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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This will be DNF-ed !
I’m almost a 100 pages in and the writing is giving me a headache and the plot is messy which ended up that i do not understand what’s going on.
Sad, i really wanted to enjoy this book.
I’m almost a 100 pages in and the writing is giving me a headache and the plot is messy which ended up that i do not understand what’s going on.
Sad, i really wanted to enjoy this book.
This is an absolutely stunning debut! With the story set in such a dark, treacherous, and beautifully created world, I didn't expect to laugh as much as I did - but that just shows how much heart the characters brought to the tale. It gripped me from the first page to the last, and I will be thinking about RIVERKEEP for a very long time to come.
cross posted from fox and fiction
It's been a long while since I've read a good, entertaining adventure tale. Riverkeep by Martin Stewart was like returning to a familiar and comfortable territory, and a delightful new experience, all at once. There are so many things to love about this book. It has a reluctant and unwittingly hilarious protagonist, Wulliam, and the wonderfully named and very amusing cast of characters he picks up as he makes his way downstream. The world itself is fascinating, with its customs, creatures and magic only hinted at in passing and in the epigraphs from various resources in this world. Every character, even those only met in passing, has their own tale, their own personality and history that makes them seem whole and real, and interesting enough to read a book all about them. And the book is incredibly funny- the dialog especially, not just in the things the inhabitants of this book say, but the way they say it. Stewart really does great job bringing character to the world with the vernacular accents, right down to the name of the protagonist. The only flaw I could find with it is that it leaves many ends loose, in regards to side characters' storylines, but this too could be seen as a positive thing. It doesn't end feeling unfinished, and it's nice to know that there could be more installments to wrap things up with other characters. Riverkeep really does contain a world I'd love to delve into again and again.
It's been a long while since I've read a good, entertaining adventure tale. Riverkeep by Martin Stewart was like returning to a familiar and comfortable territory, and a delightful new experience, all at once. There are so many things to love about this book. It has a reluctant and unwittingly hilarious protagonist, Wulliam, and the wonderfully named and very amusing cast of characters he picks up as he makes his way downstream. The world itself is fascinating, with its customs, creatures and magic only hinted at in passing and in the epigraphs from various resources in this world. Every character, even those only met in passing, has their own tale, their own personality and history that makes them seem whole and real, and interesting enough to read a book all about them. And the book is incredibly funny- the dialog especially, not just in the things the inhabitants of this book say, but the way they say it. Stewart really does great job bringing character to the world with the vernacular accents, right down to the name of the protagonist. The only flaw I could find with it is that it leaves many ends loose, in regards to side characters' storylines, but this too could be seen as a positive thing. It doesn't end feeling unfinished, and it's nice to know that there could be more installments to wrap things up with other characters. Riverkeep really does contain a world I'd love to delve into again and again.
Adding to my DNF shelf. It’s awful. I cannot go any further. I’m only on page 50. It took me a week to get there. Not my cup of tea. Too slow and boring
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I had my eye on this book for a long time. As in way before it was published. I only recently got my hand on a copy courtesy of the library, and delved in immediately upon getting home. Riverkeep by Martin Stewart is a coming of age story set in a fiction world where magic and monstrous creatures lurk just on the edges of civilization.
Our main character is Wulliam, called Wull for short, who is set to succeed his father as the Riverkeep on his sixteen birthday as per tradition. As the Riverkeep Wull will be in charge of taking care of the large river that runs past his house, lighting the lamps and ensuring it doesn’t freeze over in winter, managing the wildlife in the area, and removing the dead from the river for proper burial. However, when Wull’s father returns from the river not himself, Wull searches the books his ancestors left in search of answers. The only way to save his father is for Wull to set off towards the nearest city, currently plagued by a monstrous sea creature that has drifted from the pages of his ancestor’s books into those of legend, meeting new friends and unimaginable dangers along the way.
This book had a lot interesting concepts, and a world I yearned to learn more about. However, there were some issues I had with the novels as well.
The story is told largely from Wull’s point of view. Some chapters we switch points of view, most often to that of Tillinghast, one of the characters who accompanies Wull on his journey. A few other points of view were explored. These chapters were often short and always pertinent to the plot. If this is something you dislike be warned, but do keep in mind that the vast majority of the chapters do stick with Wull.
Speaking of Wull, let’s talk about our protagonist.
