Reviews

A River Called Time by Courttia Newland

rach_reads_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

daydreamerjade's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

coralena's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

3.0

I loved the idea of the book but it was quite hard to finish. English is my second language and maybe that plays into it. 

kit_kate's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

1.75

sophia_tiwari's review against another edition

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There is no plot. I have no clue what’s going on in the book. So much potential wasted…

chamblyman's review against another edition

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4.0

The mysticism of astral realms and spirit beings mixes with a complex depiction of utopia/dystopia, technological power, and human survival amid shifting realities. Imagine Marlon James (Black Leopard Red Wolf) doing a Philip K. Dick type story set in an Afrocentric alternate-history London!

the_prickly_reader's review against another edition

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It just wasn't grabbing me. I couldn't relate and I found it confusing.

itskathamilton's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The plot is interesting and the characters are consistent through the book - I found the story hard to follow after the first section however, and after about 200 pages it was a real effort to get through the book. Concepts of astral travel are introduced but don’t feel super connected to the story as a whole until the very end of the book. Some of the foundational world building feels like it’s missing - and the blurb of the book talks about it being set in an alternate world where colonialism never happened, but I missed that completely within the story.

georginadaw's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

matty_robson17's review against another edition

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It wasn't a bad book, but it was painfully boring and mediocre. The plot and characters failed to grab me, and the writing style became tedious. The over-use of very short sentences, sometimes descending into lists of things, actions, perceptions, was a particualrly difficult stylistic choice for me to read. Sometimes a third of a whole paragraph would be these kinds of sentences.