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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
Wulliam and his father have been tending the river for years. Making sure the lamps are lit, that there's a path through the ice and fishing lost souls out of its depths. Like a lot of kids that are born into the family business, Wulliam dreads the day that he will have to take over from his father as Riverkeep, and wishes that he could be anywhere than where he is.
Unfortunately, fate has already dealt him a hand when his father while retrieving a body, is possessed by a dark, demonic creature from the depths. Now Wulliam is thrust into adulthood, caring for the both the river and his father. When he hears of the monmorach, a creature who made hold the key to unlock the prison of his father's body, he abandons his section of river to try and cure his father.
Along the way, he meets a strange concoction of people, including a living man made of straw, and a woman with a wooden baby.
I know, I know, bizarre right??! It does take some persistence to get into and I was initially put off by the olde English I encountered, but the story itself was strangely compelling. The bizarre mix of characters was toned down by Wull's mundanity, him being the only "normal" person in the whole book despite what's happening around him, and the quest to heal his father comes from the heart.
As far as the fantasy element goes...I've definitely read better, but it's a good first effort. 3 stars.
Unfortunately, fate has already dealt him a hand when his father while retrieving a body, is possessed by a dark, demonic creature from the depths. Now Wulliam is thrust into adulthood, caring for the both the river and his father. When he hears of the monmorach, a creature who made hold the key to unlock the prison of his father's body, he abandons his section of river to try and cure his father.
Along the way, he meets a strange concoction of people, including a living man made of straw, and a woman with a wooden baby.
I know, I know, bizarre right??! It does take some persistence to get into and I was initially put off by the olde English I encountered, but the story itself was strangely compelling. The bizarre mix of characters was toned down by Wull's mundanity, him being the only "normal" person in the whole book despite what's happening around him, and the quest to heal his father comes from the heart.
As far as the fantasy element goes...I've definitely read better, but it's a good first effort. 3 stars.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This had some weakness as a novel- the plot was a bit disjointed, characters came and went randomly, the pacing was dodgy at times, and a good number of things went unresolved.
In a way, though, I liked this more than some books I’ve rated higher- I’m a sucker for a good, slightly off-kilter world, especially ones that bend society around things like megafauna, or tidally locker planets, or moving cities. There were some truly vivid characters, and some great bits of dialogue. The in-world text at the beginning of each chapter was superb.
Ultimately, even if this wasn’t my favorite book, I found a lot to really enjoy.
In a way, though, I liked this more than some books I’ve rated higher- I’m a sucker for a good, slightly off-kilter world, especially ones that bend society around things like megafauna, or tidally locker planets, or moving cities. There were some truly vivid characters, and some great bits of dialogue. The in-world text at the beginning of each chapter was superb.
Ultimately, even if this wasn’t my favorite book, I found a lot to really enjoy.
An exciting adventure novel in the vein of The Wizard of Oz, for the older kids. Got a big bogged down in places but the writing is beautiful and the characters wonderful.
this book has 416 pages and i have no idea what happened on any of them
In this fantasy novel we are taking on a twisty adventure to help find a cure for Wull's father. This book was a very interesting read. I feel like it would be better played out in a video form because there is so much that you could do with it. I enjoyed the story and the plot, but would think it would come alive in that format. If you like books about magic this may be the book for you!
5/10, seems good, like the concept of the Riverkeep, reminds me of the Coast Guard. I don't like the name Wulliam though, it sounds kind of awkward. Read Keeper of the Lost Cities, for a better fantasy novel.
i read 130 pages and i really have no idea what happened on any of them. this book was in the high school section and i’m a college student. picked it up for an easy vacay read. DNF.
DNF at 20%. The writing style is a mess and the plot seems to be going nowhere fast. I don’t want to be too harsh on the author, as this really feels like a failure of editing—at some point between draft 1 and the published book, an editor should have stepped in and brought this story back on track. At least clean up the dialect FFS, so that misspellings and “flavor text” aren’t randomly dropped into the story just to make things seem more “literary”. Sorry to waste a beautiful cover, but the story was a total flop for me.
this book has 416 pages and i have no idea what happened on any of them