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etinney's review against another edition
3.0
Well. This will be kind of a boring review. A simple pros and cons list will do. And I'm tired.
Pros: Characters (especially female protagonist) were believable and protagonists were likable. Author showed and did not tell. Background was given to help reader understand. There was a climax.
Cons: Ending was unbelievable and annoying. Details and useless facts thrown at readers. Plot plodded along. Plot, climax, and resolution are boring and predictable. Time is confusing because author uses a historic period with modern phrases and topics (for example: saying "oh my God" when people believe in goddesses).
See? This sounds like a teacher's review for a book she wants to use for a high school class. This is because it sounds like it. Well written and semi-boring but ok. That is why it is three stars. I recommend it for people who want a time filler book. It is not much of a standout.
Pros: Characters (especially female protagonist) were believable and protagonists were likable. Author showed and did not tell. Background was given to help reader understand. There was a climax.
Cons: Ending was unbelievable and annoying. Details and useless facts thrown at readers. Plot plodded along. Plot, climax, and resolution are boring and predictable. Time is confusing because author uses a historic period with modern phrases and topics (for example: saying "oh my God" when people believe in goddesses).
See? This sounds like a teacher's review for a book she wants to use for a high school class. This is because it sounds like it. Well written and semi-boring but ok. That is why it is three stars. I recommend it for people who want a time filler book. It is not much of a standout.
24marsha's review against another edition
4.0
Great plot and story but it needed to be punched up a notch for my taste. Probably a perfect ya book though. Personally I had high hopes for a really interesting and magical spin on thing and it was just a little to bland and the author seemed to take the easy way out. I would have loved it if I was 14.
ambersmith1_2's review against another edition
4.0
**Spoilers** The book was really well written. On the edge of your seat kind of book wondering if they were going to survive or not. You never could have guessed what was going to happen next. There were some things that could have been written better, or things that could have been cleared up in the end. Like the magic of the tattooed words. Did they actually do anything or was it really all coincidence like she believed. I laughed so hard when Alaric died the way he did. Not because it was badly written, but because it was hilarious. All those years he hurt Kit and then he just died to a statue. It makes sense with how heavy it was, still just finding it funny that his death was so anticlimactic. You were waiting for something to happen the entire book. Not much happened to them other than running away until the very end of the book. There were good relationships that made it worthwhile to continue reading it anyway. The death was a bit boring but it needed to happen for anyone to be free. Overall I really liked the book.
melodious16's review against another edition
3.5
I Loved it!!! It was amazing and everyone must read the author's note at the back of the book when they are done. it is hilarious (the author's note). Couldn't put it down definately worth buying the hard cover copy.
libertyskies's review
5.0
I absoloutely love this book. Totally original fantasy book. Loved every aspect of this book! Although it was always Marius who kept getting hurt, every one else was invicible...
itsneilcochrane's review against another edition
2.0
The book just didn't hold my interest. Nothing made me want to come back to it. I appreciated the heroine, but the clunky and repetitive info-dumps early on sucked away any momentum for me. The backstory wasn't compelling to me.
Also, it was due back at the library and I wasn't interested enough to renew it.
Also, it was due back at the library and I wasn't interested enough to renew it.
scribesprite's review against another edition
4.0
I was looking forward to this book so I sort of had high expectations but it delivered. Maybe not the awww mind-blowing kind of delivery I was hoping for but still.
The story starts (after the prologue) with Nyssa being a young woman having a relatively normal life except for the fact that she is an orphan. She doesn't know her life is in danger. She doesn't know that a power crazed man named Alaric wants to find her and use the words tattooed on the back of her head. She doesn't know she had a twin brother. She doesn't know she is part of an ancient clan that she had always believed was a legend nothing more. Now she must run away with her uncle from everything she's known-or thought she knew-save her life and possibly more.
This is fantasy, however it doesn't have a map. Which is small thing but seriously, no map?
