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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Winter is a chimera, meaning that her dead twin Summer lives inside her, she is also Winnipeg's necromancer keeping a watch on the Graveside of things and making sure things don't get too out of balance. There's a new cult in town though and it's up to her to track them down and root them out...
This was a super interesting concept that kept getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. Frank the composite man, Christophe the vampire, McCoy/Mr. Bones the animate skeleton and Billy and his shuck Bear where all interesting characters and Winter becomes more interesting when she and her sister start talking to each other but we keep getting side tracked describing things that don't really add to the story. It was however very cool to see my city through a fantasy horror perspective.
This was a super interesting concept that kept getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. Frank the composite man, Christophe the vampire, McCoy/Mr. Bones the animate skeleton and Billy and his shuck Bear where all interesting characters and Winter becomes more interesting when she and her sister start talking to each other but we keep getting side tracked describing things that don't really add to the story. It was however very cool to see my city through a fantasy horror perspective.
The world was interesting but I found the storytelling rather repetitive. I lost track of how many times Winter explained how she was trained by Grannie Annie and why she had arrangements with Christophe and McCoy and why Winnipeg was her city to protect. There was nothing really new each time. As a result the story was rather slow moving, particularly at the start.
Winter also seemed to mainly react to circumstances rather than initiate anything herself. Even the ending happened more while she was there rather than because she was there and did anything much in particular.
Winter also seemed to mainly react to circumstances rather than initiate anything herself. Even the ending happened more while she was there rather than because she was there and did anything much in particular.
This was reviewed on my podcast in great detail. Listen to the SeanGeek Podcast episode here for my full review of this great book.
I published my new episode Season 7, Episode 4 – A Review of Graveyard Mind
https://www.podbean.com/ea/pb-7sfug-b0ec1c
I published my new episode Season 7, Episode 4 – A Review of Graveyard Mind
https://www.podbean.com/ea/pb-7sfug-b0ec1c
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm going to make this sound bad, but it's not really a bad book. It was almost a really good book but for two things: I didn't really believe in Winter (or Summer, for that matter); and everything that could go wrong did go wrong such that it started to feel contrived by the end. There's a lot of action in the book and Winter is supposed to be quite the badass, but most of the time she's conveniently weakened by one thing or another such that she can't go all out. All the missteps required to get things into place also kind of made the book feel a bit dense: like maybe it would benefit from dropping a character or two to thin things out a bit so that the story and the characters had more space to be fleshed out and breathe (for those of them with the requisite organs to do so). I think that if the character of William were completely dropped and everything he was required for were handled by a more fleshed out growth in the relationship between Winter and Summer then it would have been a really good book. Instead, it was "merely" a decent, dark urban fantasy.
Thank you Chizine Publications for sending me an ebook copy of Graveyard Mind in exchange for an honest review.
Graveyard Mind starts off with a bang and the action and crazy twists and turns only escalate from there. This book is a fast paced and quirky dark fantasy full of vampires, mob boss skeletons, reanimated corpses a la Frankenstein, a cultish church hell-bent on using the dead to further their own agenda (and pad their pockets) and a necromancer or two. However, at times I felt like there were almost too many players and too many moving parts to the story. There was definitely a lot of action but no deep descriptions or rich language to get lost in. My ideal story has enough action to keep me engaged and move the plot along but also some satisfying language for me to appreciate the author's skill. And Chadwick Ginther definitely has the skill of world building. The Winnipeg he created was something straight from a nightmare. A few more descriptions and my dark loving heart would have been so pleased.
The main protagonist, Winter, was sarcastic, smart mouthed, and self deprecating, I really enjoyed her sharp tongue and first spirit. I also enjoyed the parts where her vestigial twin, Summer, surfaced and would have liked a bit more back story on that situation.
The ending felt a bit rushed and a little too convenient and I was left with a few unanswered questions. Maybe those "questions" wouldn't bother some people but I am nosy and I needed a few additional answers.
All in all, I enjoyed Graveyard Mind. I felt like it was wildly creative and action packed, just lacking a few details.
Graveyard Mind starts off with a bang and the action and crazy twists and turns only escalate from there. This book is a fast paced and quirky dark fantasy full of vampires, mob boss skeletons, reanimated corpses a la Frankenstein, a cultish church hell-bent on using the dead to further their own agenda (and pad their pockets) and a necromancer or two. However, at times I felt like there were almost too many players and too many moving parts to the story. There was definitely a lot of action but no deep descriptions or rich language to get lost in. My ideal story has enough action to keep me engaged and move the plot along but also some satisfying language for me to appreciate the author's skill. And Chadwick Ginther definitely has the skill of world building. The Winnipeg he created was something straight from a nightmare. A few more descriptions and my dark loving heart would have been so pleased.
The main protagonist, Winter, was sarcastic, smart mouthed, and self deprecating, I really enjoyed her sharp tongue and first spirit. I also enjoyed the parts where her vestigial twin, Summer, surfaced and would have liked a bit more back story on that situation.
The ending felt a bit rushed and a little too convenient and I was left with a few unanswered questions. Maybe those "questions" wouldn't bother some people but I am nosy and I needed a few additional answers.
All in all, I enjoyed Graveyard Mind. I felt like it was wildly creative and action packed, just lacking a few details.