A review of Temeraire

Another review up! And soon to come, pictures of my furniture project!

Tongues of Serpents: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've noticed this book has received a lot of bad reviews, so I feel like something I should point out is that I think, based on my reading at least, that it is being reviewed in comparison to the other books. Well of course, you might say, but considering how amazing I thought the first books were, this book just had an unfortunately high standard to live up to.

And it's not that the book was badly written (although I had a little more trouble with the formal dialogue than I had before; Laurence tends to become slightly incoherent when he's angry), it's just that this book's adventures aren't as fast-paced as some of the other books, and the cultures not explored as thoroughly. I understand why so much time was spent on the journey through Australia since a lot of the group dynamics changed. But if this book was less adventure-focused, I would have liked to see the native culture explored a little more, the way it was when Temeraire was in China. When the book was done, I still had a lot of unanswered questions, and it seemed like it just sort of stuttered to a halt; there was no sense of satisfaction at a storyline being completed.

It is still a good book, especially in its focus on Laurence's struggle with being exiled for treason and how this affects Temeraire and Laurence's relationship. I think that's one of the things this book did excellently; it really went even deeper into their characters, morals, and values. The drawback is that it just doesn't have the same feel as the other books. However, if you're a Temeraire fan, I still say it's a must read, and you'll probably still enjoy reading it, even if its\'s not quite as exciting as the other books in the series.



View all my reviews

A review of "This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein"

I recently received an ARC copy of This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, by Kenneth Oppel. It was an interesting read (and one I finished fairly quickly), so I've posted my review below. Not too long from now I'll soon be posting about some other projects I've been working on book-wise and painting-wise. Oh, and if anyone has any advice as to why my computer always seems to have to catch up to my typing speed...that would be awesome. It's driving me crazy...*twitch, twitch*

This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book surprised me. When I started it, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it, because the beginning threw me off. It started off with Victor in a play, only I didn't know it was a play, so I felt mislead into thinking this was going to be an AU (alternate universe) version of the Frankenstein story that would involve fantasy creatures. The switch to reality felt abrupt, and it wouldn't be my first choice for starting a novel. However, from there, things picked up.

I greatly disliked Victor at first, but I became more and more fascinated with his storyline, and found that I was reading very quickly. it only took me a few days to read this because of the fast pacing of the book. I also liked little details in there that helped make the story feel more real, historical details that I knew to be true of the time period; it helped give a grounding to the novel that then made some of the alchemy elements seem that more fantastic and yet real as well. I think it did a good job of putting the reader in the same state of half-belief, half-doubt, that Victor's friends were in.

So the reasons I didn't give it five stars:
The slower beginning
The lack of editing (I know it's because it's an ARC copy, but missing quotation marks often tripped me up when i tried to figure out who was speaking)
The heavy foreshadowing (while I like some foreshadowing, it made the story's ending seem too obvious to me)

The reason I did give it four stars:
The fast pacing of the book
The dark tone
The polished style of the writer
The character development by the end

This was a good novel for adults and YA, but I would be hesitant to recommend it for a much younger crowd since there are some dark moments and some serious topics addressed in the book. Overall, if you're interested in Frankenstein's story, the time period, or adventure stories, I would definitely recommend this book.



View all my reviews