The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern

My Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.10 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

When Celia Bowen is a young girl her mother commits suicide and she is delivered to a father that she has never known. He styles himself ‘Prospero the Magician’, but he is no simple illusionist and uses real magic to wow his audiences. He tells her that she will prepare for a magical duel that she will fight against the pupil of Prospero’s competitor, Alexander. The time, place and even the rules of the duel are a secret that he does not reveal to Celia. Meanwhile, Alexander finds a boy that calls himself Marco in an orphanage and starts to train him for the approaching duel.

Several years later, Marco is assigned to assist entrepreneur Chandresh Lefevre as he creates ‘Le Cirque des Reves’ or ‘The Night Circus’. The Circus travels mysteriously from place to place and is only ever open at night. It offers a truly unique experience to the audience as the performers use their remarkable skills and not a little magic to produce breathtaking effects. Celia is hired as an illusionist for the Circus and as she and Marco both imbue it with their competing magic it becomes the stage for their duel. However, it seems that only one magician can survive the duel and the lovers must decide how to end the duel without losing themselves and everyone who is now bound to the Circus.

In some ways I wish I had not heard anything about this book before starting it, because the descriptions are not very accurate and give a false sense of what to expect. This is a pet peeve of mine because it distracts me from the actual book by setting up expectations that are then left unrealized: I should not read a book waiting for the things promised by the ‘blurb’ on the back cover if they never arrive.

The description of the book places a lot of emphasis on the duel between Celia and Marco, and yet the book itself seems to ignore this aspect of the plot for quite a long time. Indeed, the Circus itself is the main focus of the book from start to finish and the people who inhabit and visit the Circus are most definitely secondary in importance. Yet, we never get a good description of much of the Circus or its performers, which left me frustrated and disappointed. A good deal of time is spent showing some of the more magical attractions, but these vignettes did not really progress the story or serve much purpose apart from being cool and showing the power of the magicians. It is very obvious that Ms Morgenstern is in love with circuses, but there was far, far too much time spent drifting through ‘the wonders of the Circus’. However, perhaps the most annoying aspect of the Circus is that even with all the magic that is on display, it is all supposed to be a wondrous illusion and no one seriously questions whether or not it really IS magic.

By concentrating so closely on the Circus itself the characters were given little time or space to flourish. The protagonists are unaware of one another for much of the book and then there is a flurry of emotion and angst as they try to decide what to do about their relationship and the duel. However, the duel itself progresses with a glacial slowness as they attempt to out-magic one another. Their competition is severely hampered by them being unaware of any rules or the end point that they need to attain. They continue to create attractions at the Circus in an attempt to out perform one another, but with no apparent point scoring or benefit on either side. This takes the idea of a duel, which signifies a fight in my mind, and makes it rather dull. We learn that the previous duel lasted for thirty-seven years before one of the competitors committed suicide: presumably out of a desperation to not have their life ruled by some stupid game that they did not understand and could not hope to win.

Celia and Marco are given very little character development and many of the secondary characters are limited to the roughest sketches. Our ‘lovers’ spend a great deal of the book unaware of the other’s existence and then meet and fall in love for no apparent reason. We do see Marco falling for another woman and this was nicely done, although I was somewhat confused until I realized that this woman was NOT Celia. This poor woman joins the Circus as the fortuneteller in order to spy on Celia for Marco and is eventually driven to despair. Her actions threaten the lives of everyone involved with the Circus. I felt very sorry for her and Marco’s behavior towards her is selfish and uncaring: not good characteristics for the hero of a story. On the whole, I felt sorry for the pair because of how they had been mistreated by their trainers, but not much else.

The competing magician-trainers, who provide the impetus for the story, are cold psychopaths who are consumed by their prideful attempts to prove which of them is better as a trainer. It appears that they have conducted this contest over hundreds of years with not a single care for the magicians that they have trained or the other people who have been affected by their competition. I really did hope that they would both get some well-deserved punishment for their atrocious behavior, but I was sadly disappointed. I was also disappointed that Celia and Marco were so compliant with these monsters’ demands: we saw no resistance or rebellion, just meek acceptance. Of the other characters, I was most intrigued by the Twins, who are the only members of the Circus who age, but they are mainly included to provide Bailey with a way to reach his DESTINY, which was telegraphed from fairly early on in the book.

