Reviews and Comments

one more of these novels and i have to see this 'Manchester' by myself

i really enjoyed the read. i think, the book is in almost every aspect able to walk a middleroad between epic theatre and a "real" novel und it's story. the world building is just a sidestep away from the real events and the world in the mid 19th century. i did not read it as a fantasy novel with a smart magic system, but rather a historic novel in a setting auch style of magic realism. all the characters are clearly models of a specific world view and situation, but at least in my experience of the book, they are also able to induce sentiment. if you would ask me, it is the same effect, Eco and Brecht would likely achieve.

it really is difficult! I cannot read this one without thinking about the previous books about zamonia. especially of course Rumo and City of dreaming books.

now: Hildegunst travels to an island to cure some problems, ever the hypochondriac, in a health spa. we take part as he is struggling with the harsh conditions on the island as well as the meager and odd cultural life here. and by the time he takes part in a fight against an evil power, which threatens whole Zamonia.

So what is the problem? all the satire is fine and sometimes hilarious. all the details about life on the island, all the new miniatures about life forms in Zamonia are really cool. but the novel as a whole seems to me just a reconfiguring of the bestsellers, a huge fanservice as you may call episode 7 (tfa) as well. ... and I really disliked the footnotes. Sometimes Hildegunst refers to some events in the previous book City of the dreaming books and a footnote appears. but it's not a funny or interesting remark, but only a dry page number. maybe it is a hidden joke and I was way to boring actually looking up, what is written there. instead I was constantly angered by the thought: what a lame try

the lone survivor of a black space mission tries to save his former enemies from destruction. in the process, to ensure lasting peace and wellfare he develops a ever higher consciousness.

the start wasn't promising at all. the reader stumbled together with the hero of the book from one scene to another by hard cuts. i was worrying, is it bad story telling or some kind of broad allegory? but when the first plot elements become recognisable, i learned to like this book a lot. the philosophical premise and thoughts woven into the rather plain story have a unique effect. (it's like one of the good written dr. who episodes, if i have to compare it.)

i really wanted to like this one. the topics are important, the messages, as far as i could grab, right.

but the art of telling the tale... until the end of the first part everthing was fine: the characters, the development of the story. the second part started the build up with new characters and arc anew, but in lesser time, and the third rushed the same process even more. and the grand scheme in the background didn't deepen with the new parts, but lost every time some of it's aspects to get a conclusion.

this book is like these kinds of enjoyable b-movies

Firth tries to sell hiking in Derbyshire -- which is, i'm pretty sure, an experience. but seldom he got the strength to focus on his subject. more often he rants about insignificant monuments, ugly new(er) buildings -- this book is from the 1920s -- and bad poetry. yes! because, like every good teacher in local history, he manages to cite obscure poets about some rocks or creeks. and has tons of anecdotes about mary queen of scots and dr. johnson, who happen to be there in this region also.

it's a fun. and the picture are really cool.

i really liked this one. it's a mixture of really funny stretches (some kind of self-escalating situations), of -to be honest- quite conservative commenting on human and society of its time, bound together by the story of a youth and his fostering uncle. i think, it has the warmth and tone of Guareschi, which pleased me most. and you can feel the inner struggle, not to be romantic and ironic and in the same time being exactly that. i wonder, what took me so long to find Topffer.

it's a fun and easy read: lot's of charming characters --maybe you have to read the first volume though-- in strange situations. a cool mystery story with an ending, which opens this world wider to the next book. and a little bit of satire tossed in.

again, as the second of the series, it is a solid mystery of a special brand. and because it is also a well-known classic i only want to add, how easy you can miss out the bleak and noir depiction of us society in the sixties. not in the mention of deep distrust in the police force, in the side plot to the civil rights, but how the need to profit wrecks both personal morals and eventually society's will to perfom justness

"magische" geschichten verweist nicht auf zauber und fantasy, sondern auf ein spirituelles weltbild, das der hintergrund ist. die magischen geschichten sind in einer unvergleichlich traumnahen art geschrieben. die gespräche, begegnungen oder handlungen wandern mühelos aus dem alltäglichen in eine vertraut wirkende unwirklichkeit -- allein dies macht sie schon lesenswert. mit motiven wie nahtod, schicksal und geistererscheinung wird auf diese art in sehr stimmungsvoller weise umgegangen. oftmals sind auch spekulierende, wissend raunende gespräche eingeflochten, die ich allerdings ebenfalls eher der stimmung zurechnen möchte.

allerdings, die geschichten haben, trotz der thematik, keine wendung, keinen erzählerischen schlußeffekt -- das muss man mögen.

ich finde die, im laufe der handlung als geheimnis enthüllte, grundidee spannend, aber für den roman ist das eigentlich nur der macguffin. in wahrheit will er ein leichter, filmisch wirkender thriller sein. aber auch dafür reicht es nicht ganz, weil sich die handlung beeilen muss (warum eigentlich) und deshalb ständig mit kurzschlüssen arbeiten muss, um das personal zusammenzubringen.

i enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit even more than the prequel one. (which has not enough story to keep up--for my taste at least) i think of it as a kind of double bildungsroman, with two developing characters between which the novel is split.

Chambers connects her scifi(-world) convincingly and smoothly with the problems most of us are facing and can relate to. it's how scifi should comment the present. and although the focus is always on the personalities, there are also a lot of social themes and thoughts.

a lot of readers mention the caring characters throughout the story, which make it so satisfactional to follow. I can support that! but it would be sad to think, it's just another form of escapism, a tweak to the genre. this is a shortcoming of understanding the themes Chambers is working on.

the real impact makes Chambers skill in building up and writing emotional scenes. and because i was listening to the audiobook: R. Dulude did a great job on this one (too).