Reviews

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox

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gunidur's review against another edition

This was all over the place. It needed a better editor maybe? I do not know. It reads like an aspiring author’s first draft, which is far from the case. I am disappointed to have paid 12€ for this book. Premise is interesting, although the more I read, the less I was curious about the intrigue. Why is everyone so horny for this woman? It makes no sense. Very disconnected, very scattered.

nokchimbird's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

darkskybooks's review against another edition

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1.0

A huge disappointment. This was an absolute mess of a book. I had been hearing a lot of hype for this one, but this really was not a good read. Borderline incoherent, this story has a plot that jumps all over the place, thinly developed characters and world and a distinct lack of fun. I can kind of respect the ambition presented, but it falls flat on its face quickly and never really gets back up again.

As far as I can tell the main themes seem to be about the power of books and knowledge - a constant theme seems to be the burning of libraries and a search for a scroll containing the language of god. The importance of these things are only loosely alluded too though. Elizabeth Knox appears to have attempted a melding of literary fiction with fantasy, and I can respect that the prose is good. The plot however crawls along at a snail pace. It moves glacially slowly, and I am still not convinced that there is more than a few pages worth of relevant information in this massively long book. This lack of plot is a criticism I have made of literary fiction before as well, and it seems particularly out of place in what is marketed as an epic fantasy (where plot is vitally important!).

Ultimately I was bored and confused by this. Biggest disappointment so far this year.

trippingthebookfantastic's review against another edition

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2.0

Maybe 2.5 stars.

matcha_cat's review

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Kinda boring and confusing

Content Warnings

books_and_bryn's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

5.0

an amazingly crafted book. You're never given all the information, but you're never confused. you feel one with the character, going with the flow and figuring it out along the way. I wasn't sure whether I was reading a mystery, a thriller, a fantasy, or a lit book. it is a wonderful mix of them all--perfection.