One other aspect that was frustrating in the extreme was the non-linear presentation of the segments. I had been warned about this before I started reading, but it still presented problems because the dates were often very close together. I realize that the reason for this was to allow for the introduction of Bailey near to the beginning of the book, but by doing this Ms Morgenstern made it very obvious what his role would be at the end of the story.

In short, the descriptions of the Circus and its wonders were excellent and evocative. However, they filled most of the book and slowed down the plot to a snail’s pace. The plot itself was uninteresting and the characters were mostly poorly drawn and therefore unlovable. I have seen many reviews from people who loved this book, but I cannot understand why.

Reviewers Who Loved It

The Book Smugglers

Fantasy Book Critic

Into The Hall of Books

Janicu’s Book Blog

Logan E. Turner

Staffer’s Book Review

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Amazon Rating: 4.40 / 5.00

Goodreads Rating: 4.12 / 5.00

Richard Mayhew is an ordinary guy living a dull life. He has a boring job and an overbearing girlfriend, but he is not unhappy. During one of their many arguments he stumbles over a girl bleeding in the street and decides to help her. This decision changes his life forever as he is drawn into her world: the dark and magical world of London Underground. There, he will travel through sewers, tunnels and disused underground stations, encountering Old Bailey, The Angel Islington, Serpentine and the Blackfriars.

The Lady Door has the ability to open any door, but has just returned home to find her entire family murdered. She is running from the probable murderers: Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar, a pair of very sinister thugs. She seeks help from the Marquis de Carabas and recruits the mysterious Hunter as her bodyguard, but it seems that Richard will be vital for the completion of her quest: to find out who killed her family and why.

I read this book as part of a Read Along, even though I had never read any of Neil Gaiman’s other titles. The book is the novelized version of a TV show, written for the BBC and shown in 1996, which I had actually seen and been impressed by. In many ways, the book’s origins are pretty obvious, because it has a very visual quality and is very ‘busy’ with lots of movement and a large cast. Ultimately, this leads to a few too many ideas, locations and characters, which left me with questions unanswered at the end of the book. However, it is wildly imaginative and will keep you guessing for every step of the way.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this book is the world building. At first, London Below seems to be simply an underground society of the dispossessed and forgotten. But, as we travel further in and further down, we come across increasingly magical and fantastical elements until we almost feel as if we are in Alice’s Wonderland or Dorothy’s Oz. Many of the inhabitants of this world appear to be normal humans, but they may have amazing talents or be the relics of a previous time period. One very disturbing feature of London Below is that entering into it causes your life in London Above to unravel. Once Richard has been drawn into the world he finds that the people above have forgotten his existence and cannot really ‘see’ him anymore. This makes it a cruel and hopeless world in many ways, so that it seems more nightmare than dream.

Many of the major characters are very gray in terms of their motivation. Although we are sure that Richard and Door are the ‘good guys’, many of the other characters are much more doubtful. For example, the Marquis is a very difficult character to trust. Door trusts him totally, but throughout the first part of the book we are constantly given reason to doubt his loyalty and to suspect him of playing a double agent. We see something similar with Messers Croup and Vandemar. Yes, they are exceedingly dangerous murderers and Mr Vandemar eats raw animals, is immune to pain and has spit like superglue, but they are simply mercenaries. They do what they are paid to do, although they do enjoy it rather too much. This uncertainty about some of the characters was very refreshing and made them feel so much more real than if they had been written as the usual two-dimensional offerings.

Indeed, even the central figures of Richard and Door are not typical either. Door is not a helpless maiden in distress in need of rescuing. This is fortunate, because Richard is most certainly not a knight in shining armor. He is full of self-doubt and desperately wants to return to his old life. However, we see him grow and come to realize that he has more strength than he had ever realized. During the journey we share his sense of disbelief and of being off-balance. He questions what he sees and so do we as we see the world through his eyes.

