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Rachel Armstrong (1)

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16+ verk 99 medlemmar 15 recensioner

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Foto taget av: Courtesy of Serpent's Tail Press

Verk av Rachel Armstrong

Associerade verk

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The author approached me about reading this book when she heard that I was struggling with a more serious read, wishing I had something lighter. It's her first foray into Young Adult Fantasy, a genre I've started to read more and more in recent years. I have read two of the author's previous books, both mysteries, and so knew there was a good chance I would like this book. And, oh my gosh, did I ever!

This is one of those fantasy novels that cast a spell on me as I read, where even when not reading, I feel like a part of me is still inside the pages of the book. Fantasy novels most often have that effect on me, in truth, especially the really good ones.

From the Publisher:

As if losing her mother and moving to live with her grandmother in Knob’s End wasn’t enough to contend with, sixteen-year-old Sophie James soon discovers that her new best friend is more than the average high school girl. Nerys is a magical Tylwyth Teg from the land of Annwn, and has been forced to seek refuge from a terrible fate.

Unless the people of Annwn can find a way to break the pact made with the sinister Coraniaids some two thousand years before, Nerys and her sisters will be forced into marriage and their homeland will be changed forever. Sophie and Nerys need to find the Dagger of Everlasting Truth and destroy it. The problem is no one knows its location, and, with so many lives in mortal danger, there is no time for mistakes. Lies are told and danger lurks around every corner, yet there persists a whisper of a human girl who may hold the key to their salvation, a girl with the gift of prophecy. Could Sophie be the one?

I didn't always like stories about the fae and their kindred. Only in recent years have I really been drawn to them. Gaelic mythology is so interesting, and I enjoy seeing it brought to life in literature.

Rachel Armstrong has created an interesting world, that sits alongside our own. Knob's Hill, by all accounts, is an ordinary place. Humans go about their daily lives, not realizing a door into another world lies right on their border. Annwn is a beautiful place, but darkness threatens it and tensions are high.

Nerys is a Tylwyth Teg, hiding among the humans and avoiding a fate that will mean the downfall of her people. It's clear there is something different about her the minute we meet her. Sophie knows this on some level too, only she can't quite pinpoint it. Ever since Sophie came to town, she's noticed little things--things that make her question her reality.

Sophie is the kind of girl I think I would have gotten along very well with at the age of sixteen. She is bookish, smart, athletic, and kindhearted. As the story unfolds, Sophie grows more confident and finds a strength inside herself she didn't know she had. I suppose in some respects, looking back, Sophie seemed too perfect some of the time, but it wasn't something I really noticed as I read the book, and it didn't hurt my enjoyment of it.

Sophie comes across many unexpected allies in her search, and many of them found their way into my heart just as Sophie did. I was especially fond of Cadoc the Wanderer (okay, so I have a little crush on him). I think my most favorite character, however, was Tegwen. I was quite moved by her story and admired her strength.

The Fairfolk in Knob's End is an adventure quest story that takes readers deep into the land of Annwn. Sophie sets out in search of the Dagger of Everlasting Truth, facing obstacles along the way. There is romance and action, politics and moral dilemmas, and magic, both good and bad, just as one might expect. I have to say, the action scenes were quite intense! The author's descriptions of them put me right in the middle of them. There was more than one moment in the book when I found myself holding my breath a few times, suspecting the outcome, but still concerned for the characters.

I hated to leave Annwn when the story came to an end. Fortunately, this is the first book in a series, and it only touches the surface of a a world I would like to get to know better.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
LiteraryFeline | 1 annan recension | Jul 22, 2023 |
Plot:
Mobius is a weaver, like her parents Newton and Shelley who are all part of a circus troupe. Weavers can manipulate spacetime, but Mobius has somehow forgotten how to do it and needs to start to learn again. Encouraged by her parents, she can soon start traveling again. She zips around the universe, discovering its multitudes of cultures for herself. Soon she realizes that something is wrong and there is a threat that hangs over the universe that may unravel it entirely.

Origamy is definitely an unusual book, but it's unusual in a way that I struggled with to say the least. It's not bad per se, but I felt like I couldn't get my foot in the narrative's door and stayed outside, catching only confusing glimpses of what was going on inside.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/12/03/origamy-rachel-armstrong/
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
kalafudra | 11 andra recensioner | Oct 12, 2019 |
I liked the premise of the story. I, too like other reviewers found the books difficult to read and unusually for me stopped reading part way through.
 
Flaggad
TinaC1 | 11 andra recensioner | Jul 22, 2018 |
This science fiction book was difficult to read for me, not really because of the anguage, but because I could not see any interesting direction to the story until about 2 thirds of the book were passed. During most of the book, each of the short explorations of the main character is just an excuse to briefly present one of our present planetary wide problems in a very shortly described science fiction setting. It can make readers think about this or that issue, because they are real issues that should be addressed on Earth, but presenting those issues all together like that in short chapters does not make a good science fiction story. It might have been better to take just one such problem and write a story that revolves around it and proposes - in a science finction setting - possible solutions for it. The plot starts to exist at the end of the book, when the spider invasion starts, but then again I was disappointed by the ending.… (mer)
 
Flaggad
goodwaterreader | 11 andra recensioner | Jun 4, 2018 |

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Statistik

Verk
16
Även av
4
Medlemmar
99
Popularitet
#191,538
Betyg
½ 2.6
Recensioner
15
ISBN
36

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