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dcommet's review against another edition
5.0
These are probably the books Ive read the most in my life, including Curse of the Gloamglozer and Last of the Pirates along with them. I have various issues with this trilogy itself, but its nothing I havent been able to overlook with a little imagination and forgiveness in my heart. The world of the Edge is just one of my absolute favorites to explore, its simplicities giving way to intricacies in such a great way perfectly molded for this level of reader. The illustrations as always are beautiful and evocative and the maps are incredible. My main issue is simply that I wish there were a couple offpage adventures for the crew of The Edgedancer between Stormchaser and Midnight, as it's hard to imagine the crew cares for each other as much as they do as quick as they do - I just simply pretend they all have been through a number of perils and bonding together and it works out fine though. I also think Spooler specifically ends up a bit underwhelming which is sad because I do genuinely like all of Twig's crew a ton. Ultimately I like this ending, and the ending of Last of the Sky Pirates - both a very similar for Twig, wish the second having a more significant twinge of tragedy but it really works for me. His end in the Immortals later on SUCKS though imo. Ultimately I love this book amd its one of my absolute favorites - warts and all.
acaciathorn's review against another edition
1.0
The Edge Chronicles should come with a warning. Caution: this series contains reminders that life isn't fair, and in the grand scheme of things, every endeavor is futile. Enjoy the illustrations.
I picked up these books because they were in the children's fantasy section of the library and looked like a fun, easy read. "Oh, a boy raised by woodtrolls!" I read on the back. "How whimsical! I bet this will be a pleasant diversion from my woe-begotten life."
WRONG. DEAD FREAKING WRONG.
This trilogy is supposed to be for KIDS...and yet it's one of the most grotesque, horrifying, trippy, violent, tragic, and downright effed up things I've ever read. I can barely even describe the kind of suffering the main character, Twig, goes through. Abandoned by his father at birth. Lost in the scariest damn forest I've ever encountered in a fantasy novel. Hunted by ferocious beasts. Lied to, stolen from, tricked, betrayed. Beloved pet-companion eaten alive in front of him. Held captive. Friends murdered and dismembered before his eyes. Father freaking evaporates after they're finally reunited. Works his ass off and gets a skyship, only to have it destroyed and have his companions flung to the far corners of the wilderness. All beautifully described and illustrated, all charmingly situated within the confines of a cruel, schizophrenic, polluted world that doesn't give a shit.
THIS AUTHOR IS A SADIST.
Now, I'm not saying this series is poorly written. It's marvelously, grotesquely crafted - it was just too damn cruel for my tastes. I have this expectation, when I read books, that if a protagonist goes through hell and back, s/he deserves a happy ending. Or at the very least, a meaningful one. The Edge Chronicles denied me the fulfillment of that expectation. Even more disturbingly, the narrative never gave any indication that such an expectation even existed.
In a way, I really respect Twig's character for his ability to keep some semblance of hope, of charity, of honor, and of direction throughout his ordeals. The world he inhabits is so schizophrenic, so unreliable, that he's like a tiny ship cast about in a maelstrom, with no hope of ever finding his way to shore. More often than not his fate is woefully outside his control. There's no anchor. No center of gravity. Even the sky-ships he loves are constantly in a state of flux and uncertainty. Reading a story like that is disorienting, maddening, and alienating. It drags you down into that world, and you feel as though you could plunge over the edge at any minute and fall forever into the who-knows-what. How fitting, then, that the story takes place on a gigantic jutting rock called The Edge, with water eternally pouring off the sides into the nothingness below.
Strangely, I think this series would have bothered me a lot less if I had read it as a child. The world of the story is so primordial, pitiless, and savagely simple. It's like something from a long-ago, half-forgotten dream. Although The Edge is populated by sentient beings, their societies don't follow the laws of our world. In our world, there's always some security and structure, because we are a cooperative species with the ability to form strong social bonds. The Edge Chronicles follow the laws of nature at its most basic. There is no pity, no thought, no conscience...only hunger. It's a world where everything eats everything, both literally and metaphorically, and where any moment might be your last. There's no such thing as an "important character"...everyone's on the menu, and it's dinnertime, baby. I felt like I was looking into humanity's distant past, or maybe even a past before humanity, when our prey-animal ancestors lived in constant fear of being devoured.
Compelling, but deeply disturbing.
I picked up these books because they were in the children's fantasy section of the library and looked like a fun, easy read. "Oh, a boy raised by woodtrolls!" I read on the back. "How whimsical! I bet this will be a pleasant diversion from my woe-begotten life."
WRONG. DEAD FREAKING WRONG.
This trilogy is supposed to be for KIDS...and yet it's one of the most grotesque, horrifying, trippy, violent, tragic, and downright effed up things I've ever read. I can barely even describe the kind of suffering the main character, Twig, goes through. Abandoned by his father at birth. Lost in the scariest damn forest I've ever encountered in a fantasy novel. Hunted by ferocious beasts. Lied to, stolen from, tricked, betrayed. Beloved pet-companion eaten alive in front of him. Held captive. Friends murdered and dismembered before his eyes. Father freaking evaporates after they're finally reunited. Works his ass off and gets a skyship, only to have it destroyed and have his companions flung to the far corners of the wilderness. All beautifully described and illustrated, all charmingly situated within the confines of a cruel, schizophrenic, polluted world that doesn't give a shit.
THIS AUTHOR IS A SADIST.
Now, I'm not saying this series is poorly written. It's marvelously, grotesquely crafted - it was just too damn cruel for my tastes. I have this expectation, when I read books, that if a protagonist goes through hell and back, s/he deserves a happy ending. Or at the very least, a meaningful one. The Edge Chronicles denied me the fulfillment of that expectation. Even more disturbingly, the narrative never gave any indication that such an expectation even existed.
In a way, I really respect Twig's character for his ability to keep some semblance of hope, of charity, of honor, and of direction throughout his ordeals. The world he inhabits is so schizophrenic, so unreliable, that he's like a tiny ship cast about in a maelstrom, with no hope of ever finding his way to shore. More often than not his fate is woefully outside his control. There's no anchor. No center of gravity. Even the sky-ships he loves are constantly in a state of flux and uncertainty. Reading a story like that is disorienting, maddening, and alienating. It drags you down into that world, and you feel as though you could plunge over the edge at any minute and fall forever into the who-knows-what. How fitting, then, that the story takes place on a gigantic jutting rock called The Edge, with water eternally pouring off the sides into the nothingness below.
Strangely, I think this series would have bothered me a lot less if I had read it as a child. The world of the story is so primordial, pitiless, and savagely simple. It's like something from a long-ago, half-forgotten dream. Although The Edge is populated by sentient beings, their societies don't follow the laws of our world. In our world, there's always some security and structure, because we are a cooperative species with the ability to form strong social bonds. The Edge Chronicles follow the laws of nature at its most basic. There is no pity, no thought, no conscience...only hunger. It's a world where everything eats everything, both literally and metaphorically, and where any moment might be your last. There's no such thing as an "important character"...everyone's on the menu, and it's dinnertime, baby. I felt like I was looking into humanity's distant past, or maybe even a past before humanity, when our prey-animal ancestors lived in constant fear of being devoured.
Compelling, but deeply disturbing.
samuelantonym's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-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
4.0
samgoen's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mitslits's review against another edition
This was even better than I had remembered. I read it once when I was a kid and only now do I realize how dark this series really is.
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