Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, this is a powerful story of a 34-year-old son coming to terms with the past transgressions of his dying fathFunny and heartbreaking in equal measure, this is a powerful story of a 34-year-old son coming to terms with the past transgressions of his dying father. Beautifully written, this achieves in 28 pages more than many full-length novels I've read, and is easily the best of the five stories in the Amazon Inheritance series. Brilliant!
Merged review:
Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, this is a powerful story of a 34-year-old son coming to terms with the past transgressions of his dying father. Beautifully written, this achieves in 28 pages more than many full-length novels I've read, and is easily the best of the five stories in the Amazon Inheritance series. Brilliant!...more
For me, the most remarkable thing about this book was how little actually happened within its pages. There was a bit of time travel, obviously, and soFor me, the most remarkable thing about this book was how little actually happened within its pages. There was a bit of time travel, obviously, and some fighting, as well as a witch trial and an arrest and subsequent rescue. These were all fine. But in between these points of interest were literally hundreds of pages of bad sex writing and terrible, long-winded anecdotes which, despite being entirely boring, had the characters laughing and gasping for breath like deranged idiots.
There were countless anachronisms: wolves and wild boars both make an appearance despite having been extinct long before the 18th century, the Gaelic-speaking Highlanders have no trouble communicating with the English interloper, and our star-struck lovers managed to travel from the North of Scotland to France in a single day. And yes, I know - it's a fantasy novel, and so I should give the author a break by ignoring these little plot holes.
But still...
Some of the writing here was really good, by the way, so all was not lost. But by God, it was long-winded, and those sex scenes were pure, PURE cringe, so it's two stars from me....more
I really liked this for the most part. There were a few chapters that would have been better left on the cutting room floor, some of the characters weI really liked this for the most part. There were a few chapters that would have been better left on the cutting room floor, some of the characters were less well-drawn than they could have been, and the ending was a little frustrating. But the writing was great, and the mystery remained fun up to the 85% mark, so it's a fairly easy four stars from me....more
This was beautifully written, but the plot was full of anachronism and far too reliant on coincidence. At times - and particularly during the final teThis was beautifully written, but the plot was full of anachronism and far too reliant on coincidence. At times - and particularly during the final ten pages - I felt I was reading a fairytale rather than a work of historical fiction. Of course, there's every chance that this is what Davies intended, but whatever the case, it didn't quite work for me....more
Very interesting, but this is very much a story of the English monarchs. Unfortunate for me, who bought the book on the strength of its claim that it Very interesting, but this is very much a story of the English monarchs. Unfortunate for me, who bought the book on the strength of its claim that it told of the deaths of the Scottish monarchs, too....more
This was an odd sort of novel, with some major plot points resolved around the halfway point, and others not really resolved at all. I know this is thThis was an odd sort of novel, with some major plot points resolved around the halfway point, and others not really resolved at all. I know this is the first in a series of novels, but even then, I expected it to have a more complete story arc of its own. This isn't to say it was bad - in fact, I'm already looking forward to book 2 in the series. But still, it was strange, in a way....more
One of the finest works of nonfiction I've ever read. Entirely fascinating.One of the finest works of nonfiction I've ever read. Entirely fascinating....more
Strange to say of a book that's barely more than a hundred pages long, but this could easily have been 40 pages shorter. Not bad. Just not that great,Strange to say of a book that's barely more than a hundred pages long, but this could easily have been 40 pages shorter. Not bad. Just not that great, either....more
A brilliantly written but incredibly frustrating story of a young man's ill-fated love affair with an even younger prostitute.A brilliantly written but incredibly frustrating story of a young man's ill-fated love affair with an even younger prostitute....more
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