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A review by kittyg
The Bookman Histories by Lavie Tidhar
3.0
This is a 2.5 star review as this book is so hard to rate. Firstly I want to say that this was my first venture into the world of Steampunk, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I would not advise this as a start place for Steampunk as it's very long, very detailed and very much geared towards people who have a good understanding of literary referencing.
The first book is focused on a young man named Orphan. Orphan is a key character in the story and he travels around the world in the hopes of saving his beloved - however, this is certainly NOT a romantic tale. The world is a strange one where three races are constantly battling and trying to achieve peace. The humans, the Lizards (the ruling power) and the Machines. There is an element of mystery around the origins of the Lizards and this is again a part of the tale. The first story is focused on finding 'The Bookman' who is a notorious killer striking London.
Overall I gave book one 2* as it was interesting but most of the writing I felt unnecessary and far too overly detailed and complicated in order to effectively communicate the message and plot of the book.
Book 2 is the story of Lady de Winter and she works for The Quiet Council. I found that Tidhar seemed to write a lot better and a far more intriguing tale came out of this book that the first. It was a lot more brutal and violent in some places which made it more exciting, and the narration seemed a lot better when focused on a lady. I did enjoy this story as it was compelling and fun in some areas, and the Lady de Winter was a much more vibrant character than Orphan from book 1. I would give it 4*.
And finally Book 3 is the story of many characters and is told from a variety of viewpoints which can sometimes be pretty confusing. I also found that there seemed to be so many references in this book, as if the author knew it was the last book and was trying to cram as many famous names as possible into the story. Whilst I admit that some of these names are funny and ironic in their implementation into the story, some of them seem to be forced in for no reason and others are obscure so that I did not get the reference until late in the book. I would say that I do not have a fantastic knowledge of the classics and therefore that could explain my lack of understanding, however I maintain that the number included was far too high and it felt, at times, like the author was borrowing the work of others rather than thinking up his own ideas.
Book 3 is the culmination of everything where the three races battle it out, machines, humans and lizards alike are caught up in the fighting and mystery surrounding the story and the entire plot is a web of parties competing for a variety of things. I, unfortunately, liked very little of the book except for the end which was somewhat inspired. I would give this 2* also, hence the 2.5* rating of the entire Bookman Histories.
I would only recommend to those who want something rich in literary references and very complex in detail.
The first book is focused on a young man named Orphan. Orphan is a key character in the story and he travels around the world in the hopes of saving his beloved - however, this is certainly NOT a romantic tale. The world is a strange one where three races are constantly battling and trying to achieve peace. The humans, the Lizards (the ruling power) and the Machines. There is an element of mystery around the origins of the Lizards and this is again a part of the tale. The first story is focused on finding 'The Bookman' who is a notorious killer striking London.
Overall I gave book one 2* as it was interesting but most of the writing I felt unnecessary and far too overly detailed and complicated in order to effectively communicate the message and plot of the book.
Book 2 is the story of Lady de Winter and she works for The Quiet Council. I found that Tidhar seemed to write a lot better and a far more intriguing tale came out of this book that the first. It was a lot more brutal and violent in some places which made it more exciting, and the narration seemed a lot better when focused on a lady. I did enjoy this story as it was compelling and fun in some areas, and the Lady de Winter was a much more vibrant character than Orphan from book 1. I would give it 4*.
And finally Book 3 is the story of many characters and is told from a variety of viewpoints which can sometimes be pretty confusing. I also found that there seemed to be so many references in this book, as if the author knew it was the last book and was trying to cram as many famous names as possible into the story. Whilst I admit that some of these names are funny and ironic in their implementation into the story, some of them seem to be forced in for no reason and others are obscure so that I did not get the reference until late in the book. I would say that I do not have a fantastic knowledge of the classics and therefore that could explain my lack of understanding, however I maintain that the number included was far too high and it felt, at times, like the author was borrowing the work of others rather than thinking up his own ideas.
Book 3 is the culmination of everything where the three races battle it out, machines, humans and lizards alike are caught up in the fighting and mystery surrounding the story and the entire plot is a web of parties competing for a variety of things. I, unfortunately, liked very little of the book except for the end which was somewhat inspired. I would give this 2* also, hence the 2.5* rating of the entire Bookman Histories.
I would only recommend to those who want something rich in literary references and very complex in detail.