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markproxy's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to give this book four stars, but the fact is I came away unmoved by the story, and ultimately disappointed. It's a fantasy novel loaded with charm and imagination, a thick book which delivers hundreds of pages of very pleasant reading, but I found the female characters lacking and the romance unconvincing, and am quite at odds with the resolution. Aesthetically very enjoyable, but thematically too thin for my taste.
irissunshine's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kvothesduet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bexlrose's review against another edition
3.0
This is a difficult one to review because in many ways it's a very special novel. She's an outstanding writer, creating full worlds and great characters, which was put to a stunner in Piranesi (a definite 5 star book). In Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell, the world Clarke creates is equally stunning and yet it lacks the same reaction from me. Her writing is abundantly good but then it's also just abundant. Give me the abridged version of this book and I'll probably give it 5 stars, but at 1006 pages you're gonna have to IMPRESS me because I could have read 4 novels in the time it took me to read your one. And it wasn't worth 4 novels. It was worth one 300 page novel. So it gets 3 stars from me despite its wit, intelligence and fantastically realised world. It's probably the most special novel I'll ever give 3 stars to.
i_webb's review against another edition
UNBELIEVABLY slow paced. Included so many details that weren't necessary to the story (frankly I couldn't even hone in on what the story was). Read hoping it would be at least somewhat similar to Piranesi but I couldn't keep going.
ethorwitz's review against another edition
5.0
800 pages of everything I love in fiction. I've heard it described as as Harry Potter meets Jane Austen, but that does it a disservice. This isn't a corny mashup like Cowboys & Aliens or even quite frankly Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author isn't just awkwardly tacking on genre elements. The time period this book takes place in and the magic weirdness that occur are completely entwined with each other and are crucial to the story. A genuine synthesis. Honestly, I feel spoiled.
aarnireads's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, it's been a while since I read this but it's stayed in my mind. It was a tiiiiny bit too long because sometimes there were parts that seemed like the book could have done without, but for a debut-novel it was great and it's a much needed breath of fresh air to a genre so full of medieval high fantasy with its dragons and knights and warring families. Nothing wrong with those, of course and there's no such a thing as originality at this day and age but it's awesome to see something different.
nickel_is_neat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
the entire read I was waiting for the main plot to start, but it never did. I wanted to learn about the fairy lands, or other fun magic, but that never really happened. I would have been happy with a long simmering rivalry between the two magicians but there wasn't even a lot of time spent on that. Or a mystery of what was up with Vinculus! This book promised little and delivered less.
ludicwren's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0