The Night Circus in Fantasy-Faction.com

Feb 28, 2012 Althea Ann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I wasn't really ever one of those children who wanted to run away with the circus... but this book made me want to run away with the circus.

I didn't actually think I'd like this book; it was a book club selection. I'm not sure why I was predisposed against it... but it doesn't matter, because Morgenstern made quick work of those doubts!
I read this book till I fell asleep, then woke up at some absurdly early hour of the morning (after some lovely, inspired dreams), and finished it before going ba ...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Liviu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011_release_read, read_2011, genre-fantasy, t_notable_books_2011

One of the more hyped novels I have heard of in recent times, The Night Circus came with very high expectations for me and i have to say that overall they were mostly fulfilled and the hype mostly well deserved, though I had several niggles that stopped me from ranking the book in my top 25 though it will be on my highly recommended list.

The fundamental thing about The Night Circus and the aspect where the book works magnificently is the prose; lyrical, wonderful, descriptive, imaginative, the b One of the more hyped novels I have heard of in recent times, The Night Circus came with very high expectations for me and i have to say that overall they were mostly fulfilled and the hype mostly well deserved, though I had several niggles that stopped me from ranking the book in my top 25 though it will be on my highly recommended list.

The fundamental thing about The Night Circus and the aspect where the book works magnificently is the prose; lyrical, wonderful, descriptive, imaginative, the book is just a pleasure to read and imagine. The author writes superbly and the book never stops enchanting.

If the style does not work for you - there is an extract somewhere online which gives you an idea about that though the book gets even more lyrical later - I doubt the book will work.

The storyline is not that complicated - there are some powerful magicians in existence, one disguising himself as a stage performer, another just being mysterious - and they have an ongoing rivalry for centuries now which they test once in a while when they each train a pupil and pit them in a strange contest involving magic and real life, contest that usually takes decades and ends with only one of the two pupils standing

When the novel starts in 1873, Hector Bowen aka "Prospero the magician" receives an unusual package from a "former fan" - his 5 year old daughter Celia, whose mother whom he seduced and abandoned leaves in his care when she commits suicide; a bit annoyed, Hector - who like his mysterious opponent Alexander is not a very nice person, centuries of life and all - soon realizes that Celia has power too and he decides she will be the perfect tool to get back to Alexander whose pupil won a the last contest that was 37 years long, some decades ago.

Alexander accepts and in turn collects Marco a 9 year old boy with the right personality/traits/etc from an orphanage and starts training him for the next 12 years or so.

And then in 1886 the contest starts in form of the Cirque de Reves, which Marco now the personal assistant/right hand of a wealthy eccentric patron of arts "builds" - it's more complicated than that but that's the idea - and Celia who is hired as illusionist, actually enhances and sustains with her magic while embedding it in reality and of course each trying to outdo one another for a good chunk of years as it happens

In the process we meet a great number of characters, most of them very fascinating, we visit a lot of places though usually the Cirque takes precedence to the locale and the novel twists and turns a few times too. The tension ratchets slowly but it reaches quite a high level and the ending is excellent though it is somewhat telegraphed earlier - I clearly saw it from a long way back as the major possibility of "solving" the contest

Now as for the niggles mentioned - since the main characters get progressively stronger and stronger and become more than human in many ways, the author's decision to keep them mostly at emotional remove from us and introduce a lot of supporting characters, some who take the center stage later, is warranted but it also lessens a little the book which at some point becomes "competing gods" and the puny mortals involved.

The main romance is both telegraphed and not that interesting and while again it was most likely needed fro the book structure and resolution, I wish the author would have made other choices within the framework of her novel.

So the main characters Marco and Celia start very interesting but become less and less so as their power increases though there is balance with the supporting characters that become more and more important. The real life grounding - while talked a lot about and in a way being the main point of the contest - starts again strong, but then as the quantity of magic involved increases considerably, the grounding gets shakier and shakier.

All in all the prose, descriptions and supporting characters make this a strong book and an A+ for me, but I wish the author would have made some other choices at some point and kept the story and the circus mysterious to the end since that way I think the novel could have been a masterpiece ...more

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Jul 04, 2013 Nick Mariner rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: high-hopes-not-met

I had to create a new Goodreads shelf for this one called "High hopes not met." I don't understand how a book about dueling magicians AND a circus could be so perfectly dull. I missed this one when my book club reviewed it so I wanted to catch up. I should have left it on the shelf a bit longer. ...more

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Apr 06, 2014 Blodeuedd Finland marked it as dnf · review of another edition

I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan't! I tried listening to it and I have no idea what I listened to it, fell asleep or drifted off in my mind at once.

Fail ...more

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Jun 15, 2014 Benni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I liked the circus more than the book. I liked the book just fine, but the circus...I want to be there.

If anyone is curious as to interpretations of the tarot cards, I've written an article at http://bennitheblog.com/bookbiters/th.... ...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Elizabeth Giosia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Quite frankly, this is probably one of the best books that I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Ever.

I need this book in my personal library, so I can read it over and over and over. ...more

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Oct 03, 2013 Adam Shaeffer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Man I love this book. Just as dreamlike and wonderful the second time through and listening to Jim Dale read it certainly doesn't hurt. ...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Adam Shaeffer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A dazzling jaunt through a lush and intoxicating landscape. Imaginative, ethereal, and lovely. Something about this circus stirs my soul and I would gladly wind through its tents and alleys, red scarfed and expectant, until the dawn forced me back out in to a world grown cold and drear.

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