abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
1.0
Well, the premise is there, but the writing is not. This did not capture my attention nor would I read any other in this series.
hann_thea's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was okay, nothing more but also nothing less
socr8sjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
It was kind of meh for parts. Other parts were mildly amusing. There have been short stories from Resnick about this world and character since the book, that have been very well down, so I'm willing to give him a pass and go check out the sequel, Stalking the Vampire.
bluejay1997's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
fleurette's review against another edition
2.0
For such a short book, I had an unbelievable long time with it. This is probably not a book for me.
This is one of those books in which the very complex and complicated world created by the author absolutely obscures the story. The actual story goes to the background. As a substitute Mallory wanders through this alternate Manhattan meeting more and more strange characters who do not contribute much to the general plot. This is not my favorite form of story. I definitely prefer it when the interesting plotline wins out over the overdeveloped imaginary world.
My other problem is humor, but it is probably just my problem. I don't like funny books because I rarely find them funny indeed and much more often they just irritate me. And I hate humor in the Prachett style the most. This book, unfortunately, sometimes came close to such a humor. I don't know what it is, because I generally like absurd humor, but Prachett's efforts have always seemed senseless and annoying to me. And here it annoyed me sometimes as well. Jokes sometimes seemed to me forced and did not lead to anything other than simple comic relieve. They lack the finesse and surprise element, they are more like archetypal banana peel. I read other books of this author and I didn't have such a problem with it, but here at times it really irritated me.
Another thought that came to me during this reading is that maybe I'm just too old for this book. I think if I was thirteen I would like it much more. After all, it's an uncomplicated funny story with a jumble of unconventional characters. Simple, unsophisticated entertainment just right for a teenager.
This is not a bad book, but it didn't really urge me to continue the series. I think I will miss Mallory's further adventures. At least until I forget how challenging it was for me to get through this book.
This is one of those books in which the very complex and complicated world created by the author absolutely obscures the story. The actual story goes to the background. As a substitute Mallory wanders through this alternate Manhattan meeting more and more strange characters who do not contribute much to the general plot. This is not my favorite form of story. I definitely prefer it when the interesting plotline wins out over the overdeveloped imaginary world.
My other problem is humor, but it is probably just my problem. I don't like funny books because I rarely find them funny indeed and much more often they just irritate me. And I hate humor in the Prachett style the most. This book, unfortunately, sometimes came close to such a humor. I don't know what it is, because I generally like absurd humor, but Prachett's efforts have always seemed senseless and annoying to me. And here it annoyed me sometimes as well. Jokes sometimes seemed to me forced and did not lead to anything other than simple comic relieve. They lack the finesse and surprise element, they are more like archetypal banana peel. I read other books of this author and I didn't have such a problem with it, but here at times it really irritated me.
Another thought that came to me during this reading is that maybe I'm just too old for this book. I think if I was thirteen I would like it much more. After all, it's an uncomplicated funny story with a jumble of unconventional characters. Simple, unsophisticated entertainment just right for a teenager.
This is not a bad book, but it didn't really urge me to continue the series. I think I will miss Mallory's further adventures. At least until I forget how challenging it was for me to get through this book.
kellswitch's review
4.0
Overall this was a lot of fun to read, it was quick, easy, entertaining and while it wasn't the deepest book I've ever read I did find myself enjoying and caring about the main characters, even the villains and enjoying the 1Cmystery 1D as it developed.
I thought there was a good balance with the strangeness of the alternate Manhattan, the humor and the overall plot and the ending really worked well for me but I would have preferred more character development instead of anther example of how different this Manhattan was from Mallory's Manhattan, as enjoyable as I found the characters they sort of felt flat and one dimensional though there is a lot of potential as the series goes on.
I was very engaged in the mystery of the stolen unicorn and I felt that the pacing and resolution worked really well, I never got bored and the ending felt like a natural progression of the story and not rushed or tagged on just to bring things to an end and I was very satisfied with how things were resolved.
I thought there was a good balance with the strangeness of the alternate Manhattan, the humor and the overall plot and the ending really worked well for me but I would have preferred more character development instead of anther example of how different this Manhattan was from Mallory's Manhattan, as enjoyable as I found the characters they sort of felt flat and one dimensional though there is a lot of potential as the series goes on.
I was very engaged in the mystery of the stolen unicorn and I felt that the pacing and resolution worked really well, I never got bored and the ending felt like a natural progression of the story and not rushed or tagged on just to bring things to an end and I was very satisfied with how things were resolved.
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