Scan barcode
cupiscent's review
Giving up at page 215 (of 429, so about halfway). It's part a shambles of ordinary writing; part the tedium of unravelling mysteries that are still mysterious, not compelling; and part that the world is so straight-up classical that I find myself yearning for some Falco, where at least ancient Rome is virulently alive, compellingly everyday, and no one ever says "OK"...
I'm also a bit perplexed that the gritty promise of the logline ("They'll kill to hide the truth... He'll kill to find it") seems to be in direct opposition to our "but why does there have to be violence?" hero. The dark spirits promised by the blurb have failed to manifest as anything other than a once-off rumour, and the political assassination likewise promised has also completely failed to loom with dire consequences. Instead, we have apparently ordinary actors, chatty and helpful senators, the re-emergence of a boringly ordinary childhood sweetheart tragedy, and a hero who is having trouble with the gossip about the murder victim because she didn't seem like a slut to him when he took one quick look at her bedroom.
I'm bored. I'm genuinely perplexed as to why I've seen so many excited reviews about this book. I have a stack of other books beckoning. Moving on.
I'm also a bit perplexed that the gritty promise of the logline ("They'll kill to hide the truth... He'll kill to find it") seems to be in direct opposition to our "but why does there have to be violence?" hero. The dark spirits promised by the blurb have failed to manifest as anything other than a once-off rumour, and the political assassination likewise promised has also completely failed to loom with dire consequences. Instead, we have apparently ordinary actors, chatty and helpful senators, the re-emergence of a boringly ordinary childhood sweetheart tragedy, and a hero who is having trouble with the gossip about the murder victim because she didn't seem like a slut to him when he took one quick look at her bedroom.
I'm bored. I'm genuinely perplexed as to why I've seen so many excited reviews about this book. I have a stack of other books beckoning. Moving on.
xdroot's review
4.0
Solid world building, interesting characters, and a somewhat interesting plot. But the book could have been 70-100 pages shorter. I'll read the next book in the series.
mw2k's review
2.0
Intriguing story held back by some very broken up narrative and dialogue. So much so that it seriously gets in the way. It never flows smoothly. Apart from this, the tale could have used with a bit more flair too - and we never get in the mind of Drakenfeld enough. He's far too faceless. First person perspectives are a good opportunity to get into the head of your character, mess with them a little, spice them up, but we don't know any more about Lucan Drakenfeld at the end of this book than we did at the beginning. It's far too matter of fact.
Not sure if I want to pursue this series if one does eventuate.
Not sure if I want to pursue this series if one does eventuate.
deadgoodbookreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Full review at : https://chaininteraction.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/review-drakenfeld-mark-charan-newton/
I’m working my way through my ‘to be read’ pile and this has been at the bottom for a shamefully long time. I finally decided to suck it up and get this thing read!
This book was far better than I’ve been giving it credit for all these years. If I’m being brutally honest, I’m unlikely to read it again, it’s being donated to a charity shop at the next opportunity. However, for a one time read this was genuinely well written and entertaining. There are bound to be those of you for whom first person male perspective is just what you want and if so I think this is worth giving a try. Please don’t let yourself be put off by the first quarter, it gets a lot more interesting I promise.
I’m working my way through my ‘to be read’ pile and this has been at the bottom for a shamefully long time. I finally decided to suck it up and get this thing read!
This book was far better than I’ve been giving it credit for all these years. If I’m being brutally honest, I’m unlikely to read it again, it’s being donated to a charity shop at the next opportunity. However, for a one time read this was genuinely well written and entertaining. There are bound to be those of you for whom first person male perspective is just what you want and if so I think this is worth giving a try. Please don’t let yourself be put off by the first quarter, it gets a lot more interesting I promise.
wyvernfriend's review
3.0
Locked room mystery set in a world based on Rome. It's interesting but it just fell a little short for me, I felt like the author had some good ideas but they just didn't get well enough to make this a really good read, it was a good read but I felt lacking. I liked Lucan Drakenfeld and his exploration into the mystery and the mystery of his father's death and dealing with his probably epilepsy and his relationship with his bodyguard Leana, but it didn't flow as well as it could have.
More...