The plot was basically a quest journey, so it followed a predictable path in its broadest outline. However, there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing at what was coming next. There were also moments of high tension and deep despair, so that I wanted to know how they escaped from the latest trap or problem. But, in many ways, the plot took a bit of a back seat to the world building and the introduction of new and interesting characters.

Overall, this was a fun read, although I felt like it was a little lacking in depth. I would have preferred fewer characters and settings so that we could have learnt more about each of them. I do wonder if the original idea was for more than one series. I am left with far too many questions and ideas that I want to explore, which is vaguely dissatisfying.

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A Challenge of Ice and Fire: Week 16

A Storm of Swords: Tyrion III to the end of Daenerys III (p. 381)

My previous posts on A Storm of Swords:   week 14   week 15

19. Tyrion III

The last time we met Tyrion it seemed likely that he would be sidelined by the rest of the Lannisters, but here we see him taking a seat in the Small Council and being made Master of Coins. Of course, I really wish that Lord Tywin would realize how closely Tyrion matches his own intelligence and ability to plan and strategize, but I know that he is too blinded by the death of his wife. I love following Tyrion’s thoughts during these political discussions, because they reveal how perceptive he is and how well he reads people. I doubt that anyone else at the table, other than Tywin and probably Varys, are as capable as he is.

We have a lot of information about the state of the realm and the movements of the various forces. Littlefinger’s comments about Lysa Arryn made me want to slap him very soundly, especially now that we know about her abortion. He is a loathsome man and I keep hoping that he will come to a bad, but he just keeps oozing along. Surely the Lordship of Harrenhal will carry its usual curse: I really do hope so. Mace Tyrell seems to be as much of an idiot as his mother claims and he is too cowardly to stand up to Tywin, even though he is in a strong position politically.

After the other council members are dismissed the Lannisters deal with matters that Tywin wants to keep within the family. He reveals the plot to wed Sansa to Willas Tyrell, and plans to use Cersei to block the marriage. Understandably, Cersei is enraged at being ‘sold off’ in yet another political marriage. Although I really hate the woman, I can still sympathize with her about being bartered like a prize animal. I cannot imagine what it is like to know that you are only valuable because you can attract a useful political match and breed successfully. To ensure that Sansa remains in their grasp she will be married to Tyrion, which might actually be quite a good move for her. I know that she will be horrified at the thought, but at least he will treat her well and it will remove her from Joffrey’s control. I doubt that she will see the benefits of the match, though.

Bad news about Robb’s marriage to Jeyne Westerling: Tywin is happy about it, which means that it is probably all part of some plan of his. Even Tyrion is surprised that Tywin has not ordered the Westerlings to be exterminated.

20. Catelyn III

Everything is falling apart for Robb: Lord Karstark has murdered a pair of prisoners. For some reason, killing a Frey and a Lannister, both of whom are young squires, is needed for vengeance for his dead sons. It does not make much sense to me, or to the other characters in the book, but it will certainly provoke Tywin and Walder Frey. Also, the loss of the Karstark men is a blow that Robb does not need and now Robb has to make an example of the men involved in the killings. They are all hanged apart from Lord Karstark who Robb beheads himself.

Edmure proves himself to be woefully hopeless at politics and at understanding other people, which makes me worry for the future of Riverrun. However, Jeyne seems to be taking her role as queen very seriously and asks Catelyn for advice on how to help Robb. We also learn that she has been taking fertility potions made by her mother and that they have been having a lot of sex, so we should expect the patter of little Stark paws in the near future.

21. Jaime III

Ah, Jaime, you are a disturbing man. I really did not need to know that you used to play stallion and mare with Cersei before you reached puberty, or that your mother’s maid caught you in the act and banished you to the other end of the house. Your memories do leave me with one question, though: how does Tywin STILL not know about the incest?

