single preoccupation in life--to save her twin from the evil villains. However, despite being born in what seems like a backwater world where high tech is outlawed from the masses, she accepts seemingly-too-good offers from mysterious off-worlders with amazing calmness. Just off she goes to overthrow the masters of all the known planets, armed with a plan as insubstantial as when mice plot to overthrow supersonic jetfighters.
And what about that mysterious off-worlder? No background information for him, really. No details on his origin or background, only the barest reasons for his motivation, no interactions shown between him and his fellows. For a man with the novel named after him... he is a blank, and blandly so. Finally, what's the story behind those red eyes? I was captivated by their description--"two garnets set on a fan of bone"--lovely. ...AND?
I could go on, but won't. Regardless, I recommend this book for an interesting journey to the four worlds, but nothing more.
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