Wull is a fairly normal protagonist. He isn’t particularly interested in being Riverkeep. He wants to see more of the world. He’s very pure hearted and rather naïve. However, Wull also has a lack of ability to see how the motley crew he’s picked up can assist him on his quest to save his father. At first, I could understand why he saw them as freeloaders and generally unhelpful. However, each character – Mix, Tillinghast, and Remedie – bring something unique and important to the group. Without them he never would have reached his destination at all. But this is something that Wull never quite seems to grasp. There were times, especially towards the middle and end of the book where I found Wull more annoying than anything and wishing for another chapter from Tillinghast’s point of view.
More than that, Wull never acts his age. It always felt as if he were twelve going on thirteen than fifteen going on sixteen. Indeed, much of the book reminded me more of a middle grade novel rather than a young adult title, which it is marketed as. Wull’s naivety is extreme for someone on the eve of his sixteenth birthday. This only serves to make the anatomy and sex related jokes feel even more out of place than they already are. Were they funny? Yeah, they were. But they still felt a bit out of place. Jokes aside, smaller happenings throughout the novel also add to this sense. For example, Mix is the first teenage girl he’s ever met. Now, I know he lives far away from the city, but really? Sixteen years and he’s never seen anyone of the female persuasion who isn’t the middle aged undertaker?
As for pacing, the beginning of the novel was interesting, if slow. There is a bit world building and we spend some time getting to know Wull and his father. Wull doesn’t set out on his journey until probably 80 to 90 pages into the book. Once he leaves, the story’s pacing picks up and while I wouldn’t call the story fast paces, there is more action. Wull’s adventure down the river was fun to read and fraught with peril. The characters he met on the way were all very interesting, with diverse backgrounds and unique abilities. They don’t quite get along with one another. Instant friends they are not. What begins as witty banter sometimes develops into arguments. This is something I don’t often see, especially in tales that involve some sort of quest-like theme. Instead they all have common goals and are going in the same basic direction. They learn to work together. Well, perhaps for Wull who seemed to only complain about them.
I also felt that the book ended abruptly. I really think we needed just a little more time with Wull and the other characters in the end. We don’t even learn what happened to two of the characters at the end of the novel. While I understand why this was done stylistically, I do think that a few more pages would have wrapped up the story a bit more fully.
In all, this felt like a first novel. Is that a bad thing? No, of course not. There were some interesting characters, a magic system that worked differently than usually seen in fantasy novels. If you like middle grade novels or coming of age stories Riverkeep will be for you. If you don’t like stories which have oddly spelled names or abrupt endings then maybe this is a book to skip.
This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads.
Our main character is Wulliam, called Wull for short, who is set to succeed his father as the Riverkeep on his sixteen birthday as per tradition. As the Riverkeep Wull will be in charge of taking care of the large river that runs past his house, lighting the lamps and ensuring it doesn’t freeze over in winter, managing the wildlife in the area, and removing the dead from the river for proper burial. However, when Wull’s father returns from the river not himself, Wull searches the books his ancestors left in search of answers. The only way to save his father is for Wull to set off towards the nearest city, currently plagued by a monstrous sea creature that has drifted from the pages of his ancestor’s books into those of legend, meeting new friends and unimaginable dangers along the way.
This book had a lot interesting concepts, and a world I yearned to learn more about. However, there were some issues I had with the novels as well.
The story is told largely from Wull’s point of view. Some chapters we switch points of view, most often to that of Tillinghast, one of the characters who accompanies Wull on his journey. A few other points of view were explored. These chapters were often short and always pertinent to the plot. If this is something you dislike be warned, but do keep in mind that the vast majority of the chapters do stick with Wull.
Speaking of Wull, let’s talk about our protagonist.
Wull is a fairly normal protagonist. He isn’t particularly interested in being Riverkeep. He wants to see more of the world. He’s very pure hearted and rather naïve. However, Wull also has a lack of ability to see how the motley crew he’s picked up can assist him on his quest to save his father. At first, I could understand why he saw them as freeloaders and generally unhelpful. However, each character – Mix, Tillinghast, and Remedie – bring something unique and important to the group. Without them he never would have reached his destination at all. But this is something that Wull never quite seems to grasp. There were times, especially towards the middle and end of the book where I found Wull more annoying than anything and wishing for another chapter from Tillinghast’s point of view.
More than that, Wull never acts his age. It always felt as if he were twelve going on thirteen than fifteen going on sixteen. Indeed, much of the book reminded me more of a middle grade novel rather than a young adult title, which it is marketed as. Wull’s naivety is extreme for someone on the eve of his sixteenth birthday. This only serves to make the anatomy and sex related jokes feel even more out of place than they already are. Were they funny? Yeah, they were. But they still felt a bit out of place. Jokes aside, smaller happenings throughout the novel also add to this sense. For example, Mix is the first teenage girl he’s ever met. Now, I know he lives far away from the city, but really? Sixteen years and he’s never seen anyone of the female persuasion who isn’t the middle aged undertaker?
