Helpful Score: 16
Well, I guess I'll end up being a nay-sayer here. I was both impressed and disappointed by A Discovery of Witches. The first 20 pages were great - brilliant - and introduced a genuinely novel hook, not just an enchanted 'lost' book, but a palimpsest. I was delighted. The book was returned to the Bodleian stacks of rare books and the promise of a great book was lost. What could have been an original became a Romeo and Juliet 'forbidden romance' story that plodded for nearly half of its almost 600 pages. Then in the last 150 pages the whole thing shifts gears and becomes something else entirely - and ends just as it was getting interesting again.
The single best word for this book was FRUSTRATING. The writing was excellent, the pacing glacial then hectic. Prof Harkness has a real gift for lush prose and descriptive settings, but it doesn't carry through to her characters. Certainly, her love of wine, and of Oxford, and the famous Bodleian comes through. But the real measure of a great book for me this - can I see where this is going, and is that route interesting? By page 100, it was obvious where the next 500 pages would go, and lush prose aside, the forbidden romance thing was just not enough to hold me. But time travel - REALLY? GAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Did she miss a cliche?
Any way, this odd mix of really good and really ordinary got a C+ from me. And someone get her a ruthless editor. The book needs to be trimmed by 150-200 pages to improve pacing and give the last 150 pages more space for development.
The single best word for this book was FRUSTRATING. The writing was excellent, the pacing glacial then hectic. Prof Harkness has a real gift for lush prose and descriptive settings, but it doesn't carry through to her characters. Certainly, her love of wine, and of Oxford, and the famous Bodleian comes through. But the real measure of a great book for me this - can I see where this is going, and is that route interesting? By page 100, it was obvious where the next 500 pages would go, and lush prose aside, the forbidden romance thing was just not enough to hold me. But time travel - REALLY? GAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Did she miss a cliche?
Any way, this odd mix of really good and really ordinary got a C+ from me. And someone get her a ruthless editor. The book needs to be trimmed by 150-200 pages to improve pacing and give the last 150 pages more space for development.
Nancy D. (miz-firefly) -
Helpful Score: 9
This story reminds me of what might happen if Diana Gabaldon, Victoria Holt, and P.C. Cast had collaborated on a book. The author has an engaging voice, a gift for visual description, and the story kept me interested.
Chapter One was possibly the Best First Chapter I have ever read. Harkness did an outstanding job building anticipation. I could feel the character's excitement, that 'can't wait to experience what happens next' flutter that tightens your innards, and shortens your breath.
Having said that; the plot was slow to unfold, had little momentum, and Ms. Harkness did one hellofa job burying the lead. I'm not sure I'd have finished it if I hadn't been in bed with a cold, and it was the next title due at the library. I didn't really get into the story until around page 420. And my favorite character was the house!
If you love reading slow, richly detailed sagas; this is the story for you!
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I finished the book and realized that the story is just beginning. Discovery is basically backstory. I just slogged my way through 500 some-odd pages of sometimes tedious minutia and didn't get my biscuit! Talk about a letdown.
Ms Harkness has done a stellar job laying the foundation for what could turn out to be a wonderful saga but I haven't decided if I will read the sequel. Especially if it is as slow to build as the debut.
Chapter One was possibly the Best First Chapter I have ever read. Harkness did an outstanding job building anticipation. I could feel the character's excitement, that 'can't wait to experience what happens next' flutter that tightens your innards, and shortens your breath.
Having said that; the plot was slow to unfold, had little momentum, and Ms. Harkness did one hellofa job burying the lead. I'm not sure I'd have finished it if I hadn't been in bed with a cold, and it was the next title due at the library. I didn't really get into the story until around page 420. And my favorite character was the house!
If you love reading slow, richly detailed sagas; this is the story for you!
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I finished the book and realized that the story is just beginning. Discovery is basically backstory. I just slogged my way through 500 some-odd pages of sometimes tedious minutia and didn't get my biscuit! Talk about a letdown.
Ms Harkness has done a stellar job laying the foundation for what could turn out to be a wonderful saga but I haven't decided if I will read the sequel. Especially if it is as slow to build as the debut.
Helpful Score: 8
I placed the book on reserve at the library after reading about it in my Costco magazine, in Entertainment Weekly, and on various e-mails from online book vendors. It's a good book, a quick read, but I was ultimately disappointed because it wasn't a great read. I think my expectations were too high because of all the hype. And I was disappointed that some things were never resolved in the 579 pages, that in another year or so there will clearly be another volume.
Part of my frustration lies with the trend of cliffhangers among science fiction and fantasy writers. I like series and evolving storylines, but I also like books to be able to stand alone.
Part of my frustration lies with the trend of cliffhangers among science fiction and fantasy writers. I like series and evolving storylines, but I also like books to be able to stand alone.
Jill B. (PuppyMama) - , reviewed A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, Bk 1) on + 115 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Too much superfluous information and scenes -- the book could have been written in half the pages. I got tired of it before I got half way through and quit reading. I couldn't get into the characters or the story.
Helpful Score: 5
This is a thinking person's supernatural romance book.
