Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing story, complex and nuanced, literary yet fun, July 7, 2010
This review is from: Discord's Apple (Hardcover)
I have a hard time not writing simple plot summaries as reviews, but I feel like if I spoil even a single secret in this book I will be doing a disservice. It is epic in scope yet deceptively simple.
I can understand why Publisher's Weekly gave this book a Starred review. It is written in simple and clear language that lets the depth and complexity of the story sneak up on you. The nested timelines allow the story to reveal exactly as much background as you need to let the story progress without spoiling suspense. The scope of the story, from the bronze age to the ... see I almost let fly with a spoiler there ... is daring, dazzling, and perfectly crafted to make this an epic worthy of the poets of old.
I loved the characters, especially the ones I was clearly meant to hate. One character is the embodiment of pure chaos, and his wanton acts of love and destruction side by side made him the most delicious villain since the Joker, and I am only sorry he didn't get more "screen time." The Good Guys were really honestly good guys, and there was an optimism to them that made me set aside the cynicism that I usually reserve for such characters.
Overall this is an epic masterpiece. In my opinion, this is the authors most cinematic and picturesque work to date, and I hope that we get to see a dozen more like this.
...but no sequels. I hope this gets to live as a standalone. It's perfect as it is.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just another Kitty novel - definitely!, July 7, 2010
This review is from: Discord's Apple (Hardcover)
I have been following Carrie Vaughn's work since she started publishing the Kitty series and I can delightfully declare: Definitely not a Kitty book! To make this clear: I found the Kitty series well written and entertaining, but I do have something of a knee-jerk reaction to all the recent Vampire/Werewolf genre overload and associated crazes. This is, admittedly, a remark angled at some of previous comments which seek the lines of association to the author's already established book series where there are none to be found - or no reason to go looking for them.
I consider Discord's Apple to be Vaughn's most mature and most engaging piece of work to date - it is wonderfully multilayered and enagaging, and it did a magnificent job of pulling me straight into the depths of the tale. It may have something to do with the manner in which it builds upon the established "real world" mythos creatively but not presumptiously; she certainly does exhibit both in-depth familiarity with and respect for the mythologies she builds on. Or it may be the masterful breath of life in all of the characters that carry the story along so fluidly and naturally - though it's most likely the case of both. I found this book to be a real treat and, having read it once already, I find myself already re-reading it for the sheer fun of it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It didn't go far enough for me, as an adult fantasy novel, August 1, 2010
This review is from: Discord's Apple (Hardcover)
Plot Summary: Evie Walker is a comic book writer living in a Los Angeles we wouldn't recognize. Countries are at war, cities are ruled by militias, and Evie makes her living penning a military adventure comic series, until she gets a call from her father. She drives back home to Hope's Fort, Colorado and learns that he has a terminal disease. Furthermore, strangers keep knocking on her father's door with specific requests for items in his basement. The storeroom has always been off limits to Evie until now, and she learns that her family serves as custodians of magical objects. One man in particular, named Alex, seems to be stalking Evie and her father, but the real threat is a long-disposed queen who wants to sow chaos across the world.
If the heroine was a teenager instead of an adult, I probably would have liked this better. Discord's Apple would have made a perfect young adult novel, and that would help me out with this review, because this book didn't go far enough for this adult reader. Oh well, there's no point in griping about it, right? It's an ambitious story that tries to connect all of the magic, myths and legends since the beginning of time with a present that is on the verge of war. It's a cool concept, but it started to fall apart for me by the end, and worse, it became utterly predictable. That's a sin that's not easy for me to forgive.
I thought the structure of the story was well done, with the action shifting between three parties: Evie in the present, Alex in the past, and Evie's ancestors. It takes a good writer to pull that off, and Carrie Vaughn made it look easy. Unfortunately I don't feel like I got to know Evie, or see her evolve. She was surprisingly passive throughout the story, and I expect more from the lead in a fantasy novel. There was virtually no romance, and the bit that was included felt token and tacked on.
It's an interesting stand-alone, but nothing is going to stand-out in my memory.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
