Helpful Score: 6
I got a copy of this book through Librarything's early Reviewer program. I love Vaughn's Kitty Norville series and also enjoyed her young adult book "Voices of Dragons". This book was an enjoyable read, but very different from other things that she has written.
This book follows the story of Evie and Sinon the Liar. Evie's story is set in an alternate future, close to modern day. She returns home to help care for her father who is dying of cancer. While there she discovers that the storage room in the basement is a magical place, it is a place that stores magical items for people until the people need them again. Evie's story alternates with Sinon's story which starts out during the Trojan War. Sinon's the guy who convinces the Trojans to bring the Trojan horse into Troy. Sinon is captured by the god Apollo and forced into slavery for him; basically sentenced to immortality. As political catastrophes envelope the globe Evie will need the help of Sinon and many famous others to try and keep the Goddess Hera from plunging the world into further chaos.
This work was different that Vaugh's previous works. It is a much more complex story, with a complex world and uses a more mature writing style. It is very creative and intriguing but because of the complexity of the world the characterization is a bit weaker than in previous novels. Partly this is because the story line switches between so many viewpoints: between Evie and Sinon, and then sometimes to Hera or others.
What is amazing is how Vaughn blends Greek mythology, with Arthurian mythology along with other classic fairy tales to create a novel that is both compelling and all-encompassing. She manages to connect all of these stories, histories, and myths to one place with Evie's magic storage area.
The story is very engaging and easy to read. I enjoyed it a lot. Readers should beware though that this takes a little more effort to read than the Kitty novels because it is more complex. More time is spent on a complex story than on fleshing out individual characters. That is the only thing I found a bit disappointing; I never really felt drawn to or really cared about the characters all that much.
Overall it was a very good book. Very interesting and creative with an incredibly interesting world. I loved the blending of different stories and myths into one history. Characterization was not as strong as her previous book because more time was spent on developing a believable and complex story. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading her next book Steel.
This book follows the story of Evie and Sinon the Liar. Evie's story is set in an alternate future, close to modern day. She returns home to help care for her father who is dying of cancer. While there she discovers that the storage room in the basement is a magical place, it is a place that stores magical items for people until the people need them again. Evie's story alternates with Sinon's story which starts out during the Trojan War. Sinon's the guy who convinces the Trojans to bring the Trojan horse into Troy. Sinon is captured by the god Apollo and forced into slavery for him; basically sentenced to immortality. As political catastrophes envelope the globe Evie will need the help of Sinon and many famous others to try and keep the Goddess Hera from plunging the world into further chaos.
This work was different that Vaugh's previous works. It is a much more complex story, with a complex world and uses a more mature writing style. It is very creative and intriguing but because of the complexity of the world the characterization is a bit weaker than in previous novels. Partly this is because the story line switches between so many viewpoints: between Evie and Sinon, and then sometimes to Hera or others.
What is amazing is how Vaughn blends Greek mythology, with Arthurian mythology along with other classic fairy tales to create a novel that is both compelling and all-encompassing. She manages to connect all of these stories, histories, and myths to one place with Evie's magic storage area.
The story is very engaging and easy to read. I enjoyed it a lot. Readers should beware though that this takes a little more effort to read than the Kitty novels because it is more complex. More time is spent on a complex story than on fleshing out individual characters. That is the only thing I found a bit disappointing; I never really felt drawn to or really cared about the characters all that much.
Overall it was a very good book. Very interesting and creative with an incredibly interesting world. I loved the blending of different stories and myths into one history. Characterization was not as strong as her previous book because more time was spent on developing a believable and complex story. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading her next book Steel.
Helpful Score: 3
This is the most fun book I've read in a while! Evie will become the keeper of the Storeroom of magical objects (she gets to hand Cinderella her glass slippers!) when her father dies. The world is descending into chaos while she tries to decide whether the ancient Greek hanging around is friend or foe, whether she should hand the golden apple to Hera, and how Merlin and Arthur can help her. I may even be inspired enough to give the Aeneid a try. Note: I'd think this would otherwise be a good book for younger readers, but there are multiple references to male/male sex and rape (those Greeks!) so I won't be passing it on to my young readers any time soon.
