The Big Peat
Darth Buddha
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2016
- Messages
- 3,762
I picked up The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids because of voice. Its first person narrator, Amra Thetys, is a thief with few illusions, world weary humour and gruff loyalties, all of which came through in the handful of pages you get in the kindle sample.
If I'd read a bit further I wouldn't have bought it. After an interesting start, it meanders around, doing a spot of worldbuilding and trying to milk the personally non-existent tension. She then bumps into a witch prophesying doom and dread in a scene that falls about as flat as possible for me. People hinting at story is a lot less interesting than story.
After which, we get back to the events hinted at in the start and its a bit magnificent for a few pages. McClung, by and large, writes interesting confrontations. The tension is very much present here and so too is an element of pathos.
I normally don't do reviews as a blow by blow attempt of the book but, in this case, I simply couldn't think of a better way to illustrate just how uneven I found TTWPOTB.
At its best its very good. A solid four star fantasy noir. Its strongest elements are, as mentioned, the voice and the conflicts but there's also some interesting bits of world building. McClung's sense of humour, by and large, makes me smile.
But there are jarring elements. Both voice and world suffer from a few very modern moments slipped into an Age of Enlightenment fantasy world; the effect could work well if it felt more cohesive, but it didn't. Some of the conflicts suffer from a sense of pre-destination given the respective competencies of the characters involved.
A few of the elements just didn't satisfy. The plot depended heavily on magic but, trapped in Amra's view point, I knew far too little about how it worked. More crucially, her relationships with other characters felt more by the numbers than real and complex. In each case, I wished she'd had more time interacting with the large supporting cast, which might have brought those moments to life. Its not badly done, but its just flat enough to niggle at me.
Am I likely to continue reading the series? I'd like to at some point but I've no burning desire to do so right now. McClung has written an interesting light-hearted fantasy noir crime caper but it doesn't quite snap, crackle, and pop for me. But it may do so for other people.
Particularly recommended for people seeking the fantasy noir middle ground between Pratchett and Polansky.
If I'd read a bit further I wouldn't have bought it. After an interesting start, it meanders around, doing a spot of worldbuilding and trying to milk the personally non-existent tension. She then bumps into a witch prophesying doom and dread in a scene that falls about as flat as possible for me. People hinting at story is a lot less interesting than story.
After which, we get back to the events hinted at in the start and its a bit magnificent for a few pages. McClung, by and large, writes interesting confrontations. The tension is very much present here and so too is an element of pathos.
I normally don't do reviews as a blow by blow attempt of the book but, in this case, I simply couldn't think of a better way to illustrate just how uneven I found TTWPOTB.
At its best its very good. A solid four star fantasy noir. Its strongest elements are, as mentioned, the voice and the conflicts but there's also some interesting bits of world building. McClung's sense of humour, by and large, makes me smile.
But there are jarring elements. Both voice and world suffer from a few very modern moments slipped into an Age of Enlightenment fantasy world; the effect could work well if it felt more cohesive, but it didn't. Some of the conflicts suffer from a sense of pre-destination given the respective competencies of the characters involved.
A few of the elements just didn't satisfy. The plot depended heavily on magic but, trapped in Amra's view point, I knew far too little about how it worked. More crucially, her relationships with other characters felt more by the numbers than real and complex. In each case, I wished she'd had more time interacting with the large supporting cast, which might have brought those moments to life. Its not badly done, but its just flat enough to niggle at me.
Am I likely to continue reading the series? I'd like to at some point but I've no burning desire to do so right now. McClung has written an interesting light-hearted fantasy noir crime caper but it doesn't quite snap, crackle, and pop for me. But it may do so for other people.
Particularly recommended for people seeking the fantasy noir middle ground between Pratchett and Polansky.
