And to answer a special someone out there’s immediate question: Yes, I liked it.But I didn’t think it was great.
I picked up the The Drawing of the Dark solely because of Terje’s high opinion of it. I was expecting a Gaimanesque book with clever dialog, good characters and an elaborate plot. All though why I expected an elaborate plot seems more an effect of my taking Terje’s comparison with Scott Lynch to a greater length than what can be described as implicit. I found almost everything I was looking for, but I finished the book feeling that the one thing that didn’t lay hidden beneath the white pages was the very thing it lacked…
Brian Duffy is an Irishman who’s been fighting in wars too long as a mercenary and a soldier. He’s current whereabouts is the fair city of Venice, where he has done his best to get thoroughly acquainted with various dubious liquids. Returning from a night filled with the red colors of his favorite friend, Duffy finds himself the target of an unexpected, all though poorly executed attempt on his life. When he has dealt wit the danger, an old man calls down to him and asks if he could maybe if he wanted to please travel to Vienna and work as a bouncer in his inn. Which inn, asks Duffy, and the old man gives him a most unexpected answer: The Herzwesten Inn, which is world renowned for its tasty beer. Duffy is offered an unreasonable high amount of money to take the job, and thus, naturally does.
But everything isn’t quite what it seems. Duffy suddenly finds himself the center of unnatural events and soon will even the drawing of the dark begin…
Set in the early 14th century, this is a book that is based upon a real historic event, but flavored with folk lore come alive, real vikings and ancient myths. Powers has a very straightforward way of writing, which enables him to pack a vast amount of action into a short book (328 pages). I was never bored when reading it, and that simple fact means that Powers has managed to write a good book. However, when I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman (the closest comparison to tDotD I can think of), it wasn’t primarily the mythic quality of it that I prized so high. It was the characters, the mood and the plot.
The Drawing of the Dark has all those things – but they’re not as good as in Gaiman’s masterpiece. Especially the fact that I was able to guess where the book was going made the experience greatly inferior to me. I also felt that American Gods contained more depth than this story.
I grade this book a very weak 7,5/10 and I’ll recommend it to fans of aforementioned authors and also those of you who have a weak heart for Steven Erikson. My above ramblings may seem a little weird, but they are there to justify my opinion that this is merely a good book and not a masterpiece by any means.
I’d recommend it though.
Heartily 😉
Sigh, I envy you your reading-pace. I haven’t read books at the pace you do in almost a decade, it’s downright sad.
Uhm… My condolences?
I wouldn’t worry overmuch about it, Loki. Things like these goes in cycles and I bet you’ll be reading a lot more fiction when you’re finished with your degree(s).
I don’t think so. I have tons of time off for myself now that I won’t have then, I just always choose doing other things than reading books – mainly tv-shows, computer-surfing and comic book-reading. And I don’t WANT to finish with my degrees, as I then’ll have to start WORKING for a living.
Well, I’d never say never. Maybe you’ll find an author who you’ll love and who awakens you lust for book reading again? It may happen…
That’s just it, though, I love the books I’m currently reading far more than I loved the average book I read ten years ago, simply because I read so few I have to prioritize out most of the ones I’d only like, not love… and it still doesn’t make me go “whee!” Closest I’ve gotten was during reading American Gods, Feast for Crows, and the last 200 pages or so in every Malazan book. Other than that, it’s a drag… I’ll read one chapter, maybe two, and then be tired of the whole reading-thing, even if I loved what I read. It’s really bothersome. I fear it’s my brain that’s gone lazy. Reading is too much work, it’d seem.
Regarding my overenthusiastic review of The Drawing…
I exaggerated. I see that now. It is by no means a bad book, nor is it an mediocre book, nor a merely good one. I still think it was great, but it’s hardly better than Lies, and it’s far from American Gods.
I may have found the ending to be a bit disappointing, and the prose — while fun and effective — could have been a bit more flowery/rich.
But, again, still a great book. I hope my hyping of it didn’t reduce your enjoyment of it too much…
Yes, I did think it ruined it a little bit, but if you hadn’t praised from here to doomsday I probably wouldn’t have read it, which isn’t a preferable option at all. But everyone can be overenthusiastic at times, so when I forgive you this little notch in your rep, I hope you’ll do the same with me 😉
Hey, I’m all for forgiveness; it’s a virtue, you know. 😉
Or so says the Catholic church, anyway.
On the other hand, they’re also strongly in favour or unprotected sex (though they do require that you attend a fancy ceremony first, apparently that helps) so they could maybe not be the people with the finest of judgements. I’m sure they mean well, though. (In fact, I think meaning well is another thing they consider a virtue.)
On a completely unrelated issue, it bugs me that the spambotchecker accepts “Yes” but not “Sure”, which seems a much more natural reply. It also refuses my indignated (but totally lying) “Most certainly not!”, which, ironically, is making me feel slightly indignated.
Well, it isn’t intelligent, you know. But if it bugs you I can add those to the answers it’ll accept 😉
But I imagine you enjoy being indignant over it, so it’s probably not wort the hassle.
Oh, you’re quite right I do.
In marking of this, and in protest, I will proceed to end my comments here in a pattern much like this henceforth until such a time as it bores me and I won’t anymore:
Am I a spambot? Why, most certainly, I am. I mean, honestly, look at this dribble, would you expect me to be anything else?