But, then, Jaime, you are a bit of an idiot as well. You have just been attacked by some archers and Cleos is dead, so now seems the perfect time to RIDE AWAY. For some reason, having a massive sword fight with Brienne and making a huge amount of noise in the proximity of some archers that have already attacked you seem like a bad idea to me. Call me overly cautious, but I would have high tailed it out of there without worrying about trying to get away from Brienne just then. Plus she kicked your butt anyway.

The Brave Companions are such a fun bunch to have as your captors: I am sure that Brienne is really looking forward to the gang rape that they are promising. On a lighter note, Vargo Hoat’s lisp is hilarious. However, I am somewhat concerned about which bit of his anatomy Jaime has just lost.

22. Arya IV

We keep hearing about the supposed deaths of Beric Dondarrion, although he still seems to be alive. This is one explanation that needs to be good otherwise I will be very disappointed.

It seems that Lord Beric is a cautious type, which is sensible after being ‘killed’ so many times, and does not let people know of his travel plans. This is good for security but pretty useless if you need to talk to him about something, like having found Arya Stark. However, it does give us the chance to see the various groups of people in the area who have survived the war so far. These include the Lady of the Leaves, who lives in a village in the trees and an elderly dwarf woman at Heart Hill, a place crowned by thirty-one weirwoods that was sacred to the Children of the Forest. She predicts three deaths: one for a golden stag, one for a man on a bridge and one for a woman who used to be a fish. The first could be Renly’s death, but she suggests that these are visions of the future, so perhaps it refers to Stannis instead.

Finally, they arrive at Acorn Hall where they are feasted by Lady Smallwood. When she learns that Arya is highborn she insists on bathing her and giving her a pretty dress. Arya is suitably disgusted by this turn of events, but does thank Lady Smallwood for her kindness. We learn some interesting history about Thoros, the Red Priest, as Gendry explains how he actually fights with a flaming sword: it is just a normal sword dipped in wildfire, although each sword only lasts for a short time before the chemical destroys it. Gendry’s master saw this a great waste!

23. Daenerys II

We get more insight into the training of the Unsullied and their ability to ignore pain. They are very, very scary, but I can understand why Arstan advises against using them. Using slaves to regain the Iron Throne will not win Daenerys any friends in Westeros, but the Unsullied will die without question and be totally loyal to her, so I can see how valuable they would be as an army.

The slave culture of Astapor is cruel and ruthless. We are told that only one third of the boys chosen as Unsullied survive the training because any fault is punished by death. They are not allowed to own anything but their equipment and do not even have permanent names, drawing a new one everyday by lot. They are also made immune to pain by the daily drinking of a special potion.

24. Bran II

Whilst travelling through the hills north of the Wolfswood, the group comes across a Liddle who is happy to share his cave with them and gives them food. He obviously knows whom they are and that they are being hunted by the Bastard of Bolton. I hope that he will prove to be loyal to Bran and keep quiet about seeing them. I liked the way that Bran made a note to repay the man’s generosity: he is shaping up into a fine nobleman.

The majority of the chapter is given over to Meera Reed relating a story, which was very cleverly done, because she does not identify any of the people in the story but we can recognize many of them from what we already know. The bulk of the story takes place at a tourney at Harrenhal, and the Reeds repeatedly ask Bran if Eddard ever related the story. This leads me to believe that the Reeds see this as a very significant event in recent history and it also confirms that the little crannogman is actually their father, Howland Reed.

The tourney was a great affair, with the King in attendance with his ‘White Swords’, the Kingsguard, including the newly named Jaime Lannister. Robert Baratheon and Mace Tyrell were there, but Tywin Lannister was not because he had recently quarreled with the King. Prince Rhaegar and his wife were also present. Howland Reed approached the tourney but three squires assaulted him because of his small size. He was saved by a she-wolf who fought them off with a sword: this was obviously Lyanna Stark. She took him back to her tent and tended his wounds and he met her three brothers. He was persuaded to attend the feast that night. There, Lyanna Stark cried over a song that Rhaegar sung whilst Robert won a drinking contest and purple-eyed Ashara Dayne danced with Eddard, but only after Brandon had asked her to. Howland pointed out the three squires to Lyanna and she identified their masters, while Benjen offered him the use of a horse and some armor in order to regain his honor. On the second day of the tourney a mystery knight, The Knight of the Laughing Tree, entered the lists and challenged and defeated the squires’ masters, telling each of them to teach their squires honor. However, when they searched for him the next day, the mystery knight had vanished. The identity of the knight is not known although there are several possibilities.

