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Brilliantly hard-hitting, funny, and inspirational

Revisado: 07-04-16

Whether you're a female introvert or anyone in a transitional period of life, this book will tap into your soft spots with truth, hope, and guidance. Both the content and the rhythmic flow of the text are mesmerizing and hard to step away from. Once you start the journey with her you'll be hooked and starting to consider your own journey. So don't let this book pass you by.

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Fun Sequel

Revisado: 03-27-16

This is a great world and I would love to read more books in it. As sequels go, this book does a great job of building on the previous book without making the backstory clunky or leaving things confusing and it brings in unexpected new elements to delight readers already intrigued by the possibilities of a real life fairytale mashup world.

The plot takes a few interesting twists, but they feel so smooth that sometimes they feel more just-around-the-corner than truly surprising and sometimes the way out of certain situations seems a bit too convenient. But regardless, it's fun and leads us through so many fascinating layers of this world and that, in smd of itself, is worth the ride.

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Fun with delightful quirks and twists

Revisado: 03-12-16

I liked the concept and found that it really came to life with this narrator shifting the voices of characters depending on their mood and relationship with "the Narrative." This was also the first of Seanan McGuire's books that's held me all the way to the end I'm a page turning fashion and I think that's because from the start there are interesting questions on the table and unexpected answers popping up. I also appreciate the easy and logical integration of a fully diverse cast of characters, including people of color and LGBTQ folks. I will definitely be picking up the sequel! :)

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Astounding worldbuilding! Ignore "confused" people

Revisado: 02-10-16

I'm a fan of N.K. Jemisin in general, but this is, in my opinion, her most phenomenal work to date. The world she has built here - along with its unusual present, slowly revealed and astonishing past, and its likely unexpected future - are works of truly original art. I have read far and wide in scifi and fantasy genres and Jemisin is truly offering us something new here. Get ready for a wild and wondrous ride!

Unlike some other reviewers, the fact that one might struggle to understand this world for a moment is, I believe, not evidence of its troubles so much as evidence of its originality and worth. You can't navigate this text solely with old tropes. You have to open your mind to a multitude of possibilities and Jemisin then steers us in the most relevant directions. I had no trouble at all figuring out terms eventually and/or being content enough with the knowledge I had from moment to moment in the story.

Are we, as readers, tossed into a foreign world and expected to learn some of its aspects from context? Absolutely! But, frankly, I am NOT a fan of books that spoonfeed readers definitions in weirdly unnatural ways. Jemisin writes from within the mind of characters who live in this world. They don't stop to examine perfectly normal parts of their own world without reason, so we learn along the way by putting the (many) contextual pieces together.

For me, this allowed for a much more immersive experience than I have with some other books. I didn't really feel like I was reading a book at all. I was... transported into the minds and lives of people very different from myself, people with powers and anxieties, relationships and responsibilities, that stepped right up to the edges of and sometimes out of my comfort zone. Through the unfolding, multi-layered plot, centered on both survival and personal growth, I came to understand and care about many of the key characters as if they were intimate friends.

I am absolutely on board and at the edge of my seat for the next book in this dark and fascinating - yet also strangely, ultimately hopeful - series. So, if you are in any way on the fence about this purchase, let yourself fall over the edge into a new, harsh-but-beautiful world of wonder.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Agile Narrator, Fun Story, Realistic POCs

Revisado: 02-22-15

First, I think it's important to dispel the myth that the narrator is monotone or bad at accents, as suggested by a previous reviewer. Allyson Johnson is a very capable narrator who I will be happy to listen to again, especially as this series continues. (I've already picked up Book #2.) I found the characters distinguished themselves easily in this audible medium - deep, lyrical, sharp, mellow, agitated, Latin@, Afro-Caribbean, Commonwealth, etc. It was quite easy to listen to.

In fact, the book was so easy to listen to that I didn't completely mind that the story felt a bit... light, especially toward the end. I don't feel shortchanged as a reader in any way, but if you're looking for truly unexpected moments or stunning plot twists, this isn't quite the book for that. Almost in the style of an adult reading YA, you're probably going to guess most things before the protagonist does and usually be right.

I will say, however, that my reason for diving into this series still holds string enough to carry my interest into the next book. This is a story about a modern Black female warrior who is strong and smart but hardly perfect. I appreciate her existence in a genre that too often pretends people of color don't exist, can't have powers, can't be good guys, or can't hold an audience's attention as the lead. And in this story she's not alone! The entire cast of characters is a diverse mix of races, genders, class backgrounds, skills, networks, etc. - in a way that makes sense for a city as vibrant and varied as Atlanta.

So maybe the story could use a touch more complexity, but if you're looking for a fun fantasy/paranormal read, complete with action, tenderness, and plenty of attitude? This is a great place to start!

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Narrator is Amazing!

Revisado: 01-09-15

Peter Grant stories are always fascinating, unexpected, and fun. But more than just the story, I love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's truly phenomenal narration! In every book in this series, I've loved listening to him and the variety of voices he can bring to life. This book in particular really shows off his immense range. Perfectly smoothly, he shifts from male to female, between ethnic groups, social classes, regions, ages, etc. Just astonishing. It really makes this stpry, as others in this series, a true pleasure to listen to - and not just once!

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esto le resultó útil a 21 personas

A lush, poetic, enthralling work

Revisado: 09-07-13

Recommended to me by a friend with excellent taste in books, this book had a high bar to meet and it truly accomplished that feat. I waded into this world and within just a paragraph or two I was fully open to it, excited to see all the ways it might develop, where it might take me.

As a queer person of color, I profoundly appreciated that not only the characters, but also the context and the culture were diverse and nuanced. It even provides a setting in which gender roles weren't taken for granted and sexuaulity was fluid and unencumbered by irrelevant moral trappings. And words didn't just sit on the page! They sang and danced, their rhythm staying with me a long time after I closed the book, whether for a moment or finally at the end.

I would love to see this as a film or miniseries, but I would fear no one could do it justice. It is just GORGEOUS! I honestly don't understand the low star reviews!

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

For all who feel disillusioned or marginalized!

Revisado: 07-25-12

This was an incredibly straghtforward, but also truly thoughtful and inspirational book. The author's own beliefs are, in some ways, radical, but that's not a bad thing. He makes a multifaceted case for reevaluating the church itself and our lives as Christians so that we are not just repeating beliefs or manifesting dogma, but ACTING LIKE CHRIST. His approach is to ask us to consider how Jesus might think about behaviors that have become a part of the modern church and then he explores the issue through references to scripture and anecdotes. It's very much like having a long conversation with the most open-minded minister you could ever imagine. He says things that ... just make sense and yet, instead of saying you have to agree with him, he says you should think about these things for yourself, in light of Jesus' life itself and not just whatever rules or "truths" a church or religious community expects people to live their lives by.

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Gorgeous, gripping, and dark but hopeful!

Revisado: 07-16-12

It's a journey that you take along with the main character, as she grows and changes, struggles and learns, and as the people around her do the same. I love how poetic it is, how honest it is in its darkness without tending toward sensationalism. As a reader (especially with Lynne Thigpen's fantastic performance), you become as horrified and as cynical as the primary characters at times, but you (like they) can never fully let go of that hope that there must be something more to find, to build, at the end of all that hardship and suffering, a way to survive, even thrive. And even through all the challenges and the loss, there are still those moments - of laughter, of beauty, of communion ... of positive humanity, It is gorgeous, a masterfully written and authentic-to-humanity work and world.

It reminds me why I fell in love with Octavia Butler's writing in the first place.

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