The Gutter Prayer
Hmm. Another of those books that I read through I sort of want to have enjoyed more than I did. In the end, I feel it's just "okay" and perhaps trying too hard.
There are plenty of neat fantasy ideas here, with a war among gods and their avatars in the background as well as the nature of divinities in the setting themselves, various alchemical creations from bombs to "Tallowmen," and dead-eating ghouls and colonies of worms. There's a reasonably interesting cast of characters, though it takes a while for them to all fall into place.
I found the technical side of the book to be more off-putting. I think I have a greater tolerance than normal to present-tense writing due to MU* experience, but even so, it rarely feels "right" to me in a novel. Also, the writing style has what feels to me like a "stream of consciousness" quality to it that results in a lot of choppy, partial sentences and such. I feel as though this book would have given my English teachers fits. That said, it is understandable. It just feels inelegant and clunky. Jumping around among all the characters doesn't help, particularly in the first half or so of the book when we're still getting accustomed to the cast.
By the end, the characters are less of an impediment to enjoyment, at least. They do, however, all throw down with their own personal (and usually conflicting) goals. That makes for a chaotic closing act which is functional, but feels like it may be trying too hard to twist and turn among the villainous, end-of-the-city schemes. I would also say there isn't enough falling action after the climax. We get a huge event and many of the main characters are dead. Then we have a brief epilogue that shows a few who are alive, but I didn't find much satisfaction in the ending.
There are plenty of neat fantasy ideas here, with a war among gods and their avatars in the background as well as the nature of divinities in the setting themselves, various alchemical creations from bombs to "Tallowmen," and dead-eating ghouls and colonies of worms. There's a reasonably interesting cast of characters, though it takes a while for them to all fall into place.
I found the technical side of the book to be more off-putting. I think I have a greater tolerance than normal to present-tense writing due to MU* experience, but even so, it rarely feels "right" to me in a novel. Also, the writing style has what feels to me like a "stream of consciousness" quality to it that results in a lot of choppy, partial sentences and such. I feel as though this book would have given my English teachers fits. That said, it is understandable. It just feels inelegant and clunky. Jumping around among all the characters doesn't help, particularly in the first half or so of the book when we're still getting accustomed to the cast.
By the end, the characters are less of an impediment to enjoyment, at least. They do, however, all throw down with their own personal (and usually conflicting) goals. That makes for a chaotic closing act which is functional, but feels like it may be trying too hard to twist and turn among the villainous, end-of-the-city schemes. I would also say there isn't enough falling action after the climax. We get a huge event and many of the main characters are dead. Then we have a brief epilogue that shows a few who are alive, but I didn't find much satisfaction in the ending.
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