25. Davos III

I am very pleased to find that Davos is not dead or dying, as he seemed very ill at the end of his last chapter. Although he is imprisoned, he has been treated well, fed and even given medicine to help him recover from his illness. I note that he describes the walls as being warm at times, which suggests that Dragonstone is built over volcanic vents of some type. I am not sure if this has any significance, but Mr Martin rarely mentions anything if it has no importance at all.

Melisandre visits Davos and attempts to convert him. I find this strange, because she saw his desire to kill her in her flames, and yet she has not called for his death. I can only assume that she sees some significant future for him, although she does offer to pleasure him so that she can use his life force to make further shadows. I guess we now know why the shades looked like Stannis, but there is a considerable ‘ick’ factor.

Her account of the was between R’hllor, the Lord of Light, and the Great Other, the Lord of Darkness, sounds very ominous and I cannot help but notice that Ice and Fire are mentioned several times, suggesting that this is war that we should be focusing on. Looking back to the Prologue of A Game of Thrones, it seems that all the other politics and fighting is a distraction from the real conflict to come. In this chapter, Melisandre has moved from evil charlatan to possible aid to the side of good in my eyes. I still do not trust her, but we see here that she is not simply power-crazed, but actually believes that Stannis is the prophesized Azor Ahai who will defeat the Great Other. However, the prophecy seems to fit Daenerys far more than Stannis.

A few days later Stannis’ Hand, Ser Alester Florent, is thrown into the cell with Davos. It seems that Ser Alester had sent a letter to Tywin offering that Stannis would renounce his claim to the throne and his accusations about Joffrey’s parentage. He would also wed Shireen to Tommen. In return he would be made Lord of Dragonstone and Storm’s End. Strangely, Stannis was not happy about this and sees Ser Alester as a traitor. I can understand why he thinks that their cause is hopeless, but he obviously does not know Stannis very well: I could almost see Davos shaking his head in disbelief at what the fool had tried to do.

26. Jon III

“You know nothing, Jon Snow!”

I really like Ygritte: she is brutally honest and wonderfully independent. I like how she teases Jon and always knows so much more than he does. The descriptions of their lovemaking were very endearing as Jon suddenly discovers what he has been missing and finds it harder and harder to justify his actions as part of his oath. Some of the dialogue was great at suggesting what was happening without us being given a detailed description. Plus, I liked that Jon could surprise her, even though he had never been with a woman before. They are a nice couple and I like the way their relationship is developing, so I expect her to die quite soon, as I cannot imagine Mr Martin allowing Jon to be happy for any length of time.

I hope that Jon is reunited with Ghost fairly soon as I am always uneasy about the Stark children being separated from their wolves. However, there is no option here because they are going to climb the wall. I wonder if Ghost will actually return to Castle Black and raise the alarm.

27. Daenerys III

Oh, Mr Martin, you are devious! You had me all set up for Daenerys giving away Drogon. You had her regretful and crying whilst feeding them, but all the time she was planning to be freaking awesome!

Just when I think Daenerys has been beaten down, she comes roaring back like the Mother of Dragons that she is. She manipulates the slave masters beautifully, getting them to give her all of their Unsullied and the trainees in return for her goods, the ships and Drogon. She receives the slave Missandei, who had been acting as translator, and immediately frees the girl and asks her many questions about the Unsullied and their loyalty to previous owners.

Next day, the slave masters make the same mistake as many other men: they underestimate Daenerys’ brutality and strength of mind. As soon as she has control of the Unsullied she orders Drogon to attack and then orders the Unsullied to kill their former masters and free all the slaves in the city.

Daenerys continues to impress me as a young woman and as a leader. She will make an awesome Queen.

We also find out that “valar morghulis” means “all men must die”, which is pretty cool.