A review by charlibirb
The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman
4.0
5 for the artwork
3 because the whole thing felt like the exposition to something without anything happening. If I should have to read something first, or if there are follow-up stories to make this more understandable, the book should reference it. I've read "Sandman," and sure, there were a lot of characters that appeared, but it felt like a book full of references and possibilities, rather than a journey. I didn't feel like Tim Hunter grew as a person, made any actual choices, or changed in any drastic way. He just learned a bunch of stuff. Also, all 4 of his guides may as well have been the same person. They didn't feel or look significantly different, and their separate motivations were a bit jumbled and unclear.
VERY pretty artwork, though. Gaiman always builds a fantastic world, but his characters are mostly a bit 2 dimensional.
I guess there are more books in this series, and if the artwork keeps up being as beautiful, and the world-building is as cool, I'll probably read them, despite the thin-ness of the plot and story.
3 because the whole thing felt like the exposition to something without anything happening. If I should have to read something first, or if there are follow-up stories to make this more understandable, the book should reference it. I've read "Sandman," and sure, there were a lot of characters that appeared, but it felt like a book full of references and possibilities, rather than a journey. I didn't feel like Tim Hunter grew as a person, made any actual choices, or changed in any drastic way. He just learned a bunch of stuff. Also, all 4 of his guides may as well have been the same person. They didn't feel or look significantly different, and their separate motivations were a bit jumbled and unclear.
VERY pretty artwork, though. Gaiman always builds a fantastic world, but his characters are mostly a bit 2 dimensional.
I guess there are more books in this series, and if the artwork keeps up being as beautiful, and the world-building is as cool, I'll probably read them, despite the thin-ness of the plot and story.