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34th out of 147 books
—
23 voters
Tallow (Curse of the Bond Riders #1)
by
Karen Brooks (Goodreads Author)
On the edge of a mystical border called the Limen, close to a beautiful canal-laced city, a humble candlemaker rescues a child whom he raises as his apprentice.
Years pass and the child’s unusual talents are revealed, the gentle art of candlemaking slowly transforming into something far more sinister.
Lingering in the shadows, enemies watch and wait - a vengeful aristocrat,...more
Years pass and the child’s unusual talents are revealed, the gentle art of candlemaking slowly transforming into something far more sinister.
Lingering in the shadows, enemies watch and wait - a vengeful aristocrat,...more
Paperback, 411 pages
Published
October 1st 2009
by Woolshed Press (RHA)
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This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
There's something about Tallow that sets him apart from other children. His luminescent eyes mark him as a extractor - but what does that mean for him and his family? When the plague comes, will he be able to combat it?
For the first few moments of the prologue, the reader can feel a little confused about what is happening. It's not immediately cl...more
There's something about Tallow that sets him apart from other children. His luminescent eyes mark him as a extractor - but what does that mean for him and his family? When the plague comes, will he be able to combat it?
For the first few moments of the prologue, the reader can feel a little confused about what is happening. It's not immediately cl...more
I'm not a big reader of fantasy novels, but I was given this by a friend I trust and the author is a good friend of a decade and a half standing: on two counts venturing into print on this is potentially difficult. So, I was delighted to really enjoy it. The back story and imagined Venice-like world is engaging, and sufficiently grounded in Venice-actual to resonate with the realist in me, while the notion of the world divided into zones by a series of non-traversible zones (although there are e...more
May 15, 2011
Nicole
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
some people who doesn't care for nasty famillies and almost non-existent romances
**One minor spoiler**
I loved Brooks for creating such a political and complicated world building.
The setting for the story is in La Serenissima, a beautiful canal-laced city that is kinda like Renaissance Italy.
14 year old Tallow, a candle maker's apprentice, is an Estrattore: someone who extracts human emotions and puts them into use. However, years ago, they were hunted down and killed, so that makes Tallow very valuable to others and the Morte Whisperers, ghoul-like creatures who takes people...more
I loved Brooks for creating such a political and complicated world building.
The setting for the story is in La Serenissima, a beautiful canal-laced city that is kinda like Renaissance Italy.
14 year old Tallow, a candle maker's apprentice, is an Estrattore: someone who extracts human emotions and puts them into use. However, years ago, they were hunted down and killed, so that makes Tallow very valuable to others and the Morte Whisperers, ghoul-like creatures who takes people...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Okay - Confession time first: I'm probably a little biased about this particular book, because I was lucky enough to do some editorial work on it a couple of years ago; provide a readers report and a few suggestions. That said, the moment I read it, I fell in love with this world, the characters, and I *cannot wait* for the rest of this series.
Tallow is everything that good fantasy writing should be: it's smart, well conceived, believable, has enough links to the 'real' world to make it engaging...more
Tallow is everything that good fantasy writing should be: it's smart, well conceived, believable, has enough links to the 'real' world to make it engaging...more
Ih suka suka suka banget buku ini...
Awalnya cerita udah suram. Dan karena ini fantasi murni, jadi detaiiiillll banget diceritainnya.
Mana nama-nama tokohnya susah-susah, nama kaumnya juga susah-susah. Tapi kereeeen.
Ada anak cowok 15 tahun, namanya Tallow. Dia dirawat dari bayi oleh seseorang bernama Pillar. Pillar ini pembuat lilin. Dan dari kecil Tallow udah diajarin cara buat lilin.
Tapi hidup Tallow sengsara, karena dia bukan anak Pillar, jd kalo keluar rumah dia mesti nunduk, ga boleh menatap...more
Awalnya cerita udah suram. Dan karena ini fantasi murni, jadi detaiiiillll banget diceritainnya.
Mana nama-nama tokohnya susah-susah, nama kaumnya juga susah-susah. Tapi kereeeen.
Ada anak cowok 15 tahun, namanya Tallow. Dia dirawat dari bayi oleh seseorang bernama Pillar. Pillar ini pembuat lilin. Dan dari kecil Tallow udah diajarin cara buat lilin.