As for pacing, the beginning of the novel was interesting, if slow. There is a bit world building and we spend some time getting to know Wull and his father. Wull doesn’t set out on his journey until probably 80 to 90 pages into the book. Once he leaves, the story’s pacing picks up and while I wouldn’t call the story fast paces, there is more action. Wull’s adventure down the river was fun to read and fraught with peril. The characters he met on the way were all very interesting, with diverse backgrounds and unique abilities. They don’t quite get along with one another. Instant friends they are not. What begins as witty banter sometimes develops into arguments. This is something I don’t often see, especially in tales that involve some sort of quest-like theme. Instead they all have common goals and are going in the same basic direction. They learn to work together. Well, perhaps for Wull who seemed to only complain about them.
I also felt that the book ended abruptly. I really think we needed just a little more time with Wull and the other characters in the end. We don’t even learn what happened to two of the characters at the end of the novel. While I understand why this was done stylistically, I do think that a few more pages would have wrapped up the story a bit more fully.
In all, this felt like a first novel. Is that a bad thing? No, of course not. There were some interesting characters, a magic system that worked differently than usually seen in fantasy novels. If you like middle grade novels or coming of age stories Riverkeep will be for you. If you don’t like stories which have oddly spelled names or abrupt endings then maybe this is a book to skip.
This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
The Danék is a wild, treacherous river, and the Fobisher family has tended it for generations—clearing it of ice and weed, making sure boats can get through, and fishing corpses from its bleak depths. Wulliam’s father, the current Riverkeep, is proud of this work. Wull dreads it. And in one week, when he comes of age, he will have to take over.
Not too keen to take over as it is, Wull's father is pulled under and emerges possessed, no longer himself, and the role of Riverkeep is thrust upon him. He meets a few people along the way to find the cure, and learns a lot about himself, including finding a courage he didn't know he possessed.
You need to bear with Riverkeep for a bit. It's boldly compared to the likes of Wizard of Oz, and Neil Gaiman, which sets expectations that it doesn't immediately meet, but grows into. To get there, you need to sit through lengthy sections that can feel longer than they are, but then get caught up in moments so vivid and grabbing that they flash past you until the next one comes along - partly because some of these are given less page-time than they deserve, and partly because you're turning pages rather furiously.
Wull has a tough time, but you're with him for the long haul, at times rooting for him, at others frustrated with him on his journey. Some characters pass by without a clear point, some sub-plots are left untied, a few little bits you think about and go "What happened there?" later. But as debut's go, this is an ambitious world on the water, with more lurking beneath than most worlds have on the surface.
Stewart's world is vivid, magical, and full of creatures that make his creation that little bit weirder and unique, and Riverkeep is at times engrossing and at others heartbreaking.
Not too keen to take over as it is, Wull's father is pulled under and emerges possessed, no longer himself, and the role of Riverkeep is thrust upon him. He meets a few people along the way to find the cure, and learns a lot about himself, including finding a courage he didn't know he possessed.
You need to bear with Riverkeep for a bit. It's boldly compared to the likes of Wizard of Oz, and Neil Gaiman, which sets expectations that it doesn't immediately meet, but grows into. To get there, you need to sit through lengthy sections that can feel longer than they are, but then get caught up in moments so vivid and grabbing that they flash past you until the next one comes along - partly because some of these are given less page-time than they deserve, and partly because you're turning pages rather furiously.
Wull has a tough time, but you're with him for the long haul, at times rooting for him, at others frustrated with him on his journey. Some characters pass by without a clear point, some sub-plots are left untied, a few little bits you think about and go "What happened there?" later. But as debut's go, this is an ambitious world on the water, with more lurking beneath than most worlds have on the surface.
Stewart's world is vivid, magical, and full of creatures that make his creation that little bit weirder and unique, and Riverkeep is at times engrossing and at others heartbreaking.
I was given a chance to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! The adventure and bravery. The story and the characters. It all worked so well! I was worried that the ending wasn't going to be reasonable because of how unbeatable the creature was but it made so much sense! This book was fun and heartfelt at the same time. Can't wait to see what else Martin Stewart writes.
I loved this book! The adventure and bravery. The story and the characters. It all worked so well! I was worried that the ending wasn't going to be reasonable because of how unbeatable the creature was but it made so much sense! This book was fun and heartfelt at the same time. Can't wait to see what else Martin Stewart writes.