Reviews

Hild by Nicola Griffith

kellygoesgeocaching's review against another edition

2.0

I saw this book when it was part of a book club and was interested and finally had the chance to pick it up this week. I couldn't get anywhere with it though - the family tree at the front seems essential but I just couldn't follow it, the plot eluded me and I really just didn't feel anything for anyone in it. I just simply had to put it down because I'd gotten too far into it to be wasting more time not enjoying it.

tregina's review against another edition

3.0

I read this on the recommendation of several of my friends, and while it was excellent historically and Hild of course is a wonderful woman to focus a book on, it all just didn't seem to add up to as much as I hoped. Where its strength was is definitely the historical detail (though it tended to excess in this area) and in the gentle passage of time, the way we saw the characters growing older and changing rather than were told that they aged; I've rarely seen it done so smoothly or skillfully.

sable222's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

threegoodrats's review against another edition

4.0

My review is here.

nathanielreader's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

cameronhill's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wollstonecrafty's review against another edition

hild was all I could talk about for a week; I’m sad to leave her

sadfishfella's review against another edition

This was mislabeled IMO. This is not fantasy in the traditional sense of the word, but rather fantasy in that this is like a fan fic for a historical figure. I spent a lot of time trying to make sense of the lexicon and other language specific to the 7th century that made reading this book not fun or engaging. The cover is stunning which was why I was intrigued at first. End of the day, I’m not particularly interested in reading about the introduction of Christianity to England. 🤷

savaging's review against another edition

5.0

When I picked up this book I was shocked. I have been reading clever artifices, but here is something that seems to have grown right out of the earth. I was delighted to live in the sensory realms of 7th century Britain for hundreds of pages, learning how small and strange it was, how brutal and bountiful.

Also at the end I ask myself: was this a plot? Did a narrative arc happen?

I give it 5 stars because it's a creaturely book, and that's rare. It carries a steady awareness of the more-than-human world on every page.

etyines's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

took me two months to read this dense comprehensive flowery and verbose behemoth!! 

wala ako nagets but somehow... i ended up liking it! (hence no star rating muna kasi di ko alam talaga) 

will probs re-read when i'm smarter BUT idk when that will be