Helpful Score: 2
DISCORDS APPLE is an epic endeavor that successfully covers a wide range of story topics, from dystopian politics to Greek mythology to fairy tales.
If theres one thing Carrie Vaughn knows how to do, its world-building. All of her worlds in all of her books are effortlessly written; their peculiarities and differences from our world unfold through easy dialogue and descriptions. Evies world is part dystopian (countries at war, daily bombings, police checkpoints on the interstate freeways), part fantasy (fictional characters showing up as real people). If you can handle multiple storylines and cross-genre settings, then youll get a kick out of DISCORDS APPLE.
The characters in DISCORDS APPLE feel more like stock characters than uniquely appealing people, but it didnt bother me nearly as much as it might other readers. Evie is a little on the bland, damsel-in-distress side; Alexs backstory is fascinating to read about, but his contemporary existence alongside Evie is a little TOO enigmatic to garner much sympathy. Nevertheless, I devoured this book because the story was just so original and epic. Can YOU imagine your pre-apocalyptic world on the brink of a magical disaster? Its ambitious, I know, but Carrie Vaughn does it well.
The ending was satisfying for me in its bizarreness, but it may frustrate others. If you choose to read DISCORDS APPLE, be prepared to suspend your notions of how fantasy and dystopian literature work. This book will impress fans of Carrie Vaughns other works, for sure, but if youre just starting out with her writing I might recommend starting elsewhere, as DISCORDS APPLE does require commitment and leniency in order to fully appreciate it.
If theres one thing Carrie Vaughn knows how to do, its world-building. All of her worlds in all of her books are effortlessly written; their peculiarities and differences from our world unfold through easy dialogue and descriptions. Evies world is part dystopian (countries at war, daily bombings, police checkpoints on the interstate freeways), part fantasy (fictional characters showing up as real people). If you can handle multiple storylines and cross-genre settings, then youll get a kick out of DISCORDS APPLE.
The characters in DISCORDS APPLE feel more like stock characters than uniquely appealing people, but it didnt bother me nearly as much as it might other readers. Evie is a little on the bland, damsel-in-distress side; Alexs backstory is fascinating to read about, but his contemporary existence alongside Evie is a little TOO enigmatic to garner much sympathy. Nevertheless, I devoured this book because the story was just so original and epic. Can YOU imagine your pre-apocalyptic world on the brink of a magical disaster? Its ambitious, I know, but Carrie Vaughn does it well.
The ending was satisfying for me in its bizarreness, but it may frustrate others. If you choose to read DISCORDS APPLE, be prepared to suspend your notions of how fantasy and dystopian literature work. This book will impress fans of Carrie Vaughns other works, for sure, but if youre just starting out with her writing I might recommend starting elsewhere, as DISCORDS APPLE does require commitment and leniency in order to fully appreciate it.
Helpful Score: 2
This book took its idea straight from TV's "The Librarian" movies and show. Still, it was mildly interesting. There was too much jumping back-and-forth between present-day action, Sinon's story, and previous "keepers". Hearing about the previous keepers in reverse chronological order was interesting, but Sinon's story could have been summarized in a prologue. There was also no background about the world the book was set in. I gathered that there was some type of martial law thing going on - gas rationing, car searches, etc., but it would have been helpful to have some explanation why. At least the book wasn't a thinly disguised romance novel. I read a summary of the next book in the series, and the setting looks to be even more confusing. I don't think I'll continue with it.
Helpful Score: 1
I love Carrie's Kitty series so I picked this book up solely because of the author. But after reading it my reaction is of the "huh, Really?" variety. The premise of the book is good but the character development is lacking and many elements of the story just make me wonder why she put it in there. The biggest example of this is the comic book script the main character is writing. I get there is supposed to be a parallel between the female in the comic plot and the main character but I felt it just detracted from the flow of the story along with anything to do with the comic book's illustrator. Though I suppose the book had as much depth as a comic book, great scenes but just skimming the top of the story. It could have been much better if it was given more depth. That being said the book is completely teen acceptable. I didn't even feel the pull of romantic ties between the main characters enough to care if they ended up together or not in the end.
