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sara11_reads's review
1.0
This book was so bad I couldn't finish it. I have no idea why it has so many positive reviews on Amazon because it is terribly written. The dialogue in particular is awful.
mezarale's review
5.0
Vivid glimpse into what 13 century China was like. A wonderful mix of fact and fiction to give us a look into a possible life of the father of modern forensic.
kotkottak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
book_worm_13's review
1.0
couldn't finish. The book was just Blah... it was similar to a book I read in church, Job. seriously how much tragedy can one endure? stupid...
mariexllama's review against another edition
4.0
Très bon livre, mais qui m'a pris un temps fou à terminer. Il faut dire que j'ai de la difficulté à rester accrochée avec les livres de cette grosseur ( 750 pages), mais j'ai également trouvé que certains passages s'éternisaient (ex : le voyage en bateau du début avec sa soeur). Sinon j'ai adoré ; l'aspect scientifique, les détails sur l'époque, la narration, l'intrigue... Je recommande vivement!
suchasuckerforbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
Based on the life of Ci Song, the world's first forensic scientist, this is a historical mystery set in 13th century China. The level of detail is astounding at times, and it's obvious a lot of research went into this.
There were a few small anachronisms, mainly in characters' speech patterns which were sometimes a little too 20th century English colloquial, and I'm still not certain about the Chinese ants, but nothing jolted me out of the story so I'll let the age at foot-binding go.
In style it was reminiscent of the Sister Fidelma books by [a:Peter Tremayne|16291|Peter Tremayne|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1284067779p2/16291.jpg], partly in that writing a historical mystery so far removed from our time and culture leads to a little awkwardness as the author tries to convey all the necessary historical detail as well as move the plot along, but this shouldn't be taken as a criticism; I like the Tremayne books, and feel they bring ancient Ireland to life as this does to ancient China.
If you like historical mysteries, and want to settle in with a long book, this could be one for you.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley, and am giving an honest review.
There were a few small anachronisms, mainly in characters' speech patterns which were sometimes a little too 20th century English colloquial, and I'm still not certain about the Chinese ants, but nothing jolted me out of the story so I'll let the age at foot-binding go.
In style it was reminiscent of the Sister Fidelma books by [a:Peter Tremayne|16291|Peter Tremayne|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1284067779p2/16291.jpg], partly in that writing a historical mystery so far removed from our time and culture leads to a little awkwardness as the author tries to convey all the necessary historical detail as well as move the plot along, but this shouldn't be taken as a criticism; I like the Tremayne books, and feel they bring ancient Ireland to life as this does to ancient China.
If you like historical mysteries, and want to settle in with a long book, this could be one for you.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley, and am giving an honest review.
nosialla2206's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
hiroto's review
2.0
tbh I wanted to give it a lower rating, but I liked the 50last pages.
My princepal grief with this book is that it is so damn long, and the writing is just meh. I couldn't like Ci, I couldn't find him intersting or smart, same with the others characters. It just felt flat.
I also didn't learn a lot about middle age China.
Two words : disappointing and laborious.
My princepal grief with this book is that it is so damn long, and the writing is just meh. I couldn't like Ci, I couldn't find him intersting or smart, same with the others characters. It just felt flat.
I also didn't learn a lot about middle age China.
Two words : disappointing and laborious.