sienamystic: (Mystic in red and orange)
[personal profile] sienamystic
I've read some of McGuire's October Daye books, and enjoyed them, although I wasn't hooked to the point of "omg must grab next book immediately." And I'm not in general a horror reader, so I won't be picking up those books of hers. But what I heard about Every Heart a Doorway sounded right up my alley, so I finally got it and read it last night.

The concept is lovely. What happens to all those portal fantasy children who find themselves stranded back in this world, where time may or may not have passed, where they come back with strange skills or weird hair or new proclivities? Well, perhaps a boarding school, run by a woman who knows exactly what they've been through because she has as well. I loved the idea of all these kids bumping against each other, trying to figure out what to do now that they don't live in a candyland or a magical fairyland where they were the King's Champion. There's a lot of nuance about the characters that's done in concise little bites.

I liked Nancy, the main character, and her particular portal world was interesting, with a focus on stillness and silence.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize the book was actually a novella, which means that I bumped up against what I experienced as really weird pacing and the book ended unexpectedly quickly. The main character arrives, the plot rockets off immediately, and before I knew it things were wrapping up. I'm a little uncertain about whether I'm interested in the other books, which seem to be both sequels and prequels. I don't know if I want to read an entire book about a character after I know how she got to be the way she was, and that she's already died an ignominious death.

So, I'm not sure. I will probably reread it with better expectations about the length. But I'm not sure if I'll be picking up the other books in the series.

(no subject)

Date: 2019-03-01 12:23 am (UTC)
akamarykate: pile of books and a coffee cup (booksbyeponwyn)
From: [personal profile] akamarykate
I'd heard about this book but wasn't sure if I should read it. Thank you for this review--it's made me decide to give it a chance. Maybe knowing it's a novella going in will help. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2019-03-01 03:17 am (UTC)
silversandbea: A rabbit wearing headphones at a keyboard (Default)
From: [personal profile] silversandbea
Yeah, I read it knowing it was a novella and really enjoyed it - but mostly enjoyed it for the premise and world(s)building. I didn't particularly care about the murder mystery, and while I thought I wanted more right after finishing it, I wasn't super interested in the next novella that focused on the goth siblings and haven't picked up any of the rest.

I think it came out around the same time as Summer in Orcus and a couple other books (In Other Lands, maybe?), and I was thinking that there was something about interrogating portal fantasies in the water.

Profile

sienamystic: (Default)
sienamystic

August 2019

S M T W T F S
    123
45678 910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios