Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
336 Pages
Synopsis: In 1926, two brothers both loved Eleanor Raines, a promising young actress from the East End of London. But, along with Seth Lockwood, she disappeared, near to be seen again. Isaiah, Seth’s younger brother, refused to accept that she was just gone.
It has been seventy years since and the brothers are long dead. But now their dark, twisted secret threatens to tear the city apart. Seth made a bargain with Camilla, an illusionist, to make a life size version of his most famous trick, and hide away part of London to act as a prison out of sync with our time, where one year passes as one hundred. That illusion is Glass Town. And now its walls are falling.
I have such mixed feelings about Glass Town after finishing it last night. It has an awesome premise which had me very excited going into it, but the pacing was surprisingly slow and I found myself struggling to finish it.
Adding to my difficulties was my inability to connect with any of the characters. Seth is your stereotypical evil villain, but there’s no real reasons provided for his actions. Josh is likewise two dimensional and Eleanor is portrayed as a distant, too perfect figure. Their voices were also too similar and there were several times that I got confused as to who was speaking.
The world building and central mystery fair better, and I thought the author did a marvelous job blending the history of the 1920s with 1990s London. It’s very atmospheric and noirish. Another element that Savile adds is Alfred Hitchcock’s unfinished silent movie, Number 13. This was by far my favorite part of the entire story. The writing though is very dense and slowed down the pace. There’s also several sexual scenes, violence and language that based on the premise I wasn’t expecting and at timest, just seemed to be just thrown in there rather awkwardly.
Overall, Glass Town had some moments of creative brilliance, but in the end wound up being a bit of a disappointment for me. It’s not a horrible book, but given the pedigree of Steven Savile who has been a writer on shows like Dr. Who, Stargate, and Torchwood, I was expecting more. However, there are many reviewers who loved it, so I recommend you check it out for yourself, especially if you enjoy gritty historical urban fantasy and authors like Clive Barker.
Well am not a fan of Dr Who anyway so on the miss list!
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Yeah. I don’t think your missing anything by skipping this Fraggle.
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I can’t stand Dr Who, but the London setting appeals, for obvious reasons. I will take your 3 stars as a benchmark though. You know your books! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank Pete. I actually just lowered my rating to 2 1/2 stars. I really struggled with this review, because there were things I thought were brilliant like adding Hitchcock’s Number 13, but they couldn’t the flat characters and slow pace.😒
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Ah I hate books where it’s hard to connect with the characters- but I really don’t like unexplained villains even more. It’s a shame, since it had its moments of brilliance. Great review though!
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Thanks! Sometimes these mixed reviews are tougher to write than if I just flat out hated the book.😒
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You’re welcome! And I totally understand that!
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This book sounds really good! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoyed as much as you hoped! I might enjoy reading this book but I don’t think I would love it. So, I think I’ll pass this one. Great review, though! 🙂
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Thanks Raven. I guess I was expecting more.😒
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That’s a shame! I actually like Dr. Who. :p
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I’m a fan too which added to my disappointment.😟
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Fantastic Review Book Sister!😁🤗😗😎 The premise really does sound like an intriguing one for sure but it sucks that it was so slow and the characters didn’t do well for you. This book does seem like it would have lots of potential but it seems the execution wasn’t good.😓 I hate when it gets hard to finish a book because of the pace! You gave a very honest and fair review in my opinion! I always love reading your reviews and value your honesty! I hope your day is going well and your next book fares better!🤗😗😄 *hugs*
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Thanks Dani. I hate giving these “meh” reviews.😒
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Same here, it puts me in a funk! It was a very good review though and don’t forget how much of a diva you are!🤗😗
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Aw Shucks!🤗
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Loads of hugs!
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This is too bad Kim!
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And I was so excited.😰
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Again I feel like I’m rereading my own review and I know your struggles well with this one. I just could not get into this at all, possibly if it had a quicker pace the few good moments may have led to a better rating but I struggled a lot with even finishing this one.
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I couldn’t believe how disappointing this was.😕
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Another great ideas but not a fan of the execution for me.
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I’ve only seen the first episode of Dr. Who and I wasn’t impressed by it at all.. This book’s worldbuilding sounds soooo coool, but everything thing else though… 😦 Sorry for the meh experience. Hope your next book will be far better than this!! Great honest review, Kim. 🙂
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Thanks Lashaan!😊
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Good review. I enjoy Dr. Who (I realize not everyone will). I will hold off on reading this book though, I have a hard time when I can’t connect with the characters.
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Thanks Michelle. I love Dr. Who and I enjoy Torchwood as well.😊
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I’m not familiar with Torchwood, but I love the Captain Jack character. John Barrowman is a good actor. I’ll have to watch it when I get a chance.
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What a shame!
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I know.😒
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It wouldn’t be my kind of book. I don’t generally like noir books or weird thrown in sexual additions to a story unless it is a great love and it is more about love than sex – never just sex, but a great love story – yes. Thanks for a great review, Kim, as always. K D 🙂
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Thanks Karen. I don’t mind violence or sexual scenes if they well written into the story, but these and the swearing was just kind of gratuitously thrown in. It was awkward to say the least.😒
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I agree, some sex scenes are so well done, that they are not offensive, especially if necessary for the story and of course, violence, depending on if it is necessary for the story to work well is important, like rape, murder, kidnapping, war, and a host of other crimes. I really love reading reviews that tell the truth about a story, beyond the plot. Thanks, Kim, you always do great reviews. Karen 🙂
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🤗
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I totally get it, when I can’t connect with any of the characters I just can’t get in the story.
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Thanks. If the characters are flat and uninteresting, how are you supposed to care what happens to them?😒
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Exactly !!
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