Tapi hidup Tallow sengsara, karena dia bukan anak Pillar, jd kalo keluar rumah dia mesti nunduk, ga boleh menatap...more
I give props to Karen Brooks’s imagination. I love the idea of candlewax imbued with magic, which is released when lit. The book is set in Serenissima or old world Venice, and it’s always refreshing to read a fantasy novel with an unusual setting. It’s a world of artisans, political intrigues and superstitions into which Brooks weaves a story of magic, prophesies and immortal beings.
I know this is my personal reading bias coming through, but by the end of the book I felt that Brooks laid on a li...more
I know this is my personal reading bias coming through, but by the end of the book I felt that Brooks laid on a li...more
There’s been quite a bit of buzz in the Australian spec fic scene lately over the recent release of Tallow, the first book in Karen Brooks’ new fantasy series, The Curse of the Bond Riders.
Brooks is known in Australia as an academic, cultural commentator and young adult fantasy author. Tallow is her latest offering, and the first of her work I’ve read.
Set in a city very much like Renaissance Venice, the novel tells the story of Tallow, an orphaned child raised by a lowly candle-maker (hence the...more
Brooks is known in Australia as an academic, cultural commentator and young adult fantasy author. Tallow is her latest offering, and the first of her work I’ve read.
Set in a city very much like Renaissance Venice, the novel tells the story of Tallow, an orphaned child raised by a lowly candle-maker (hence the...more
‘On the edge of a mystical border called the Limen, close to a beautiful canal-laced city, a humble candlemaker rescues a child whom he raises as his apprentice.’
The first book in a young adult fantasy trilogy, Tallow is the young apprentice of Pillar, the candlemaker. Tallow is an estrattore, an extractor, of human emotion, which she blends with the tallow she makes her candles with. These emotions are then released when the candles are burnt, and have great power to change people’s fate. In t...more
The first book in a young adult fantasy trilogy, Tallow is the young apprentice of Pillar, the candlemaker. Tallow is an estrattore, an extractor, of human emotion, which she blends with the tallow she makes her candles with. These emotions are then released when the candles are burnt, and have great power to change people’s fate. In t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Tallow is an extremely wonderful read, especially for the fantasy readers out there. Set in a completely fictional world which features similarities of the canals of Venice and wonderful images of a smokey walled border of the county, this boom is full of action, mystery, drama and powers. Following the journey of a mysterious baby who grows into powers even its protector didn't expect it would have to an unconventional romance - this book is a must read/recommendation to fantasy lovers. I didn'...more
I liked the concelpt of this book, I felt it had real potential! But after slugging through page after page of making candles and how they change your life, I could not bring myself to finish it. All though I don't agree with leaving a book unfinished I couldn't bring myself to continue reading as it was a total bore. However, this is only my opinion, it is not the sort of book I would usually read, and only decided to read it as it was highly recommended. I, however have no interest in reading...more
Wow... I haven't had this little fun with a book in a long time.
Months ago I got three quarters of the way through Tallow, and couldn't make myself turn another page. I finally picked it up again and forced my way through the rest of it. It was unpleasant.
For the life of me I can't figure out why I didn't like Tallow. It's everything I normally love in a novel: mystery, intrigue, magic, and, of course, fantasy. It's well written enough, has an original setting, interesting characters, but I didn...more
Months ago I got three quarters of the way through Tallow, and couldn't make myself turn another page. I finally picked it up again and forced my way through the rest of it. It was unpleasant.
For the life of me I can't figure out why I didn't like Tallow. It's everything I normally love in a novel: mystery, intrigue, magic, and, of course, fantasy. It's well written enough, has an original setting, interesting characters, but I didn...more
Tallow is a book that starts with some familiar tropes of Fantasy - a prophecy, an orphaned child destined to inherit magical powers, a shadowy enemy (literally) - but transcends these conventions to become an entirely different story. Brooks' ability to surprise the reader, particularly when we are beginning to feel comfortable with where the story is going, is perhaps one of her greatest triumphs. (Sorry, no examples, as that would spoil the reading pleasure.)
Set in Serenissima, a city probabl...more
Set in Serenissima, a city probabl...more
Tallow is an Estrattore - someone who can extract emotions from or distill them into, a person or object. She is believed to be the last surviving Estrattore and the key to a prophesy that says she will free her kind.
