MilliLinnea

• Rated 3 stars

“Better than Dark Lord of Derkholm, but still not that good. I can't believe this book is by DWJ. Elda is quite likeable, that's about all I can say.”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Wednesday, March 3, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“What a dreadful disappointment! This book, that I'd been so looking forward to reading turned out to be so bad, I was surprised it could have been written by Diana Wynne Jones at all.

Not only wasn't it as well written as all the other books by her that I've read, I had two major reasons for my disappointment.

One: so many animals are being used and killed and eaten. Ok, so not everyone will agree with me about that, but you should. (This is my review, I'll write what I want in it!). It pretty much ruined the book from the start.

Second reason: A girl gets raped by a number of murderers/soldiers (murderers taken from prisons to be turned into soldiers of a kind) and DWJ treats that as an inconvenience, that the girl (admittedly with the help of a dragon magic worker/king) just shakes off like a migraine. I simply couldn't believe it. And then the rape is just ignored. The girl is shown being more upset about not being allowed to attend college than about being raped. She merely ruefully mentions wanting to stay away from the soldiers. I should think she'd want to. Unbelievable. (I also can't believe this gets put into a book marketed as a children's book, but well, I think I've said enough about that already.)

Now I'm really scared that this isn't just about this book, but that it's all part of a bigger problem. What if I've outgrown DWJ´s books for good? What if it's not just her books but every fantasy book? Apart from a few other things, my love for books (mainly fantasy books) is the one thing that keeps me going. My life isn't all that great and if I lose this interest what's left to me?”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Friday, February 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“A pleasant surprise. Until now, I hadn't paid much attention to this book, though I love all Diana Wynne Jones' books. What little I'd read about it was vague and didn't tell me much. I'm glad to say that just like most of the other books by DWJ this one's funny and fascinating, and unpredictable. ”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Wednesday, February 3, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“To begin with I wasn't too impressed with this book. Maybe I've come to expect too much from Diana Wynne Jones. However, later in the book I began to like it better. Besides, this is one of the author's earlier books, and clearly intended for a young audience. After I finished it, I found that I was after all quite happy about it.
”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Tuesday, February 2, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Maybe it's just because of the way I feel right now, but I was actually a little disappointed in this book, at least the beginning. There were things that just rubbed me the wrong way. On the other hand, as I got further into the book, I began to like it better. All in all, it was a satisfying read.”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Tuesday, February 2, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“I must say I'm disappointed. I had expected more from Tad Williams. There are some interesting parts, but mainly I'm not impressed at all. It's also hard to feel sympathy for the characters, with one or two exceptions. Ferras Vansen, the young soldier who is in love with Princess Briony. Briony is another relatively sympathetic character and there are a few others, but most people leave me indifferent. ”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Saturday, January 23, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“I've read other books by Tad williams that I liked more, so I expected more from this book and now I'm a little disappointed. The story just failed to grip me fully. It's just too 'ordinary' to me. Maybe it isn't the book's fault, maybe it's me. I have found myself preferring urban fantasy and other 'different' fantasy, in the past couple of years.

None of the characters are really likable. I can't identify with or fall in love with anyone. The only character I sort of like is the young Captain who's fallen in love with the princess, though I really can't see why.

This may sound as if I don't like the book at all, and that's not quite true. Some parts of it are actually quite interesting and exciting. It just doesn't feel very unique. Having said that, I'm still looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy (?).”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Thursday, January 14, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I've seen negative reviews of this book (but I hadn't seen them when I bought it), but I hadn't read anything by Kay yet, so I wasn't disappointed. Maybe it's because I didn't have anything to compare it to, but in any case I liked it. Well, maybe I should specify that I wasn't too thrilled with the characters, but the setting and the plot were both great. ”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Sunday, January 10, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“This story feels a bit short, almost unfinished. As usual DWJ:s writing is excellent and she creates memorable, interesting characters. This novella just feels more like a short story. There are so many characters but you only get to know a few of them. I guess I would have liked a little more, that's all.”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Sunday, December 27, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Excellent and amazing. This book kept me enthralled through one long, tense night. Recommended to anyone who enjoys a well written speculative story.”

MilliLinnea wrote this review Sunday, August 30, 2009. ( reply | permalink )