(I got a copy through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.)
The story of "The Apothecary's Curse" intertwines different plots, mostly mid-19th (I got a copy through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.)
The story of "The Apothecary's Curse" intertwines different plots, mostly mid-19th century London, a short early 20th century stint, and 2016 Chicago. All feature Gaelan and Simon, two men who became accidentally immortal through ingesting an alchemical compound, and struggle to lead a life of their own. Condemned for a crime he didn't commit, Gaelan was tortured for years by a mad doctor, before fleeing abroad, while Simon pines for his dead wife, unable to join her in death. As the decades pass, they find themselves remaining that strange brand of friends who can't stand to be in each other's presence for too long, yet always gravitate back towards each other. Until a strange book and a geneticist fall into the mix, and both men realise they may be about to know worse than one single mad doctor in a now closed asylum.
All these plots aren't only concerned with alchemy and immortality, but also with love: love for a woman, love of friendship, love of knowledge (even though gained in twisted ways), love of family, love of life itself... because when all's said and done, Gaelan still doesn't want to die, still finds wonders in the way science has been progressing.
In general, I found the main characters compelling, especially Gaelan, who never really loses hope in humanity in spite what he's been through. I found the contrast fairly interesting: Gaelan, who tried to help and was tortured and killed for it, called a criminal and a madman, forced to flee, but kept enjoying life, becoming a dealer in old books and antiques, nevergiving up in spite of his struggles with PTSD; and Simon, who seems to have everything (respect, fame and money as a doctor, then as a famous author), but cannot find peace, haunted by the memory of his departed wife—his story was tragic, though I admit I tended to side with Gaelan much more because, well, who can fault the guy who tries to live instead of wallowing in despair for a whole century, eh? As for Eleanor and Anne, they had their own struggles to go through, their own decisions to make, trying to fight evil as they could, even if it sometiles meant resorting to another kind of evil.
If anything, I was a little disappointed in the 2016 part. The 1842 and early 1900s one felt more vivid, better developed, whereas the modern era plotline, while interesting, was also a bit lackluster. Perhaps because I kept thinking there wasn't enough danger in it, considering what was at stake and the 'evil genetics/pharmacy company' that sooner or later would be after Gaelan. I guess I expected more development here, more of a feeling of urgency, especially towards the end.
Conclusion: Still a solid 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this novel....more
[I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]
Good ideas in this mash-up of various mythologies and their ass[I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]
Good ideas in this mash-up of various mythologies and their associated creatures, however, in the end, it was a bit too choppy to my taste.
The world of Gaia was inventive, fun, full of conundrums and syllogisms, all of those making for a place brimming with diversity... and with the problems associated to it, especially acceptance. This theme, along with the one of "humanity" in its largest meaning, was developed through the homunculi: artificial human-shaped beings, crafted by alchemists, gifted with certain powers, with a beautiful appearance for some, with intelligence and feelings, yet considered as unworthy because they didn't have a soul—or so, some people said.
The political undercurrents permeating the story (the vote, the tricks used in Atlantis to thwart it against the homunculi, the strong will of a few people like Petra to help them get rights at last) were definitely interesting. Perhaps because of all the many creatures in this novel, the hypocrisy behind their reluctance to accept the "soulless" articificial beings was even more tangible, and made for a good metaphor of injustices happening in the human world. I can say I'd really have wanted this specific plot to shine more.
Where the mashup worked much less for me was in the narrative itself. A lot of things happened, more or less tied to the aforementioned plot depending on the moments, but they happened very fast, in a chaotic way. I guess it reflected the chaotic nature of Gaia, yet it didn't male for a coherent read, and there were several moments when I had no idea anymore what was happening, why, or how the characters had come to that particular point or conclusion. Even though it made more sense once I read a few pages back, it was annoying nonetheless.
