effingunicorns's reviews
376 reviews

Probably it's because I was reading sporadically instead of taking it all in one shot, but I didn't find this book all that scary. There were some elements that could certainly be frightening in the right atmosphere, but the writing style really is better suited to reading aloud--or a much shorter story--and tended to make it more difficult for me to find that right atmosphere for fully appreciating Threshold.

Now that I'm used to the writing style I'll probably try to read it again at some point to get a better opinion.

A kids' book, of course, so there's not exactly a flood of information, but it's a good, quick primer for all ages on women pirates through history and around the world.

It had a lot of the elements I tend to like in combination with one another, but ultimately I would've preferred more focus on the bigger goings-on and less on the interpersonal dramas. Still, pretty good.

A lot quicker and more engaging from the start than the previous book, although by the end it felt like things were going a little too quickly. A worthwhile installment.

This felt like a whole lot of filler leading up to a climax and conclusion that were more satisfying in a "finally some answers and resolution!" way than a "holy crap that was awesome!" way. I might have been less concerned about the filler if it had made me become even remotely invested in Brrr as a character, but I wound up having far more sympathy for the Bears and they weren't even around that long. Hopefully the next book will be better.

I liked this more than Wicked because it seemed less dependent on whatever overarching mythology Maguire is planning to reveal than on its own internal story and some set-up from Wicked. There's at least one shout-out to the original Oz books--perhaps a clue to the future of The Wicked Years? I guess I'll have to wait and see.

very character-focused, with a sudden, messy climax and abrupt yet vague end that leaves me enough wiggle room to pretend either of my preferred results might occur. not really my style, ultimately, but I finished it.

Fairly hit-or-miss for me, as anthologies tend to be. Like a lot of people, I bought it for Rat Catcher, but I decided to be good and read the other stories first.

Spoiler

Quartered made good use of the magical bard given to us by assorted RPGs and the consequences of wrong assumptions, but I saw the pregnancy bit coming a mile away and found it hard to believe that Evicka could be so deeply invested in her own suspicions that she would miss the obvious undercurrent of "they accept us here when no one else would", even though I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be equally oblivious in real life.

Bone Garden got more interesting as it went. The whole "actors who are also frequently prostitutes" background thing put me off at first, because prostitution in fiction too often comes across as "I want this character to be poor and desperate, but in a sexy way", but the impact of immigration on cultural magic in a fantasy setting is fascinating, so I'm glad I kept reading.

The Sergeant and the General is just depressing. Mellé got what he deserved, but I don't read for cautionary tales of what happens when a main character is an irredeemably horrible person, so this wasn't a rewarding story at all.

Rat Catcher was also fairly depressing, actually, but because I'm actually familiar with the series it ties to, I was able to recognize it as a temporary emotional dip. The bare bones of the story are covered in Forbid the Sea, another Tybalt short story available on McGuire's website, but this one covers those events directly and also offers a firsthand look at life in a Court of Cats, which is useful for those of us who'd like to know every little detail of things.

Overall, I'd say it's nice to get ahold of if you've been following any of the series represented, but that limited audience makes it easy to see why there aren't more copies available even two years after it was printed.

Interesting concept, but the execution didn't really grab me.