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Books Related to Runemarks Joanne Harris - ISBN: 0385611307
disappointed - Rated
Big disappointment to me as I am not a fan of this genre. However, I liked her style of writing as much as before. I never got round to finishing the book!
okay - but not sure who the audience is - Rated
There is no doubt that Joanne Harris has a strong writing pedigree but this is a strange diversion. I think it is aimed at 'young adults' and also the Pratchett and fantasy crowd, but the problem is that it never really hits the mark in any of these areas. My lack of Norse knowledge didn't help and I did not find it clever, witty or engaging enough. A real shame, I liked the cover and the cover tag and quality writing in the fantasy arena is a good thing - but sadly I think the author tried to spread this over too many potential audiences and ended up missing most of them.
Not Terry Pratchett :( - Rated
I love Joanne Harris and I also love fantasy books, and while this was definetely not bad, it was neither a great Joanne Harris book, nor a great fantasy read. Comparisons with Terry Pratchett were inevitable for me, and the result was disappointing. The story is very good, but the writing style is not. I do not know if the author tried to "simplify" things to attract a younger audience, but the result seemed awkward at times. I felt I could catch glimpses of a great book, without actually ever getting there.
Thought it would have been better - Rated
I have really enjoyed Joanne Harris' other works but this work was not up to her normal standard. Firstly I think it relies on a previous knowledge of Norse mythology - with it the characters probably work in an entertaining way, without it they are just a bunch of backstabbing characters that you care equally little about. Secondly there seems to be an inner confusion in the book - the church is portrayed as a bad thing, but there is no good portrayed either. Everyone hates each other or is cheating on someone else which might have worked for a little while but surely a novel should form some order out of such chaos? The geography is shallow (a shock from the author of Chocolat): the whole world appears to consist of a big city which we never see and a valley with a couple of villages in it. Runes and magic were overplayed to the point that every character can use them (even a pig!). Surely magic is something special - if everyone has it what is the point of including it at all? I never thought I would consider not bothering to finish a Joanne Harris novel, but I did consider this even in the last twenty pages.
Norse god go forth! - Rated
This is Joanne Harris's first novel for young adults. Its the story of maddy Smith a fourteen year old girl who lives in the distant future in a world entirely different to ours. Maddie is born with a mysterious rune mark on her hand which in her world is considered a very bad omen.
The novel which is quite long for a childrens novel relates Maddie's adventures as she crosses over into the different worlds. On her journey she encounters many colourful characters including norse gods. No-one is quite who they appear to be and who actually can Maddie really trust! There are lots of twists along the way. Joanne Harris in this book demonstates her ability as a storyteller. Although i did feel that she did not explore the character of Maddy strongly enough that said a very readable story.