The other problem with such fast-paced events was that they didn't leave much room to character development, and I felt I was told, rather than shown, the relationships between Tyro and the cat, Tyro and Mina, Tyro and Herakles... (Tyro wants to save him, but since I didn't get to see them interact much, I didn't feel very invested in knowing about the outcome. Same about Tyro and Ankh'Si: the conclusion here was so rushed I wasn't sure if my copy of the book missed a chapter or two.)
I really liked the world developed here, however it was so diverse that it eclipsed the characters. Since I like those to be as developed in a "humoristic" read as in a "serious" one, albeit in different ways, I suppose, it didn't work very well for me in the end....more
[I received an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
I liked the premise, I really did—not to mention that theme of the broken, rot[I received an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
I liked the premise, I really did—not to mention that theme of the broken, rotting throne at night against the backdrop of a ruined Paris. There's something both sick and magical to such a city. The Seine river blackened and polluted by magic turned sour, horrors lurking in its waters. Gangs scrapping remnants in order to survive, Fallen angels being their favourite preys, preys that end stripped up of blood and bone and basically everything, for the power those organs can bring. Houses full of mages, Fallens and their dependents, vying for domination, yet also teetering on the brink of destruction, for the last large-scale conflict among them ended up being the 1914 war, the Great War nobody nor any place in the world seems to have recovered even 60 years later...
Yes. Definitely enchanting, in a morbid way. I couldn't help but be fascinated by this charred landscape, by the sheer hopelessness permeating eveything and everyone, despite the pseudo-grandeur some of the characters tried to keep as their facade. Descriptions here worked pretty well for me, making it easy to create this picture of Paris in my mind, all the more because I've walked those places, the parvis of Notre-Dame, the Halles, and so on. The atmosphere was somewhat old-fashioned, in that people in the story clung to a world long gone by (far away colonies entangled in the War, displays from fashion stores back when everything was still gilded...), and a lot of names were really traditional French names (Ninon, Madeleine, Isabelle, Philippe...). Although, as a native French speaker, it was also somewhat weird to see those names associated to English ones like Silverspires or Morningstar; that's a matter of language on my part, though, and not any fault of the book.
And no romance. There was no room for that here. The only "links" were of blood and curses and magic and slavery of sorts. No "souls destined to be together". The relationship between Philippe and Isabelle definitely wasn't born under the brightest star, so to speak.
The reason why I'm not rating this novel higher is because... I wanted more. The mystery, the curse, those were intriguing, but the balance between unveiling them, developing the characters and showing the world around them was regularly a bit off. I would have wanted to see more interaction between Philippe, Isabelle and Madeleine; see more about how they evolved, or rather, could have evolved as people. I expected to see more of House politics, of the complex webbing of alliances and betrayal and various other ways of pecking at each other. More about Philippe's origins and what his presence in Paris meant, more questioning about immortality and fallen angels, perhaps? At times, I felt that all that was more akin to beating around the bush, and that a while elapsed with nothing really happening, neither in terms of events nor of character growth. That while would've been the perfect place to inject... well, "more".
I was also not too convinced by some of the secondary characters, more specifically Selene. I expected more cunning on her part, as someone who had been playing the game of House politics for decades. As a Head of House, she wasn't "older" than Asmodeus, yet the latter and his schemes hooked me much more, seemed more ruthless and thus believable. I got it, nobody could have equalled Morningstar, but...
All in all, this is still an "I liked it" book. Just not the "I'm in awe" story I had hoped for....more
(I was given a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
Magic, werewolves, Victorian London, crazy inventions, and alchemy: what coul(I was given a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
Magic, werewolves, Victorian London, crazy inventions, and alchemy: what could go wrong, right?
Well, I did like this novel, but not as much as I had hoped and wished. Perhaps because I remembered liking these authors' Greyfriar book a lot, and was expecting something similar? I'm not sure. It has a nice mix of adventure, banter, fights and magic, but somehow I found it a bit lacking. Not bad per se, just lacking.
