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aceinit's review
5.0
This installment was by far my favorite of Bear's wampyr novellas. Despite a sense of sadness at being confronted by Abby Irene and Phoebe so close to the ends of their respective lives, neither lady has lost their fire or their charm. Sebastien, more disconnected from humanity than in past installments--perhaps due to the imminent loss of his two companions, makes for a strikingly tragic figure.
Ruth and Adele's sections were riveting as well and, overall, this had the best narrative flow of any of Sebastien an Abby Irene's stories. Though I love all three installments, I found the New Amsterdam and, particularly, The White City to be sometimes tedious reads. I devoured this installment in two sittings and would've done so in one had real life not divined to meddle in my plans.
I do hope Bear returns to this world and these characters again in the future. I have no doubt there are still many adventures left untold. As with her Promethean saga, I will gladly devour anything set in Sebastien's world.
Ruth and Adele's sections were riveting as well and, overall, this had the best narrative flow of any of Sebastien an Abby Irene's stories. Though I love all three installments, I found the New Amsterdam and, particularly, The White City to be sometimes tedious reads. I devoured this installment in two sittings and would've done so in one had real life not divined to meddle in my plans.
I do hope Bear returns to this world and these characters again in the future. I have no doubt there are still many adventures left untold. As with her Promethean saga, I will gladly devour anything set in Sebastien's world.
spooky_ceph's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
qdony's review
5.0
El que hi ha és boníssim, però et deixa tirat com una mala cosa! Fa molta ràbia...
[Uns dies després...]
New Amsterdam va ser una de les lectures que més plaer em va proporcionar l’any passat. Sense renunciar del tot a la tradició pulp el recull de novel·letes amb les aventures del longeu vampir Sebastien de Ullóa, la Bruixa Detectiu Abbygail Garrett, la novel·lista Phoebe Smith i el malaguanyat Jack Priest tenia un nivell d’escriptura i de realisme molt superior a la norma en la literatura de gènere. Quan d’un llibre es diu que és una “petita joia” es parla exactament de novel·letes com aquesta.
Seven for a Secret és la continuació de New Amsterdam, reprenent la història dels nostres vells coneguts 35 anys després del desenllaç de la primera. Aquesta vegada se’ns explica una única història ambientada a un Londres ocupat per l’imperi Prussià, a un 1938 en el que la 2na Guerra Mundial l’ha guanyat Prússia (Alemanya mai va existir) i el Canceller Prussià té tractes amb les forces de la foscor. En aquest context, l’atípica família torna a Londres per complir la darrera voluntat de l’Abbygail, ja anciana: acabar la seva vida al Londres que la va veure néixer. El que se suposa que havia de ser un temps de calma i tranquilitat per llepar les ferides i assumir la futura mort de l’Abbygail es complica quan en Sebastian descobreix el que sembla un plà del Canceller per a estendre la seva crueltat per la resta del món.
De nou, l’Elizabeth Bear demostra que és una prosista de primera línea i explica una història rica, complexa i totalment desprovista de palla què, em sembla, supera fins i tot els millors moments de New Amsterdam. Els personatges són atractius i molt ben dibuixats (amb la possible excepció de Phoebe Smith) i de debò que sembla que hagin de sortir de la pàgina. És una novel·la extremadament breu i què tot i tancar un arc argumental en deixa un altre, enormement prometedor, tot just inagurat. Crec que el següent llibre a la sèrie (The White City) tornar a fer un salt enrera i explica esdeveniments que succeeixen entre les novel·letes que composen New Amsterdam, així que haurem d’esperar per veure com progressa la història! Crec que la història no serà llarga i no tinc cap dubte de que valdrà la pena. De moment, anem per The White City.
Un llibret superlatiu, ideal per a reconcil·liar-se amb la idea del vampir “bo”.
P.S. Darrerament m’he anat familiaritzant amb l’extensíssima obra de l’Elizabeth Bear. Té novel·les d’extensió normal, però una de les coses que fa, i que m’agrada molt, és un tipus de producció serial molt interesant (en el que s’inclou de ple la sèrie de New Amsterdam): novel·letes molt curtes i (i això és important) molt econòmiques (Seven for a Secret em va costar 3 o 4 euros en format digital), que surten a un ritme d’1 o 2 a l’any i li permeten desenvolupar els seus llibres amb tota cura. Em sembla una estrategia molt interesant.
