Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
.jpg)
Didn't love it. Full review is on my blog.
It had plenty of action and adventure, but it felt rushed and by jamming so much into such a short time frame, it seemed like everything was glossed over.
It had plenty of action and adventure, but it felt rushed and by jamming so much into such a short time frame, it seemed like everything was glossed over.
DNF. I found it a bit heavy handed -- -- and that combined with the constant, deliberate misspellings and made-up words made it just a chore to get through.
Kudos to whoever wrote the book sleeve, though. I was excited to read it based on how good the sleeve read.
Spoiler
examples: early on, a character chortles about how foolish people are and then immediately falls into the same trap; in another instance, a character says their name, then provides a definition, and then explains how their own name fits into their world viewKudos to whoever wrote the book sleeve, though. I was excited to read it based on how good the sleeve read.
Didn't finish it- abandoned after a few chapters. The boasts on the cover of the proof copy I received were enough to annoy me initially, and the book really didn't live up to them. It was a slow start, and Wulliam? Really?
The third chapter was a little better, but not enough to keep me reading. Onto better, less egregiously marketed books.
The third chapter was a little better, but not enough to keep me reading. Onto better, less egregiously marketed books.
A brilliant novel ruined by the slapdash, slightly sexist ending.
So if we can all just agree that this is a gorgeous cover and get that out of the way. Another TBR veteran that was very much a coverbuy, this book has very few ratings and no reviews on Goodreads, and for some reason I was under the impression that this was a middle-grade novel.
This book is not a middle-grade novel, although I would have enjoyed it at that age as well. This novel is actually quite dark. You think it'll be an action-adventure novel about a young man saving his father...and it is..but with very dark, gruesome and sad moments thrown in.
This book follows a 15 year old boy, days away from becoming 16 when he will take over his fathers responsibilities and become the Riverkeep. The Riverkeep lights lanterns to keep the ice from packing in the winter, and pulls dead bodies from the river so they can be properly buried. Gruesome.
Except his father is pulled under the river while trying to retrieve a body by some horrid river monster and when he comes back he is..changed.
Meanwhile a legendary eel-like creature thought to be extinct is spotted and it is believed to possess much magic, so our protagonist takes his father in hopes to find, kill and save his father. Along the way there is a homonculus, a witch, a wooden baby, and a magical young lady.
I enjoyed this book audibly on Scribd and I recommend it if you enjoy audiobooks. The narrator has a wonderful Irish accent that I felt added something to this tale and I hope you will join the ranks of the few of us who have read and enjoyed this debut novel.
This book is not a middle-grade novel, although I would have enjoyed it at that age as well. This novel is actually quite dark. You think it'll be an action-adventure novel about a young man saving his father...and it is..but with very dark, gruesome and sad moments thrown in.
This book follows a 15 year old boy, days away from becoming 16 when he will take over his fathers responsibilities and become the Riverkeep. The Riverkeep lights lanterns to keep the ice from packing in the winter, and pulls dead bodies from the river so they can be properly buried. Gruesome.
Except his father is pulled under the river while trying to retrieve a body by some horrid river monster and when he comes back he is..changed.
Meanwhile a legendary eel-like creature thought to be extinct is spotted and it is believed to possess much magic, so our protagonist takes his father in hopes to find, kill and save his father. Along the way there is a homonculus, a witch, a wooden baby, and a magical young lady.
I enjoyed this book audibly on Scribd and I recommend it if you enjoy audiobooks. The narrator has a wonderful Irish accent that I felt added something to this tale and I hope you will join the ranks of the few of us who have read and enjoyed this debut novel.
This was a DNF for me.
The fantasy was too far out for me. The POV's switched too frequently and I couldn't connect to any of the characters.
Best read by those who REALLY love to delve into strange, dark fantasy worlds.
So sad, the cover is so beautiful.
Thanks to Penguin First Reads for the chance to give it a try.
The fantasy was too far out for me. The POV's switched too frequently and I couldn't connect to any of the characters.
Best read by those who REALLY love to delve into strange, dark fantasy worlds.
So sad, the cover is so beautiful.
Thanks to Penguin First Reads for the chance to give it a try.
super torn. This would have been awesome except for the world building problem. Rivers only flow one way...Emory Blummell's face was found at the boathouse. The boathouse is upriver from Canna Bay where the Mormorach ate the rest of him. Wull rows "with the current" from the boat house to Canna Bay to hunt the Mormorach. How the heck did the face get to the boathouse (or all the dead bodies from the city, for that matter)? It was like a super-distracting fantasy Zen koan and was the only thing I could think about through all the great dialogue, fantastic fantasy names, and humor...and now you probably want to read it anyway...which would still be a good choice if you don't mind about the river current issue. #physicspeople #worldbuildingisimportant #booknerd
As bildungsromans go, this one has a solid hero's journey, chasing down the river, in constant pain, desperate to save his Dad from death by possession. It's an interesting world, but quite bleak. Also a little off in that I read it as a kids' book, but there are several scenes with sexual innuendo that might require a teen audience to make sense of. Weird characters (straw man, wood baby, strange stranded people all along the river's edge) vie for attention with the ever expanding prose. A good debut, and an interesting journey, but I think I wanted more humor and charm in the characters and less carefully wrought description of gothic settings.
Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.
Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.
An overwrought, overwritten YA which starts dark and turns bizarre. The bleakness is unrelenting and despite some quirky characters we are left bruised and battered in Wulliam's strange world. Our protagonist, a boy just shy of his 16th birthday, when he will relieve his father from a life of riverkeeping drudgery and take on the mantle of riverkeep himself, is a salt-of-the-earth pure spirit who tries to do the right thing at every turn, only to fail at every turn. His companions, Tillinghast, Mix and Remedie are eldritch beings who reveal their oddness in teasing moments of explanation that never quite give the reader understanding, and the end of the ladies is very odd indeed. Martin Stewart allows the mood of the river and the harshness of the world he has created to get the better of him and ultimately the story fails to convince or entertain, despite the skill Stewart obviously possesses with the quill.
This was a solid 3.5-4 star read. It was a bit slow to start and a little all over the place but came together well in the end.
The hiccup for me was the groundwork being laid for a new land, language (misspelling of words), introduction of new animals etc. It also flipped from one storyline to the other and so it was a bit slow going for me.
I did enjoy the characters and was drawn to each ones storyline and how they all were going to fit in together. I liked how even seemingly small characters were well developed and well rounded. Even if they were only there for a chapter or two.
I liked all the excerpts from fictional encyclopedias and prose that were at the beginning of each chapter. It really helped fill in gaps in mythology and history of the world we were in.
Overall, the second half of this book saved the whole experience and I’m glad I stuck with it.
I would recommend this read for anyone who enjoys epic tales, mythological adventurous, and a bit of humour too.
The hiccup for me was the groundwork being laid for a new land, language (misspelling of words), introduction of new animals etc. It also flipped from one storyline to the other and so it was a bit slow going for me.
I did enjoy the characters and was drawn to each ones storyline and how they all were going to fit in together. I liked how even seemingly small characters were well developed and well rounded. Even if they were only there for a chapter or two.
I liked all the excerpts from fictional encyclopedias and prose that were at the beginning of each chapter. It really helped fill in gaps in mythology and history of the world we were in.
Overall, the second half of this book saved the whole experience and I’m glad I stuck with it.
I would recommend this read for anyone who enjoys epic tales, mythological adventurous, and a bit of humour too.