I really liked the descriptions and the London depicted in this first installment. I could easily imagine its streets, its rookeries, the characters as they were introduced, Penny's inventions, and the various supernaturals (I'll add the homunculi to this category, not only the werewolves). The Bedlam part was creepy and terrific. The atmosphere reflected what I'd imagine as an early gaslight/steampunk urban fantasy backdrop, and while some of the contraptions were maybe a tad bit too modern, I didn't really care, because they integrated well enough within the overall picture.
The characters had a nice dynamics going, too. They were somewhat cliché (the dashing gentleman magician, his friend who seems to spend his time in less commendable places, the Scottish werewolves hunter, the inventor, the feisty alchemist), but again, for some reason, I thought they worked well together. I will easily forgive tropes if I manage to find them exciting, and in this case, they fit the theme and what I expected of it.
I found the writing style a bit too rough in general, though, in that the action scenes especially seemed like they could've benefitted from more editing, in order to be less confusing. Same with the first chapters: the reader's quickly thrown into it, which is usually good, yet something felt abrupt and slightly jarring. It got better in some parts, and not in others. There were a lot of such scenes, perhaps too many, and they got repetitive after a while. The werewolves were also a bit too squishy depending on the moments: the first one looked so impressive and hard to kill, while others could be shredded like paper. At some point, the weres got described as not being all the same, with a lot of them being 'runts' of sorts, that couldn't very well control their powers; in this case, it would make sense... only the way it was explained wasn't too clear.
Second, I wondered why the authors hadn't made up more concepts and words. Sure, too much techno- (or mystico-) babble can get old pretty fast; however, whenever I read something like "he muttered strange words (to create a spell)", I couldn't help but ask myself: "What words are those, andwhy would they be strange to him, since he's a magician?" In such instances, I'd definitely have appreciated some made-up "babble".
Third, a lot of threads were left dangling. This is both a good and a bad thing. The book is clearly presented as volume 1 in a trilogy, no secrets here, so everything can't be solved at once, and these threads are obviously openings into books 2 and 3. On the other hand, they'd better not be forgotten then, otherwise they'll look like sloppy work.
I'd rate this book 2.5 stars: lots of fun, with the clear aim of being entertaining, and definitely good potential in terms of character dynamics and family stories, but only if it gets realised and not bogged down in confusing scenes. Reading the next volume, which I also have, will likely tell if what I'm hoping for will become true....more
(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
The theme of this story was interesting enough, but unfortunately, I never felt it (I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
The theme of this story was interesting enough, but unfortunately, I never felt it grab me, and found myself at times not really caring whether I was keeping on reading, or taking a break to read something else.
The descriptions and atmosphere were vivid enough. This isn't glamourised historical fiction: when people pee in the street, they do, and when they're in a ghastly environment, they are. The author's writing made it fairly easy to picture the characters' surroundings and their lives—the sinister manor, Gisa's daily drudgery, the boys trembling in fear at night at the abbey, expecting to be seized never to return...
However, the characters themselves didn't leave me with a lasting impression. I liked how they were portrayed with their imperfections (Vincent especially: he started with justifying his bad actions as if they were logical, and I must say I quite enjoy such characters, bordering on sociopathic in their way of seeing the world while being the heroes of their own story). But only a few hours after finishing this novel, I'm already not exactly sure anymore of what they did, nor of what the plot tried to achieve. It took some time to get there, and mostly the protagonists were too passive, with things happening around them, or to them, without prompting a strong enough reaction. Gisa's passivity was all the more infuriating that she tried to help someone, but so slowly that her repeated thoughts of "wanting to save that person" felt fake (and a mere plot twist to lead to the decisions she made later).
In fact, the characters were here mostly to make the plot happen without giving vibes of being real people, with lives of their own. Their background stories looked interesting, but remained just that: in the background. All that was very weird, because the chapters were short, yet seemed to drag at the same time.
I also didn't get—still don't—the necessity for a switch between the first person and third person, complete with present tense. I have no idea why this kind of style keeps popping in novels more and more, and I wish I could see its point, because so far, it's been more jarring than anything else. It didn't achieve anything for me, didn't give me a sense of immediacy, and only made me keep wondering "wait, why are we doing that again"? Which in turn kept breaking my reading stride.
