by Helene Wecker

 

My expectations of this story might have been a little inflated because I kept hearing how good it was, and I did enjoy it, but I didn't love it as much as I expected to. It was a good story and culturally interesting, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters. Of all of them, I think the djinni most appealed to my nature, but his offhand callousness often left me cold.

 

The whole concept of these two supernatural beings meeting in New York was pretty fascinating. Each of them keeping their secret, living apart from the human society that surrounds them, yet so different in nature. It was interesting to see the comparison between their experiences among humans.

 

Chava was far too subservient for me to identify with her, yet that is in the nature of a golem so it fit the story. Her circumstances and the unusual chain of events that brought her to her situation made for good reading and a lot of imagination was put into it. I think I was expecting more of magic though, and kept looking for a quality of enchantment that was never meant to be a part of the story. The writing is certainly good and I would read another book by this author.

 

Towards the end, the answers to unknown are revealed and the connection between the two supernatural characters becomes clear. The ending was satisfying, though the story as a whole stopped just short of that for me. It lacked passion, but seemed to move forward methodically like the golem herself, always close to the earth when I was expecting to see the stars.

 

An interesting read, but it didn't engage my emotions.

(Original Review, 1980-08-15)


Some months ago I made the mistake of purchasing a copy of Alfred Bester's GOLEM-100. I quickly found out that the only redeeming feature of this book is the art inside, and you can get that for free by simply opening the book at the bookstand. I have never finished GOLEM-100, I got 150 pp or so into it, gave up, and went back to reading ATTACK OF THE ANT MEN (don't ask....) which, by comparison, is almost decent reading.

 

 

 

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Road Trip. Ok so this road trip is not all fun and games actually it is no fun but lots of games. Head games. Someone is killing all of the Aegis. Its up to Zoey Donovan to stop the killer and save her mother. oh yea and not end up dead herself.

The road trip comes in ans her and Riley are headed to the Hidden's Headquarters. once they arrive there they are sent to investigate a murder of an Aegis, from there they end up pretty much touring the country investigating other Aegis murders all while trying to track down her mother before she ends up on the list of murdered. Will it be a funeral or a happy ending?

I love this series and cannot wait to get started on the next book in this series. Zoey can really get herself into a lot of messes but between her Friends who are also her family she always seems to come out on top.

[I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

 

Some pretty good artwork in places, although I expected something more original, especially considering the length of this volume.

 

The basic idea in itself is, I'd say, typical enough of dystopian stories: country (here, Italy) in the not-too-far future, dominated by an apparent benevolent ruler (president Oudeis) who's actually a tyrant, with "the masses" living day to day in blissful ignorance, smothered with all the latest technological toys and gizmos they could desire. Also a "terrorist"/"freedom fighters" group, because dystopian stories need that. All in all, terra cognita here, not bad, and not exceptional either.

 

The world depicted in this comics is interesting, and chilling, too, however it gave a strong Japanese vibe, and this felt a little strange. Lots of Japanese-sounding names (the Yoko brand, the Shorai "terrorist group"), aesthetics that clearly reminded me of quite a few cyberpunk/futuristic manga... Again, not bad per se, yet I couldn't reconcile this vision with Italy. Not to say I expected stupid clichés here (nope, I didn't want to see pasta everywhere, that's just as bad as the French baguette as far as clichés go!), just... something that would've felt more European-centric?

 

The art was pretty good in some parts, though average in others, and most often dynamic: the fights looked and felt like fights, bodies in movement giving an impression of speed. As a work of art, as in painting/drawing, it was definitely interesting to look at.

 

The characters in general were sympathetic. Not unexpectedly at all, the rebels all have their quirks and cool tech and moves (cooking, hooked on computers, a sort of probabilities-projecting technology allowing them to predict their enemies' moves by a couple of seconds...). However, I never got a real feeling for them, especially the two kids at the centre of it all.

 

 

Conclusion: In general, my impression was that of a story with good foundations, but not told as it would've deserved—both too long and too crammed considering its conspiracy aspect. The bland characters didn't help.

This is amazing writing. I have never read a story quite like it. It brings so much in to question, beliefs, faiths, religions, etc. It takes place during a time when people had to go between Europe and America by ship and women didn't go around unchaperoned. It mostly has a realistic feel with a few big exceptions. The two main characters aren't human. There are also magicians and such. It's pretty low on the low fantasy scale, but at the same time those fantastical elements are what the whole plot is about.