cstar12's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I haven't finished it yet but it sEems like a great book. I highly reccomend it so far
meghanc303's review against another edition
4.0
Notes from my childhood review:
-my favorite character is Twit
-this book is not but to Redwall standards but it is wonderful
-my favorite character is Twit
-this book is not but to Redwall standards but it is wonderful
rainbowrachel's review against another edition
2.0
This was one of my favourites when I read it as a pre-teen and teenager, but reading it now just left me completely cold. I can still imagine circumstances where I'd recommend it for its target audience, but contrary to other reviews, I just don't see what this one offers to an adult.
jojobug's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
roary47's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, my oldest nephew let me borrow this book a long time ago. I never had or took the chance to read it, but then he suggested we read it out loud together since he was rereading his older books. I would not suggest this book to younger audiences since there is a lot or really scary nightmare inducing stuff for the young, but this book was incredible in plot and delivery.
kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition
2.0
I had to DNF this one. It's boring, and the plot is trite, and the pacing is weird. I didn't care about any of the characters, so after I stuck with it through 100 pages, I called it quits.
The writing is really condescending, and points out the obvious over and over. In the beginning, the setting is described as a society of mice who are afraid of the sewers below their community because the evil rats live in the sewers and they eat any poor mice who go wandering down there.
Then a mouse named Albert is lured into the sewers, and the author thinks they need to tell me and explain again and again that Albert is afraid. He's afraid of the sewers because there are ravenous rats in the sewers. He's afraid of the rats because the rats capture and eat mice. Albert is afraid.
OMG, don't tell me 50 times that Albert is afraid. I can deduce that very well for myself!
That's probably why I couldn't connect with any of the characters, because I wasn't allowed to just feel the emotions of the characters through the story; I was TOLD the character's emotions, and that gets annoying really fast.
The pacing felt jarring and strange. One minute the characters are fleeing for their lives, and then we cut to a scene of a momma mouse with her little mouslings having cake a festival. The story didn't flow very well from scene to scene.
I've heard this compared to Redwall. No, no, no! Redwall actually has good writing and interesting characters.
The writing is really condescending, and points out the obvious over and over. In the beginning, the setting is described as a society of mice who are afraid of the sewers below their community because the evil rats live in the sewers and they eat any poor mice who go wandering down there.
Then a mouse named Albert is lured into the sewers, and the author thinks they need to tell me and explain again and again that Albert is afraid. He's afraid of the sewers because there are ravenous rats in the sewers. He's afraid of the rats because the rats capture and eat mice. Albert is afraid.
OMG, don't tell me 50 times that Albert is afraid. I can deduce that very well for myself!
That's probably why I couldn't connect with any of the characters, because I wasn't allowed to just feel the emotions of the characters through the story; I was TOLD the character's emotions, and that gets annoying really fast.
The pacing felt jarring and strange. One minute the characters are fleeing for their lives, and then we cut to a scene of a momma mouse with her little mouslings having cake a festival. The story didn't flow very well from scene to scene.
I've heard this compared to Redwall. No, no, no! Redwall actually has good writing and interesting characters.
silverthane's review against another edition
3.0
When I was a child I did not read much, my brother was a different kettle of fish and read quite alot (although these days the roles are reversed) I mention this because I remember him reading this one what must be 15 years ago so when I stumbled across it by accident I decided to give it a try.
I was anxious that perhaps this would read lke a childrens book (a reasonable assumption) however I am pleased to report that although it is clearly aimed at young people it is certainly a book that can be enjoyed by adults.
It is a story of adventure above all else and most people like a good adventure story often regardless at what age group it is aimed at. The story takes place in the sewers underneath London. A group of foul ,murderous rats worship a cat they believe is a god. A small community of mice live in fear of the sewers and rats however the curiosity of one mouse has dire consequences for all the others when he is caught spying.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it both entertaining and exciting the story is easy to follow but not dull either and the characters are excellently thought out.
This is the first book in a trilogy and I fully intend to read the other two eventually.
I was anxious that perhaps this would read lke a childrens book (a reasonable assumption) however I am pleased to report that although it is clearly aimed at young people it is certainly a book that can be enjoyed by adults.
It is a story of adventure above all else and most people like a good adventure story often regardless at what age group it is aimed at. The story takes place in the sewers underneath London. A group of foul ,murderous rats worship a cat they believe is a god. A small community of mice live in fear of the sewers and rats however the curiosity of one mouse has dire consequences for all the others when he is caught spying.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it both entertaining and exciting the story is easy to follow but not dull either and the characters are excellently thought out.
This is the first book in a trilogy and I fully intend to read the other two eventually.
oldenglishrose's review against another edition
4.0
I first read the Deptford Histories Trilogy when I was ten and loved them, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover the first book in the Deptford Mice Trilogy was just as enjoyable now that I'm a bit older. The characters were well created and individual, the story moved along at the perfect pace and it was exciting to read. The pictures from the author really brought the story alive and I found myself looking forward to the next one eagerly.
The thing that I remember most about these books though is being really, really scared by them. I used to have to read them with my back against a wall just so that I could be sure that nothing was coming to get me from behind, and I loved that. Although this book was still darker than a lot of children's fiction, this element wasn't as developed as in Jarvis' other trilogy. Admittedly, the books in the Deptford Histories are much longer and so might be aimed at a slightly older audience, and I am older myself now, but I do still think that this book could have benefited from a little more of the terrifying descriptions that I remember from these books. Although this was still a good book, I felt that the scariness was missing and I hope to find it again in the remaining books of the trilogy.
The thing that I remember most about these books though is being really, really scared by them. I used to have to read them with my back against a wall just so that I could be sure that nothing was coming to get me from behind, and I loved that. Although this book was still darker than a lot of children's fiction, this element wasn't as developed as in Jarvis' other trilogy. Admittedly, the books in the Deptford Histories are much longer and so might be aimed at a slightly older audience, and I am older myself now, but I do still think that this book could have benefited from a little more of the terrifying descriptions that I remember from these books. Although this was still a good book, I felt that the scariness was missing and I hope to find it again in the remaining books of the trilogy.