A review by mbondlamberty
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
3.0
You have to understand what you are getting in this book - an old-timey style of writing - complete with misspellings and the like from older England. So for those of us used to a standardized spelling this it is not and when it is it is in English style (e.g. colour not color).
Some of the characters are rather annoying and seem almost caricature of a villain, maiden in distress, etc. It is also not always pleasant reading about people in abject poverty and the power that money can have over people's lives and the webs that others can spin. So the beginning was a bit of a slog for me. However I persisted and towards the end (not a totally resolved end unfortunately) it becomes much more of a thriller and therefore more enjoyable and you have less of the irregular spelling to deal with too.
I wanted to give it a 4 for the ending but the beginning made me give it a three and that the ending was not as tidy as I would have liked at the end.
Some of the characters are rather annoying and seem almost caricature of a villain, maiden in distress, etc. It is also not always pleasant reading about people in abject poverty and the power that money can have over people's lives and the webs that others can spin. So the beginning was a bit of a slog for me. However I persisted and towards the end (not a totally resolved end unfortunately) it becomes much more of a thriller and therefore more enjoyable and you have less of the irregular spelling to deal with too.
I wanted to give it a 4 for the ending but the beginning made me give it a three and that the ending was not as tidy as I would have liked at the end.