I liked that Nyssa wasn't given a love interest just for the sake of making things more dramatic. Nyssa is a good protagonist. She is smart and assertive. The point of view changes between a few character but it's mostly Nyssa.
One thing that I liked throughout the book was the group always staying together. At first it's only Nyssa and her uncle but eventually two more members are included later in their hiding escapade. It was nice to see that they were so caring towards one another even though they don't say all these mushy lines. They stuck together through the thick and thin however tempting it was to leave.
The story starts (after the prologue) with Nyssa being a young woman having a relatively normal life except for the fact that she is an orphan. She doesn't know her life is in danger. She doesn't know that a power crazed man named Alaric wants to find her and use the words tattooed on the back of her head. She doesn't know she had a twin brother. She doesn't know she is part of an ancient clan that she had always believed was a legend nothing more. Now she must run away with her uncle from everything she's known-or thought she knew-save her life and possibly more.
This is fantasy, however it doesn't have a map. Which is small thing but seriously, no map?
I liked that Nyssa wasn't given a love interest just for the sake of making things more dramatic. Nyssa is a good protagonist. She is smart and assertive. The point of view changes between a few character but it's mostly Nyssa.
One thing that I liked throughout the book was the group always staying together. At first it's only Nyssa and her uncle but eventually two more members are included later in their hiding escapade. It was nice to see that they were so caring towards one another even though they don't say all these mushy lines. They stuck together through the thick and thin however tempting it was to leave.
lumos_libros's review against another edition
4.0
I'm kind of surprised this book is not more popular, but I guess it's competing against a lot of new awesome books coming out this summer. I want to point out that I actually had no idea this book was published earlier as [b:The Keepers' Daughter|6555281|The Keeper's Daughter|Gill Arbuthnott|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327475375s/6555281.jpg|7788877], same story just different cover and title.
Nyssa has not known too much about her life before coming to the Drowned Boy . It has always bothered her a bit not knowing where she came from and who her family was. All she has to show for her past is a broken bamboo flute and a tattoo. Of course one day that just changes when the shadowmen come to town. She finds out the truth piece by piece rather quickly. Before she really can gather her thoughts she must get out of town because she's in danger. But why her? What's so special about her? Why all the mystery behind her tattoo? The questions do get answers but not before some heartache.
This book had the potential to be an epic fantasy. It has an interesting premise, characters that won't give up, neat other world setup, and ties up modern ideas in a believable way. Perfect formula, but we just needed the author to dig a little deeper into the characters to give more umph to their experience.
What got me hooked was the characters because the plotline has been used before, but I actually loved how the book ended. Gives a good sense of how important family is and how deep that bond goes. I'm glad it showed the power of the printed word and that's all I'm going to say about that.
Nyssa has not known too much about her life before coming to the Drowned Boy . It has always bothered her a bit not knowing where she came from and who her family was. All she has to show for her past is a broken bamboo flute and a tattoo. Of course one day that just changes when the shadowmen come to town. She finds out the truth piece by piece rather quickly. Before she really can gather her thoughts she must get out of town because she's in danger. But why her? What's so special about her? Why all the mystery behind her tattoo? The questions do get answers but not before some heartache.
This book had the potential to be an epic fantasy. It has an interesting premise, characters that won't give up, neat other world setup, and ties up modern ideas in a believable way. Perfect formula, but we just needed the author to dig a little deeper into the characters to give more umph to their experience.
What got me hooked was the characters because the plotline has been used before, but I actually loved how the book ended. Gives a good sense of how important family is and how deep that bond goes. I'm glad it showed the power of the printed word and that's all I'm going to say about that.
breannamorgan's review against another edition
5.0
This is the kind of book that makes books worth reading, it was a real gem that I didn't expect, I devoured it in a day and couldn't keep my hands on it. I thought it was absolute magic. The characters were strong and loveable, although one of my favourites was the White Wolf, who wasn't loveable in the least. I thought the plot was neat and well thought out, and it was really cool that she got most of it from snippets heard on a bus in Scotland.