I just purchased this for my library actually, after someone requested it but it hasn't come in yet. It seemed Phantom Tollbooth-esque, so i thought I might be charmed. Is it worth a read? Or is it more of a pass?
Phantom Tollbooth! Awesome name! I've never heard of it though so I can't justifiably compare.
Oh, in this era of Twilight-esque Doomed YA Romance it's extremely refreshing. I just found it emotionally cold. Like, it would have made a better comic/movie. That's not enough for me to utterly condemn it though.
I read that a while ago and liked it well enough but it didn't really leave a lasting impression. I think he's maybe just too earnest and deliberate with the whole flipping conventions thing. It can easily seem like a convention in itself. I read a few interviews with him recently, and he seems to think about ethical issues like sexism and racism in his stuff which is nice, but his ideas on writing kind of explained why I didn't take to him as much as I might - he hates whimsical things and anything that doesn't take the fantastic seriously.
I had to give up on Iron Council recently, though it may have been a poor choice of book - the subject matter was interesting, his world building is definitely constantly imaginative. But it was kind of like reading nonfiction about fiction, in a fairly dull style. I just didn't see why I should care.
I was frustrated by this one, actually. I really like the author, and he changed his style *so much* for the change from adult to young-adult that it was rather jarring.
I've only read a bit if Perdito Street Station and found it ... tough going. This was far from tough going. I'll come back to you when I manage to get back to PSS!
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I just purchased this for my library actually, after someone requested it but it hasn't come in yet. It seemed Phantom Tollbooth-esque, so i thought I might be charmed. Is it worth a read? Or is it more of a pass?
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Oh, in this era of Twilight-esque Doomed YA Romance it's extremely refreshing. I just found it emotionally cold. Like, it would have made a better comic/movie. That's not enough for me to utterly condemn it though.
Reply
I had to give up on Iron Council recently, though it may have been a poor choice of book - the subject matter was interesting, his world building is definitely constantly imaginative. But it was kind of like reading nonfiction about fiction, in a fairly dull style. I just didn't see why I should care.
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As for his writing, what I noted was "he writes about extraordinary things in an ordinary way." We seem to be brain twins. :)
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