jcarew's review against another edition
2.0
Felt like it could have been shorter, like parts dragged on. Also a lot more religious reference than I care for, like in an over-the-top kind of way.
sdramsey's review against another edition
2.0
Before I say anything else, remember that a 2-star rating from me on Goodreads means what Goodreads says it does--it was okay. NOT terrible, just okay. Although it was quite violent and dark, I kept with this story because it had characters and a setting with a ton of potential. However, as the story progressed, it felt like the main focus was on that darkness, not on fulfilling the potential.
The writing is strong and evocative, and the storyline progresses quickly for the most part (the backstory on each new character is sort of dumped all in one go, but it's interesting backstory and presented almost as part of the narrative, so it doesn't really slow the story down). I think it suffers in audiobook form because there are a lot of fight scenes, which, when read, mostly become confusing rather than exciting.
All in all, it was not my cup of tea, but if you like darker themes, a bleak setting, and lots of action, you'll probably like this book.
The writing is strong and evocative, and the storyline progresses quickly for the most part (the backstory on each new character is sort of dumped all in one go, but it's interesting backstory and presented almost as part of the narrative, so it doesn't really slow the story down). I think it suffers in audiobook form because there are a lot of fight scenes, which, when read, mostly become confusing rather than exciting.
All in all, it was not my cup of tea, but if you like darker themes, a bleak setting, and lots of action, you'll probably like this book.
caranam13's review against another edition
2.0
There was so much potential here but I feel like it fell sadly flat.
cahrdy's review against another edition
2.0
DNF, only got about 30 percent through
The concept and the scenes with Death are the only decent parts, and they are genuinely serviceable.
The backstory makes no sense, and it reads like it is supposed to be a script for a superhero movie or CW drama without subtlety or nuance.
The concept and the scenes with Death are the only decent parts, and they are genuinely serviceable.
The backstory makes no sense, and it reads like it is supposed to be a script for a superhero movie or CW drama without subtlety or nuance.
krisrid's review against another edition
1.0
I only made it to chapter 5 of this book before I gave up. This book was completely different from what I was expecting from the description and from most of the reviews I read.
I saw reviews about how this was a view on Grimm fairy tales, and a clever approach to "Death" via his apprentice.
For me this book came across as a depressing, violent dark and angry world. Maybe I should have expected that - although I have read the original Grimm tales, and realize they are darker than Disney would have us believe, this book was so unrelentingly dark and hard, I just could not bring myself to stick with it any longer. Possibly, the book gets more engaging further on, but it was too heavy for me in the portion I read.
I saw reviews about how this was a view on Grimm fairy tales, and a clever approach to "Death" via his apprentice.
For me this book came across as a depressing, violent dark and angry world. Maybe I should have expected that - although I have read the original Grimm tales, and realize they are darker than Disney would have us believe, this book was so unrelentingly dark and hard, I just could not bring myself to stick with it any longer. Possibly, the book gets more engaging further on, but it was too heavy for me in the portion I read.
lyfaster's review against another edition
3.0
The characters were interesting, the plot was sub par...the action was great if not a llittle disorienting, and the ending was made me cry. I'd read the sequel should there ever be one.
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