Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in Niners (io9)

Feb 26, 2012 Bridget rated it it was amazing

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It took me months to listen to this book and while there were moments of tedium (the Napoleonic wars are not my cuppa) I loved every minute of it, footnotes and all. The narrative structure reminded me simultaneously of the Jack Tales and of Victorian serial novels -- the focus shifted from character to character per chapter but in a centralized way that felt incredibly intimate without losing focus.
Essentially it felt like reading a story I was born knowing, innate like a fairy tale. I wish I ...more

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Jun 23, 2014 Tracey rated it it was ok

This was a bit too much slow-moving English drama, and not enough plot for my tastes. At the end of the book, I found that I didn't care about any of the characters and I don't really feel any strong emotion about the changes that occurred over the course of the book. The whole thing was very 'meh' for me. ...more

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Sep 05, 2009 Kerry rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed reading this book and would probably give it 4.5 stars, if I were able. I did feel like the pacing was a bit off. The first 3/4ths of the book were fairly slow passive action and the last 1/4th was like a sprint to the finish, as if paper were becoming scarce and the novel just HAD to end.

That said, the story was woven together very well and the characters had some heft to them; the premise felt solid and overall the story was one worth telling.

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Jun 04, 2008 Erica rated it really liked it

I liked this book, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to. I enjoyed the thin line between history and fantasy, but in the end I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I would have liked. The style and structure were highly imaginative. ...more

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