Bond riders are humans, or more precisely ex-humans, who have pledged themselves to something or some cause in exchange for their lives. Their souls get split and they become kind of immortal in that they can rejuvenate themselves by crossing into the Limen - a kind of mystical bor...more
Bond riders are humans, or more precisely ex-humans, who have pledged themselves to something or some cause in exchange for their lives. Their souls get split and they become kind of immortal in that they can rejuvenate themselves by crossing into the Limen - a kind of mystical bor...more
It was OK. Her world's fairly complex, but at the same time very simplistic. Tallow as a character is weak, and Pillar I hated beyond any character (he's possibly one of my most hated characters in any piece of literature). Everything was very sudden and irritating. I got very bored halfway through, but the second half was smooth sailing - actually quite interesting, so struggle through for that.
Overall, it was just OK. I won't be reading it again and I won't recommend it - but if you want to r...more
Overall, it was just OK. I won't be reading it again and I won't recommend it - but if you want to r...more
With a mysterious, mist-like world of the Limen only across the border, any reader would swoon for the next step of the way!
The cleverly thought out real-life of Tallow was superb and interesting, keeping me just that little longer interested, keeping me into the pages, sweeping the hills, and praying for more!
A 4.5 for a clever world of fantasy and lies, descriptive language, and a beautiful soul that is our very own Tallow!
The cleverly thought out real-life of Tallow was superb and interesting, keeping me just that little longer interested, keeping me into the pages, sweeping the hills, and praying for more!
A 4.5 for a clever world of fantasy and lies, descriptive language, and a beautiful soul that is our very own Tallow!
It was a good story, very interesting and intriguing. The basic idea of making candles and the concept was quite original and I liked it quite abit. However the only let down was that the ending wasn't an ending and it left me at a cliff hanger. I don't think it was a crucial moment in the whole story but the cliff hanger was a bummer =.=
This is the first book I've never finished. I started reading it like a year ago and thought I'd put it down for a little while and come back to it later. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I have this thing that I hate not finishing books because I think that maybe the rest will be better and I will actually like the book in the end. But I decided not to pick it back up in the end because there are books out there that I'll enjoy reading a lot more than this one. I'm really disappointed thou...more
Ugh.
This is one of those books I literally had to bully myself into keeping on reading it.
:(
It took me nearly two weeks to read it! Two weeks!
D:
I respect that others found it immensely entertaining, but I have not been so bored with a book since Drowned Wednesday.
This is one of those books I literally had to bully myself into keeping on reading it.
:(
It took me nearly two weeks to read it! Two weeks!
D:
I respect that others found it immensely entertaining, but I have not been so bored with a book since Drowned Wednesday.
This one kind of went no where for a while, then got interesting in the second half, and then ended on a abrupt cliffhanger, which annoyed me. Even books that are part of a series can at least wrap things up a little instead of ending in the middle of an interesting part.
love how there were so many mysteries and twists to the story. i really felt part of the story and just couldn't put the book down. i loved every minute of it, brilliant story. i'm certain i wasn't the only one who felt so attached to it, was so sad when i finished it.
I persevered and unfortunately it wasn't that great. It clearly states that it is a part of a series but it didn't offer any resolutions or any great progress in the story whatsoever. Several characters motivations weren't really made clear and so I couldn't really get in to the story line. Not a series I will be continuing with, and thats saying someething.
This book was really good. I have no idea what the second one is so I was upset to learn that I had to find the next book to read the ending. It was a great novel that I bought from the local library. i recommend this to anyone.
What a great story. The characters were very believable and the historical fantasy atmosphere of Venice and the canals inspired me to find out more about the culture of this time and setting.
A little boring and hard to get into in the beginning, but gets amazing at about the 4th chapter. Its worth it to get into it, it has some beautiful and meaningful themes within it.
I purchased this book because I won the third book in this trilogy from goodreads. If you want to enjoy a science fiction journey with both characters and a world which keeps you entranced, then you have found it here. The first book in the Trilogy introduces you to the lowest class in the society and a basic understanding of the world in which the story unfolds. It tells just enough for you to envision the characters and their lives but leaves out enough to keep you anticipating the rest. I rea...more
Jan 25, 2011
Omfii
added it
I loved this books and recommended it to my friends. Typically classic but absolutely love it!! cant wait till the secind book, votove, comes out.
The book was amazing! There were times when I wanted to skim read it but, I was glad I didn't. The first books of The Curse of the Bond Riders was excellent. I am eager to reae the seocnd one.
Good book! I really enjoyed it! Didn't really like how it ended but hey at least there is a second one out :P
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Feb 17, 2010 06:49pm