“ This book was one that sounded so interesting from its description. I wasn't sure what to expect, but "noir" is not an accurate description that the publisher applied. It is more of an urban pseudo-fantasy, set in a sort of steampunk-version of London, and this is a genre that simply does not hold much appeal to me. There are moments when the story and its characters utterly sucked me in - especially Bastion the pug, but the style of the novel as a whole just couldn't captivate me. The meandering style that shifts abruptly over time left me in a fair amount of confusion and consistently pulled me out of the story itself. The chronology was too hard to hold onto, and while I did like Edie, I just couldn't muster up much sympathy for Joe neither-Spoon-nor-Fork, but entirely useless Spork. And while that was part of the point, and moments were quite amusing, the hero of this novel just never raised enough my interest above utter apathy as to his future.
This version of London and the characters simply weren't constructed firmly enough that the meandering intrusions did not completely frustrate me. Constant tangents and dull, droning prose just couldn't get me through to the end of this rather weighty tome. I just lost interest completely. So, I did not finish it - which is very rare for me. And while I so plan to return to it someday, and then update this review, at this point, I am not going to force myself to read a book that after 200 pages I could care less whether all the characters live or die (with the exception of the aforementioned pug - I am a sucker for the lives of dogs in books, after all!). It really is too bad, because there are definite moments of wit, charm and maybe even a hint of brilliance, but the interspersed drivel just weighed it down too much to allow this reader to have any connection to the book or its characters.”
Victoria K wrote this review Tuesday, July 17, 2012.
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