[Uns dies després...]
New Amsterdam va ser una de les lectures que més plaer em va proporcionar l’any passat. Sense renunciar del tot a la tradició pulp el recull de novel·letes amb les aventures del longeu vampir Sebastien de Ullóa, la Bruixa Detectiu Abbygail Garrett, la novel·lista Phoebe Smith i el malaguanyat Jack Priest tenia un nivell d’escriptura i de realisme molt superior a la norma en la literatura de gènere. Quan d’un llibre es diu que és una “petita joia” es parla exactament de novel·letes com aquesta.
Seven for a Secret és la continuació de New Amsterdam, reprenent la història dels nostres vells coneguts 35 anys després del desenllaç de la primera. Aquesta vegada se’ns explica una única història ambientada a un Londres ocupat per l’imperi Prussià, a un 1938 en el que la 2na Guerra Mundial l’ha guanyat Prússia (Alemanya mai va existir) i el Canceller Prussià té tractes amb les forces de la foscor. En aquest context, l’atípica família torna a Londres per complir la darrera voluntat de l’Abbygail, ja anciana: acabar la seva vida al Londres que la va veure néixer. El que se suposa que havia de ser un temps de calma i tranquilitat per llepar les ferides i assumir la futura mort de l’Abbygail es complica quan en Sebastian descobreix el que sembla un plà del Canceller per a estendre la seva crueltat per la resta del món.
De nou, l’Elizabeth Bear demostra que és una prosista de primera línea i explica una història rica, complexa i totalment desprovista de palla què, em sembla, supera fins i tot els millors moments de New Amsterdam. Els personatges són atractius i molt ben dibuixats (amb la possible excepció de Phoebe Smith) i de debò que sembla que hagin de sortir de la pàgina. És una novel·la extremadament breu i què tot i tancar un arc argumental en deixa un altre, enormement prometedor, tot just inagurat. Crec que el següent llibre a la sèrie (The White City) tornar a fer un salt enrera i explica esdeveniments que succeeixen entre les novel·letes que composen New Amsterdam, així que haurem d’esperar per veure com progressa la història! Crec que la història no serà llarga i no tinc cap dubte de que valdrà la pena. De moment, anem per The White City.
Un llibret superlatiu, ideal per a reconcil·liar-se amb la idea del vampir “bo”.
P.S. Darrerament m’he anat familiaritzant amb l’extensíssima obra de l’Elizabeth Bear. Té novel·les d’extensió normal, però una de les coses que fa, i que m’agrada molt, és un tipus de producció serial molt interesant (en el que s’inclou de ple la sèrie de New Amsterdam): novel·letes molt curtes i (i això és important) molt econòmiques (Seven for a Secret em va costar 3 o 4 euros en format digital), que surten a un ritme d’1 o 2 a l’any i li permeten desenvolupar els seus llibres amb tota cura. Em sembla una estrategia molt interesant.
sarahbotreads's review
3.0
I really struggled with this one - I found the Ruth and Adele chapters more interesting, but the chapters with Abby Irene and Sebastien didn't compel me at all. The ending is also really abrupt, and I feel like the pieces of that story that I really wanted to know more of were glossed over. I will say, though, that I immediately started reading the next novella in this series, and it's keeping my interest much more, so this may just have been a weird blip on the radar for me.
curgoth's review
From the New Amsterdam series, vampires, werewolves and alternate Nazis! This series is beautiful.
mackle13's review
3.0
This book is far more Sebastian's than it is Lady Irene's, though she is in it. She's older and seemingly home bound, so it is through Sebastian's eyes, mostly, that we see a London which fell to the Prussian regime, who are pretty much the Nazis, complete with an obsession of Nordic magic.
We also meet Ruth and Adele, two young English girls in training to be the Chancellor's personal guard - perhaps with motives of their own.
It was an interesting story, though it reminded me of how little I remember of the first book, which I read back in 2008. I feel like maybe I should've started from scratch - but this book does a good enough job of reminding us of who the characters are and some of the more pertinent events from the first book.
