E. W. Sawyer

Disappointing

Reviewed: 07-11-23

This is a talented writer who took great characters and ideas from Greek mythology and managed, somehow, to write a boring novel. It started with promise, well-crafted characters, and some action. Then plodded on endlessly with what felt like plot set ups ....that went nowhere. The writer spent the last several chapters introducing new characters and their back stories. Huh? And the ending was just a small, predictable fizzle. I think the writer was trying to do something interesting ...but never nailed a good plot on which to hang these great characters. It's sad.

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Great story, mediocre narration

Reviewed: 04-10-22

Wonderfully inventive and satisfying story for fans of weird fiction or Lovecraft. Woven in with a noirish detective. Sadly the narrator could not handle female voices so it was sometimes hard to know who said what.

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Unoriginal and boring

Reviewed: 06-24-21

I had not read this author before but heard he is good. I decided to give him a try with this novel which had great reviews. I was really surprised to be so bored from start to finish. We have met every character before in much better books and the motive for the murder was so obvious that everything was predictable. I had to force myself to finish it just in case there was a twist at the end. But nope. Just awful.

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Predictable but enjoyable

Reviewed: 12-27-20

If you've read a lot of mysteries then this will be predictable. Fortunately , the writer understood that 98% of the story was barely interesting set up and therefore used a flash forward device to create sufficient tension to keep the reader interested. If you haven't read a lot of mysteries , or not read much Christie, then you will find this satisfyingly twisty turny.

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Everything I wanted in a gothic tale

Reviewed: 12-13-20

I don't want to give anything away but this story has everything. Creepy house, creepy old man, sexy bad boy, sweet good boy, captive woman, evil housekeeper, heroic woman , ancient myths, savage vegetation, moldy crypt , good doctor, bad doctor. And beautiful clothes. Everything. Very well written and very well delivered.

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I wanted to like this more

Reviewed: 10-25-20

Elizabeth Hand had 2 outstanding ideas on which to build this novel. First, using old Riverview – a native Chicagoans wonderland, which I visited as a very small girl a year before it was cruelly demolished – and second, the mysterious original outsider artist, Henry Darger, about whom very little is known. Hand could have gone anywhere with Darger, whose art and stories were highly original fantasies featuring girl armies battling evil men, and superb illustrations that established him posthumously as the first identified outsider artist. Hand had the right setting and crime to delve deeply into Darger and give us something breathtaking. She wasted the opportunity by reducing him to a mentally ill sidekick writing some children’s stories. I am so disappointed. Adding to my disappointment was the mediocre narration in which I frequently could not even distinguish the characters. I do not recommend this book.

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The single finest narration I have ever heard

Reviewed: 09-18-20

I have been listening to audio books for over ten years now and had NO IDEA what a first-rate narration was until experiencing Robin Miles. She created distinct voices with different accents for each character - each one representing a different NYC borough and even other countries. I always knew exactly who was speaking and the character voices were simply delightful. The story is uniquely inventive urban fantasy of highest quality, reflecting current evils yet centered in hope. This is my first experience with this author and narrator. I cannot recommend this audio book highly enough and am now looking for my next Robin Miles and my next N.K. Jemison.

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1 person found this helpful

strong start, predictable finish

Reviewed: 07-07-20

Overall disappointing after a really exciting first couple chapters. Stock characters with no depth. Only the daughter has an actual character arc. Very predictable plot once it got going. Frankly, I got bored and had to force myself to finish. Narrator was good.

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Great stories hurt by bad narration

Reviewed: 02-24-20

Narrator did terrific old men voices. But he could not handle young male voices so even the teenage Leslie and 20-something Larry sounded like old men. It really hurt the listening experience.

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1 person found this helpful

worth the slow start

Reviewed: 10-24-19

A great payoff but you do have to wait for it. The book really picks up half way and then you can't stop. Another great ride from LaValle but I do wish they'd used another narrator. he really couldn't do female voices.

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