Not an infuriating book, but one that I'll proceed to quickly forget....more
(I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
1.5 stars. An interesting premise, but one I had trouble stayed focused on, and I j(I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
1.5 stars. An interesting premise, but one I had trouble stayed focused on, and I just could never push myself to read more than a chapter or two before switching to something else.
The first chapters, with Dorian popping into Zoe's life, his predicament, the book that needed deciphering, hinted at a good modern fantasy story. Unfortunately, the mystery that followed was too flat, and took too long to properly unveil. It could have been more of an adventure, yet it wasn't. There wasn't even that many alchemical concepts and knowledge to munch on.
I'd chalk a large part of this to the main character going around in circles about some things, always recalling her ability with plants, how she was not a night person, needed her healthy foods, etc. There was more cooking and vegan recipes than actual alchemy here. I know they say alchemy kind of started in the kitchen and all that, but the metaphor didn't bring much to the story for me. I mean, it's the Accidental Alchemist, not the Accidental Cook, so...
In turn, the sense of urgency got lost somewhere along the road. After a murder and another murder attempt, with Zoe having the potential to be seen either as the culprit or as the next victim, I would have expected more tension. When clues finally started appearing, and Zoe at last started taking them into account, I was past caring, and just wanted to finish the novel to see if Dorian could be saved.
The ending, by the way, was too rushed to my liking. I don't have anything against McGuffins and McGuffin-plots used to introduce deeper, larger stakes; but I tend to feel frustrated when a story begins with such a plot, goes on reminding us regularly that it's important, then brings a quick resolution after having focused on something completely different. It just makes me stop caring. (I'll be honest, though, and mention that while I was reading this book, I was also reading another one that suffered from the exact same problem of "rushed ending"; I suppose they slightly "tainted" each other for me in that regard.)
(A minor quibble as well regarding Dorian's speech patterns: speaking as a French expat living in the UK, seeing bits of French thrown in the middle of sentences is definitely weird. Whole sentences or exclamations, all right—it's only natural to start speaking in your own language, before remembering you should switch to another one. But in my own experience, when this happens, we usually tend to stop and start again in English. For instance, I haven't heard any other French expat finishing an English sentence with "n'est-ce pas", so when the character did it, it kind of felt like "Hey, here's a reminder I'm French". Not needed in my opinion.)
On the bright side, I still think the basic idea was great, and I liked Dorian's character in general, as well as the questions his existence raised: how he came to be, sure, but also how other people perceived him. When he recounted having to pass for a disfigured man who only worked for blind cooks and refused to let anyone else in the room, so that he could do what he loved without people freaking out, that was awfully sad—and a bit reminiscent of relationships such as the ones between Frankenstein's monster and De Lacey. I always like when similar themes arise in a story (even though it was underexploited here)....more
A very interesting read, quite different from the other WoD games I was used to. Instead of dealing with characters that are getting beyond humanity (A very interesting read, quite different from the other WoD games I was used to. Instead of dealing with characters that are getting beyond humanity (vampires who're gradually losing their morality, mages aiming at uncovering the universe's deepest secrets...), it presents us with creatures that are monsters and know it, and want nothing more but to become what everybody else seems to be shunning, yet is denied to them: being mere mortals, mortals who are accepted by the world and their peers. This change of perspective I found fascinating. I've always been interested in stories such as Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Meyrink's "The Golem", and this seems to be another way of exploring such concepts.
That said, this game is clearly not for everyone, since it tends to run against the most usual aspects of RPGs in general. Anyone wanting to run a Promethean chronicle will definitely need a group of dedicated players who aren't afraid to think outside the box and forget the traditional progression of gaining power and making their characters carve their place in the world. Or rather, there -will- be a place for them as mortals, as humans, but this is a whole different story to be told....more
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