My biggest issue with this book is that it's too short. Investment for the characters is somewhat assumed from the prior installment, and the ending is rather abrupt. It's one of those endings where because things are set in motion in a certain way we sort of are left assuming how it's going to turn out, but we don't actually see it.
I actually found myself wondering if my Nook copy got corrupted and I was missing the actual ending...
That said, there is enough of a resolution that it's not a cliffhanger or anything. It just requires extrapolation - and while I can assume what comes next, I think I would've found more satisfaction in seeing some of it play out.
We also meet Ruth and Adele, two young English girls in training to be the Chancellor's personal guard - perhaps with motives of their own.
It was an interesting story, though it reminded me of how little I remember of the first book, which I read back in 2008. I feel like maybe I should've started from scratch - but this book does a good enough job of reminding us of who the characters are and some of the more pertinent events from the first book.
My biggest issue with this book is that it's too short. Investment for the characters is somewhat assumed from the prior installment, and the ending is rather abrupt. It's one of those endings where because things are set in motion in a certain way we sort of are left assuming how it's going to turn out, but we don't actually see it.
I actually found myself wondering if my Nook copy got corrupted and I was missing the actual ending...
That said, there is enough of a resolution that it's not a cliffhanger or anything. It just requires extrapolation - and while I can assume what comes next, I think I would've found more satisfaction in seeing some of it play out.
cindywho's review
4.0
This novella brings back the characters from the stories of New Amsterdam 40 years later (1938). I liked the portrayal of the vampire caring for his aging companions and the description of how his identities and memories flow away from him over the years. It's an odd parallel magic-using world where the Prussians have successfully invaded Britain in the late 20s. The story swings from the vampire to the story of two girls training to be bodyguards to the Chancellor in a very creepy way... I was happy to see a reference to the vampire's knitting habit.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
The sequel to [b:New Amsterdam|185636|New Amsterdam|Elizabeth Bear|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172527399s/185636.jpg|2443812], although it says so nowhere in the book. I read this without having read its predecessor (dear publishers: PLEASE label sequels), but I got a handle on the characters, their relationships, and the world pretty quickly. I like this best of everything I've read by Bear. It's significantly less hackneyed than her short stories. The dialog is still a little off, but the world building is quite good. Bear also has a talent for likable characters; this world is populated by several, not least Ruth Gell, one of the Prussian army's Sturmwolves.
Years after [b:New Amsterdam|185636|New Amsterdam|Elizabeth Bear|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172527399s/185636.jpg|2443812], wampyr Sebastian and his elderly scholarly friends Phoebe and Abigail return to England. But it is not an England as we know it--the presence of magic has changed history. America is only just becoming a nation, and England has fallen to the Nazis. English schoolchildren are taught to Prussian values. Among those schoolchildren is Ruth, a pretty teenager with two secrets: one, she is Jewish and two, she is desperately in love with her schoolmate Adele. Less secret is this: Ruth, like her classmates, is being turned into a werewolf. Can our heroes save the children from becoming Nazi weapons--especially since the children don't want to be saved?
Years after [b:New Amsterdam|185636|New Amsterdam|Elizabeth Bear|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172527399s/185636.jpg|2443812], wampyr Sebastian and his elderly scholarly friends Phoebe and Abigail return to England. But it is not an England as we know it--the presence of magic has changed history. America is only just becoming a nation, and England has fallen to the Nazis. English schoolchildren are taught to Prussian values. Among those schoolchildren is Ruth, a pretty teenager with two secrets: one, she is Jewish and two, she is desperately in love with her schoolmate Adele. Less secret is this: Ruth, like her classmates, is being turned into a werewolf. Can our heroes save the children from becoming Nazi weapons--especially since the children don't want to be saved?
corar's review
3.0
Seven for a Secret by Elizabeth Bear. I rated it it 3 1/2 stars. This was the second book in the series featuring Vampire, Sebastian, and his court. This book took place about 40 years later. They are in London, which is being occupied by Nazi Germany in this alternative history. It was OK. I didn't find the story as fleshed out and complete as the first one. It felt like the beginning of a story instead of a complete story like the first one. I will have to read the third novella in the series to see if it is more of a continuation of this one.