I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
I'm not totally sure what I just read bit that doesn't mean I hated it. A History of Glitter and Blood is a very weird book about a fairy-dominated city called Ferrum entering into a war with the gnomes who eat fairies and live underground. All the fairies run away except a pack of the youngest and mostly-limbed fairy children - Scrap, Beckan, Cricket and Josha. However, something terrible happens when Cricket is killed by the Gnome King and Scrap and Beckan have to live with the consequences. And then they meet some new friends and for the first time, it looks like peace might be something that could happen.
This book is told in a strange way that definitely takes some time getting used to. Throughout the book, Beckan and Josha mention how Scrap is always writing and before long it becomes clear that what we are reading is what Scrap is writing. So the story is often interrupted by some of Scrap's musings about Beckan or just him grumbling or giving out to himself. While at first it was confusing, I got used to it and eventually ended up liking it. I liked Beckan and particularly liked Scrap though Josha took a bit of time for me to warm up to as I felt, apart from his grief over Cricket, he was a rather flat character.
There are parts of the book that, among the weirdness, are extremely beautiful especially the inter-species relationship between the pack, Piccolo, Tier and Rig. I also loved hearing about the different creatures that lived in the world from the glitter-covered, otherwise normal, fairies, the rope-spitting two-toed tightropers, the backpackers who have to carve their babies out of their backs at the cost of their own lives and the sharp-toothed, fairy-eating, but surprisingly gentle gnomes. I'm not sure if this is a book I would recommend but it was definitely a book I found myself surprised by enjoying!
No comments:
Post a Comment