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What Members Thought
Excellent fantasy. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, water is scarce and humans barely cling to civilization. Thief, historian and outcast Khat is hired to find a relic for a rich Patrician…thus setting off an ever-escalating adventure. I loved the characters, who clearly had lives of their own outside of the plot, and the dialog was realistic and often funny. Add to that Wells’s gift for world-building and an exciting plot (ghosts! Ancient technology! Internecine feuding! Academic infighting!),
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Oct 30, 2011
Sandi
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
scifi-fantasy-horror-althistory,
read-2011
The search for ancient relics propels the plot in this fantasy novel that had all the elements for a really good read but the over description of every little detail of the setting ultimately made this a bit of a chore to get through.
Despite many revelations and mysteries solved, the book didn't seem to go anywhere... some neat ideas but lacking in "resolution". The characters also seemed a bit cardboard & not a lot of growth or development - even Elen with all her changes didn't really "grow" much - her development was externally driven & in the end she's pretty much the same old Elen but with more power... the writing was sharp and clean - I really wish the characterization and execution of the plot had been equally so.
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An excellent fantasy with a touch of science fiction set in an Arabian setting.
Very different, and I liked it. Intrigue, magic, technology, great cast of characters. My first book by Wells, but it probably won't be my last!
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"There is a category of people out there who love stories set in exotic cities in the desert. The continued popularity of "Casablanca," "Lawrence of Arabia" or even John Wayne and Sophia Loren’s "Legend of the Lost" is a testament to the endurance of the genre. I am generally not the target audience of such stories. Having grown up in the mountains in the West, I’ll take the cold over hot any day of the week. Which suggests that when I recommend Martha Wells’ book "City of Bones," it means that
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Very, very good. I gather this was a fairly early work, akin to her later Raksura books, which makes me fervently wish that the price for those works would come down from the ridiculous £10 a pop for an ebook.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, didn’t find it unputdownable, but loved the style, setting, characters and story.
Four and a half stars really, but couldn’t give it five stars because I definitely feel there’s better waiting for me by Martha Wells.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, didn’t find it unputdownable, but loved the style, setting, characters and story.
Four and a half stars really, but couldn’t give it five stars because I definitely feel there’s better waiting for me by Martha Wells.
Aug 21, 2011
Jen
marked it as to-read
Nov 03, 2011
Scott
marked it as to-read
Dec 21, 2013
Kevin Xu
marked it as to-read
May 08, 2016
Stephen
marked it as to-read
Nov 01, 2017
Daniel Severin
marked it as to-read
Feb 17, 2019
Michael
marked it as to-read
Jan 08, 2020
Carrie
marked it as to-read
