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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
I quit this book after 150 pages of me not getting attached to the world or the characters. To begin with, the world concept is very bleak, and it seems to me that Wulliam and his father have one of the bleakest of jobs: fishing the bodies of suicide victims from a frozen river with water that runs black. I can't imagine there's a lot of job satisfaction in that one. On top of it, you get a giant eel which reawakens all sorts of dark magic. Super optimistic, right?
Another frustration I had was the way the characters all talk. The author tries to force the accents by writing words oddly, which makes me invariably frustrated because it constantly takes me out of the story when I try to decode something written in an "original" way. Changing your i's to y's does not a Chaucer make.
This book really was not my cup of tea. As such, I am not going to finish reading it and I'm not likely to recommend it to others.
Another frustration I had was the way the characters all talk. The author tries to force the accents by writing words oddly, which makes me invariably frustrated because it constantly takes me out of the story when I try to decode something written in an "original" way. Changing your i's to y's does not a Chaucer make.
This book really was not my cup of tea. As such, I am not going to finish reading it and I'm not likely to recommend it to others.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 rating if I could give that. This one took a LONG time for me to get into--I nearly quit multiple times. I listened to the audiobook in my car, and if I hadn't already had 6 CDs in my player and no other audiobook at hand, I would not have kept listening.
All of that said, I finally did feel vested in the story. I think the resolution at the end was too quick and convenient, and Wull's ambivalence about becoming Riverkeep never really resolved. All of the characters were just so darn annoying and self-centered for most of the story, but they did get better!
Too many loose ends, but I'll be interested to read another Martin Stewart book in the future!
All of that said, I finally did feel vested in the story. I think the resolution at the end was too quick and convenient, and Wull's ambivalence about becoming Riverkeep never really resolved. All of the characters were just so darn annoying and self-centered for most of the story, but they did get better!
Too many loose ends, but I'll be interested to read another Martin Stewart book in the future!
I certainly read worse, but ugh....My favorite character only showed up in two chapters and Tillinghsast, my second favorite, was hated by the others. The others were booorrring!
Just not my cup of tea. I feel like the author tried to pack a lot in and it just didn't work for me. The story jumps around between a lot of stories and do come together at the end but are very hard to keep track of while reading. For it they just didn't all mesh together and made me lose interest very quickly.
DNF
Usually, if I don't really like the book that I'm reading, I will still try to read as much as I can. But, with this book, I finished chapter three and I can't read anymore. I was so bored and a bit confused. The characters all felt the same so it was very hard to tell them apart. I was expecting much more because this book sounded amazing. But maybe, I will find the courage to start this book again when I feel like it.
From what I've read so far, I give this book 2/5 stars.
Usually, if I don't really like the book that I'm reading, I will still try to read as much as I can. But, with this book, I finished chapter three and I can't read anymore. I was so bored and a bit confused. The characters all felt the same so it was very hard to tell them apart. I was expecting much more because this book sounded amazing. But maybe, I will find the courage to start this book again when I feel like it.
From what I've read so far, I give this book 2/5 stars.
This sort of dragged on. The story was okay. I like the main character too, but all the side characters were really freaking annoying.
I tried, I really tried to finish this one. Its started out strong but then meandered its way around to me eventually not caring what happened or about the characters.
This is not like Prachett or Gaiman.
This is not like Prachett or Gaiman.
Bland and Boring | Review of ‘[b:Riverkeep|25883016|Riverkeep|Martin Stewart|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1455766527s/25883016.jpg|45761421]’
Boring, slow, an impossible novel to keep reading[...]
Read more of this post at Cyn's Workshop
Boring, slow, an impossible novel to keep reading[...]
Read more of this post at Cyn's Workshop
Took me a while to get into this book but once I did I found it very entertaining. Never read anything else quite like it. I seriously hope there's a sequel or something because this book feels a bit unfinished.
Also if you read the whole thing with a Scottish accent in your head and picture everyone as characters from Outlander, it makes it way more entertaining.
Also if you read the whole thing with a Scottish accent in your head and picture everyone as characters from Outlander, it makes it way more entertaining.