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What Members Thought

Paloma
Jan 02, 2010 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
I listened to this on audiobook and the reader, Simon Prebble, was AWESOME. It made the 37 hours (!!) of listening on my commute fly by - he transitions between voices seamlessly and I was always amazed at how consistent he was with the inflections of each character's voice. Also, the book is just lovely. It is a fictitious account of magic in England in the 1800s, and it is written in such a lovely self-aware and slightly humorous manner that makes it totally entertaining. It's dark, whimsical, ...more
Jill
Jan 29, 2009 rated it really liked it
I have had this book on my shelf for a few years...it's daunting size as the reason it went unread for so long. I finally decided to dive in because I was looking for something different to read. Boy is it ever! This book is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It is a fictional novel with footnotes....that are fictional. I found myself really getting into the story and just enjoying the characters. Parts of the story were a bit long-winded, as I've seen other reviewers mention. All in all tho ...more
Claudia Recinos
May 08, 2015 rated it it was amazing
This book had its little problems. The POV constantly shifted, which tends to pull me out of a book. The writing was a little too restrained. In general, I felt like I was reading the story rather than being immersed in it. And yet. The story was perfectly and intricately woven. Like a spell. Get it?
Cari
Jul 29, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
A very different sort of epic fantasy that won't be for everyone. I don't think I would have liked it as much if I hadn't read it in a serialized format (strict 30-page chunks per day over the course of a month); it would have felt far too long otherwise. The slow pace and Dickensian tone was a slow burn that grew on me over time. ...more
Tara
I had a difficult time getting into this book so I've decided to put it aside and come back to it at a later date. ...more
Carly Thompson
Aug 15, 2009 rated it really liked it
Shelves: anglophilia, fantasy
Sarah left GR
Sep 22, 2009 rated it really liked it
Shelves: fiction
Ching-In
Oct 26, 2009 marked it as to-read
Deanna M
Apr 08, 2011 marked it as to-read
Anna
Aug 08, 2011 rated it really liked it
Julie
May 05, 2012 marked it as own-to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: own, reconcile
Laura
Jul 07, 2013 rated it really liked it
Pat Tea
Mar 23, 2015 marked it as to-read
Y_M_A
Jun 29, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Julie
Oct 31, 2015 marked it as to-read
Mari
May 01, 2016 marked it as to-read
Kathryn
May 10, 2016 marked it as to-read
Danielle Ballard
May 14, 2016 rated it liked it
Michelle Marie
Sep 17, 2016 marked it as to-read
Erika
Jul 06, 2017 marked it as to-read
lisa_emily
Jul 15, 2022 rated it liked it
Shelves: 2022-read
Maggie
Oct 13, 2020 marked it as to-read
Karianne
Jan 13, 2022 marked it as to-read
Alison
May 17, 2022 marked it as to-read
Crystal
Jul 13, 2025 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2025, summer-2025