Scan barcode
jjcrafts's review
4.0
I'm not really sure where to start on this one. I really enjoyed it. It is absolutely completely other worldly. There was so much different that I'm honestly amazed at how well it was written because not once was I confused about anything. I've read books half as complicated and been completely lost. The world and the characters and the merging of magic and science (or mech) is all brilliant. I'm not sure how much of the world I should be crediting to the author as I found out while I was reading that it's based on a table top rpg. I'd never heard of it before so you absolutely don't need to know anything about it to love this book.
There are a host of great characters, and they all feel fully realised even though it's a short book. All the relationships come across really well. The one thing I would say is there isn't much plot? I don't think the 'action' started until I was about 90% in. But this is an excellent example of a character lead book, I was fully invested in them and discovering the world around them and the lack of action didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the read. Considering it is so short though and seeing as it's set up for a sequel I think maybe it could have been made into a longer book with the next part of the story to add to the plot.
Review also posted on: Ever The Crafter
There are a host of great characters, and they all feel fully realised even though it's a short book. All the relationships come across really well. The one thing I would say is there isn't much plot? I don't think the 'action' started until I was about 90% in. But this is an excellent example of a character lead book, I was fully invested in them and discovering the world around them and the lack of action didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the read. Considering it is so short though and seeing as it's set up for a sequel I think maybe it could have been made into a longer book with the next part of the story to add to the plot.
Review also posted on: Ever The Crafter
sarrie's review
5.0
4.75 *s
I was a little surprised by this one. I didn't exactly know it was a fiction line of a tabletop game till I was about half way through, and that was only due to curiosity. The only real flaw of the book (keep reading) for me drove me a little nutty and I was googling for some extra information when I found out about Numenera. It honestly reads surprisingly easy. I tend to find tie in novels and fiction lines for games rely a lot readers having previous knowledge. This didn't. It tells a story that any reader unfamiliar with the world can recognize and enjoy, of redemption and self forgiveness and finding home.
It gives us a very obvious Fantasy/SF cross world, and though it doesn't hold our hand, it explains what we need to know about what and does so beautifully. The descriptions here were so rich and vivid I felt like I was walking and breathing in the streets with Talia. The description that really hooked me was that of her companion's hair decorations, little touches such as tucking one gem back into place in a moment. It just created a lovely image in my head. The marketplace, and even her small room, I can still recall them easily. I can almost smell the marketplace it was so well described.
The characters were also dealt a lovely dose of this. Each one was well built and had something to them that made them stand out. It helped that it was for the most part a small cast but it was a small cast that had some depth to them. Even having finished this a few weeks ago (as I try to let my books stew before reviewing them now) I still recall descriptions and attitudes. I really hope to see more of them in more books! I'll also add that I believe almost the entire cast, if not the entire cast were PoC (see cover) so totally a win for bringing those characters to fantasy and so strongly!
The only real problem I had (that had me googling as stated above) was some of the descriptions of the world from Talia's past. That can be explained easily if you actually pay attention to the blurb and just look at the Numenera website. It did for me, after that I was able to correct place and picture it in the world.
Besides this, I say try this one! Even if you don't play the game (though it looks very neat) this one is a rich and vivid read. Mad props to Angry Robot as well for a sexy as hell cover!
I was a little surprised by this one. I didn't exactly know it was a fiction line of a tabletop game till I was about half way through, and that was only due to curiosity. The only real flaw of the book (keep reading) for me drove me a little nutty and I was googling for some extra information when I found out about Numenera. It honestly reads surprisingly easy. I tend to find tie in novels and fiction lines for games rely a lot readers having previous knowledge. This didn't. It tells a story that any reader unfamiliar with the world can recognize and enjoy, of redemption and self forgiveness and finding home.
It gives us a very obvious Fantasy/SF cross world, and though it doesn't hold our hand, it explains what we need to know about what and does so beautifully. The descriptions here were so rich and vivid I felt like I was walking and breathing in the streets with Talia. The description that really hooked me was that of her companion's hair decorations, little touches such as tucking one gem back into place in a moment. It just created a lovely image in my head. The marketplace, and even her small room, I can still recall them easily. I can almost smell the marketplace it was so well described.
The characters were also dealt a lovely dose of this. Each one was well built and had something to them that made them stand out. It helped that it was for the most part a small cast but it was a small cast that had some depth to them. Even having finished this a few weeks ago (as I try to let my books stew before reviewing them now) I still recall descriptions and attitudes. I really hope to see more of them in more books! I'll also add that I believe almost the entire cast, if not the entire cast were PoC (see cover) so totally a win for bringing those characters to fantasy and so strongly!
The only real problem I had (that had me googling as stated above) was some of the descriptions of the world from Talia's past. That can be explained easily if you actually pay attention to the blurb and just look at the Numenera website. It did for me, after that I was able to correct place and picture it in the world.
Besides this, I say try this one! Even if you don't play the game (though it looks very neat) this one is a rich and vivid read. Mad props to Angry Robot as well for a sexy as hell cover!
More...