rosekk's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this and plan on reading the next installments. In places I felt there was too much unnecessary description - a little more could have been left to the imagination of the readers. I also feel that very little has actually happened in this first book. That said, the characters are interesting and the world is wonderful, so I want to read on.
annick's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Lovely to re read. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it. At least seven times. First in 2001. And now again without skipping the start.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, and Torture
freemajo's review against another edition
5.0
The thing you need to understand about Dart-Thornton is that she loves poetic prose. She REALLY loves it. She will describe everything in exquisite detail. The descriptive nature of her writing is immersive and on occasions overwhelming.
Give it to me. DROWN me in it.
If you don't like highly descriptive fantasy, you will not enjoy her books.
Her characters are always superlative in their defining characteristics. Their starkness is unmitigated. I think this mimics the simplicity of fairy tales in many ways, but again, it's not for everyone.
There are frequently folk tales and fairy tales told within the story by various characters. The story itself is not straight forward, and as I said before, is immersive. So, if you enjoy highly descriptive fantasy, stark characters, and stories within stories, then you will probably enjoy these books.
Give it to me. DROWN me in it.
If you don't like highly descriptive fantasy, you will not enjoy her books.
Her characters are always superlative in their defining characteristics. Their starkness is unmitigated. I think this mimics the simplicity of fairy tales in many ways, but again, it's not for everyone.
There are frequently folk tales and fairy tales told within the story by various characters. The story itself is not straight forward, and as I said before, is immersive. So, if you enjoy highly descriptive fantasy, stark characters, and stories within stories, then you will probably enjoy these books.
guylc's review against another edition
Its simply
such slow reading, the author would list every item in a room, the stirrups, the saddles, the saddle polish, the saddle hook, the empty containter of old saddle polish etc. etc. etc.
such slow reading, the author would list every item in a room, the stirrups, the saddles, the saddle polish, the saddle hook, the empty containter of old saddle polish etc. etc. etc.
turnherintoliterature's review against another edition
1.0
I am what you would call an avid reader. I read anything and everything I can get my hands on, and I always finish a book I've started. This, however, was the only exception. I tried about 4 times to read this book and couldn't get past the first chapter without falling asleep.
mousie_books's review against another edition
4.0
I ended up really liking this book, but the prose, though beautiful, made it slow going, which makes me hesitant to pick up the rest of the series.
nixwhittaker's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book but even before I finished reading the first book I knew I wouldn't like how it ends. If you like a happy ever after don't read these books if you like complicated relationships and twist of fate then this book is for you.
anovelstart's review against another edition
4.0
Second time I've read this book, I love the description. I like books that are heavy with description but do it in such a way that it isn't blab. A lovely story and a nice start to the series.
annasirius's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
I wanted to like this book due to the beautiful descriptions, yet I quickly started to skim over these in the vain attempt to find the story.
This is a novel centred around learning more about the protagonist's identity, and it is a story that assumes that the readers sticks with it because they are intrigued enough by this quest and empathetic enough towards the main character. However, because the protagonist is so featureless for a long time and literally everyone around them is hard-hearted, I neither cared for the main character nor developed an interest in the world, no matter how many words are beautifully (and sometimes excessively) strung together to describe it.
I believe my main problem is that the story was told from a third person perspective that gave us occasional glimpses into the main character's thoughts and feelings but always remained rather distant. Since the protagonist already knows so little about the world and the reader is rarely told more than the protagonist knows, why not at least let us intimately connect with their personal thoughts & feelings? This would also have created a three-dimensional character, rather than this sketch of a suffering, ill-treated person. The problem is in the title: 'The ill-made mute'. Really?
I wanted to like this book due to the beautiful descriptions, yet I quickly started to skim over these in the vain attempt to find the story.
This is a novel centred around learning more about the protagonist's identity, and it is a story that assumes that the readers sticks with it because they are intrigued enough by this quest and empathetic enough towards the main character. However, because the protagonist is so featureless for a long time and literally everyone around them is hard-hearted, I neither cared for the main character nor developed an interest in the world, no matter how many words are beautifully (and sometimes excessively) strung together to describe it.
I believe my main problem is that the story was told from a third person perspective that gave us occasional glimpses into the main character's thoughts and feelings but always remained rather distant. Since the protagonist already knows so little about the world and the reader is rarely told more than the protagonist knows, why not at least let us intimately connect with their personal thoughts & feelings? This would also have created a three-dimensional character, rather than this sketch of a suffering, ill-treated person. The problem is in the title: 'The ill-made mute'. Really?
twas's review against another edition
3.0
I do like what Thornton is trying to do with these books. Beginning with the first and continuing through the trilogy, folk tales of beautiful fey creatures and dangerous mythical beasts are interwoven with the adventures of the main character. In retrospect I did really enjoy the waterhorses and fairies with their false feasts and unending dances of doom.
What kept me rolling my eyes throughout the book is the fairy-tale way that things work out for the main character. It is by chance that s/he gets on an airship in the first place, that she finds a fabulous treasure, that she is rescued by a capable ruffian... and then to top it off, her rough looks are smoothed by a wise woman and she becomes an enviable beauty. (In this book or the next, she also regains her voice.) I mean, come on. I find it hard to believe that even in a world more enchanted than ours all of this good fortune would land in the lap of this humble creature.
But, of course, if you like fairy tales and happy endings perhaps this is your kind of thing.
What kept me rolling my eyes throughout the book is the fairy-tale way that things work out for the main character. It is by chance that s/he gets on an airship in the first place, that she finds a fabulous treasure, that she is rescued by a capable ruffian... and then to top it off, her rough looks are smoothed by a wise woman and she becomes an enviable beauty. (In this book or the next, she also regains her voice.) I mean, come on. I find it hard to believe that even in a world more enchanted than ours all of this good fortune would land in the lap of this humble creature.
But, of course, if you like fairy tales and happy endings perhaps this is your kind of thing.