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Mechanique A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti Genevieve Valentine Kiri Moth 9781607012535 Books

Download As PDF : Mechanique A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti Genevieve Valentine Kiri Moth 9781607012535 Books

Mechanique A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti Genevieve Valentine Kiri Moth 9781607012535 Books

I ordered the Kindle edition of this book, though I read it on my laptop, not on a Kindle. Since many readers have reported problems with Kindle editions of books, I feel the need to report that I thought this was a fine edition - no missing pages, all the content there, not buggy, etc. So, just for the record.

Now to the story. This is a great story. Other reviewers have said things like "the prose sparkles" (it does) and "the characters are three dimensional to the point that they leap off the page" (they do). It's a fantastic world she's created, and as a person who really enjoys gritty pseudo fantasy/scifi settings, this one is top-notch. I personally also really enjoy carnival and circus atmospheres, so this is great.

Valentine also plays with the theme of circus life and performance having a magical or shamanic element to it. Death and rebirth, and a power tying all of the circus performers inexorably together are major themes. As a student of anthropology, I ate it up.

I also like that she doesn't reveal too much about this world or the characters. The characters have all taken new names, and "what their names were before isn't important". The ringleader of the circus is simply Boss, for example, and the relationships between the characters are very skillfully and subtly defined. Well done.

However, this good point is also an aspect of the book that I find a little annoying. A little. It takes a very long time for what is actually happening to come into the open, and there are lots of interruptions along the way to flash back and reveal something about a character's past or something. Stylistically this is fine and interesting, but at times it made me frustrated to just figure out what the heck was happening already! Still, those moments were few and far between, and I got through them easily enough.

Also, there are (I think) two voices, and at times I have trouble telling them apart. One seems to be a nameless narrator, and the other one of the named characters, but there is no real difference in the cadence of their voices, so sometimes that's just a bit jarring. Still, I enjoyed the voice very much, and perhaps it is indeed meant to be the same voice anyway.

One reviewer commented that they found her prose style a little complicated - heavy use of parentheses, for example. This doesn't particularly bother me. I suppose I could see how it might bother someone, but I think it's done to create an effect, and well done at that.

So, all in all, 4 stars.


Tags : Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti [Genevieve Valentine, Kiri Moth] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <span id= caseCorrespondence_21719671365_text >Come inside and take a seat, the show is about to begin...<br /><br />Outside any city still standing,Genevieve Valentine, Kiri Moth,Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti,Prime Books,1607012537,Circus,Circus;Fiction.,Dystopias;Fiction.,Fantasy fiction,Imaginary wars and battles,Imaginary wars and battles;Fiction.,Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy,Dystopias,FICTION Fantasy General,Fantasy,Fantasy - General,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction-Fantasy,GRAPHIC NOVELS,General Adult,SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,United States

Mechanique A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti Genevieve Valentine Kiri Moth 9781607012535 Books Reviews

Mining a dark Steampunk Vein of preoccupation with Circus/ Carnie/ Dark Cabaret characters, Ms Valentine strikes oil. There is enough freshness and unpredictability in the prose and the history of the characters and their peculiar world that keeps one reading. There are some harrowing moments, and also some beautiful imagery...
This is, quite simply, the best book I've read in a very long time. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, responding more to cover art than anything else, but wow, this was a shockingly wonderful surprise.

This isn't a quick, easy read, and I mean that in the best possible way. The author uses this dark, brutal novel as an exercise in storytelling, narrative tropes, and reader involvement. Section to section, this story is told from every conceivable point of view, including first person, several instances of third person limited, and most surprising of all, second person. They all interlace to give the reader a well-rounded experience while he or she picks up clues and details and subtle nuances to compose a full picture of what really happened and why. In a weird way, it almost felt like Lost at times, where the author would tell me something, then later on, I'd get the same event from a different perspective which would shed an entirely new light on what happened. I felt like a collector of brutal details and nuanced reveals as I read this book, desperate for every single tidbit. I read this book very slowly and even before I had finished it the first time, I wanted to read it again. It's the kind of book that you could read 5 times and pick up something new with every read.

Best of all, in conjunction with Valentine's unconventional narrative approach, her language is completely engrossing. Her words wash over you before you can fully comprehend their full impact. I got so immersed that when a line would come along that cut to the bone, it felt like I had to come up for air for a moment and really process what she'd said. I read somewhere that this book is like a punch in the gut, but in a good way. I couldn't agree more. Each line is powerful and incisive without being overwrought or forced. Valentine doesn't foist some florid picture on readers using $10 words just because she can. She simply states things exactly the way they are, in the most searing and powerful way possible.

By the end of the book I was completely invested in every single character, even ones that I didn't think would factor into the story in a substantive way when I started. These aren't simple characters with simple motives. Valentine doesn't spoonfeed their agendas or thought processes. Even when you think you know why they are doing what they're doing, the truth is layered and murky in a way that keeps you on your toes, parsing each and every line for illuminating subtext. It's strange, all the while you're unsure of their motivations, all their actions make perfect sense in their own twisted way.

There are a million things I could say about this book, but to put it mildly, I'm in love. I don't think this is the kind of book everyone will enjoy, but I think if this is the kind of book you respond to, you'll REALLY respond to it. As a final sidenote, I have to point out that the representations of women in the novel are compelling and dark and strong. I am keenly attuned to representations of women in fiction and this is one of the few cases in which I was not only pleased, but thrilled. The women in this novel aren't perfect or impervious by any stretch, but they have enough layers that their flaws seem like far more than narrative ploys.

I don't often review books on , but I couldn't help but to write a love letter to Genevieve Valentine and her wonderful tale. I like a book that challenges me and this was a challenge in the most satisfying way possible. Kudos!
It took me awhile to decide whether I liked this book or not. I liked the world that was created, and I liked the characters. But the style of writing was very chaotic. You had chapters with alternating POV. You had one character's in first person. You had dozens of others in 3rd, and sometimes you weren't sure who was talking. The are also more flashbacks, including short trips back in time to tell a scene from another perspective until there's nothing left to your imagination, than in all six seasons of Highlander.

But as chaotic as the pacing and style was, I still wanted to know why. I had to know what kept the circus going. I had to know about the Wings. I had to know what would happen to these characters.

About 60% of the way through, I realized that I liked this book.
I ordered the edition of this book, though I read it on my laptop, not on a . Since many readers have reported problems with editions of books, I feel the need to report that I thought this was a fine edition - no missing pages, all the content there, not buggy, etc. So, just for the record.

Now to the story. This is a great story. Other reviewers have said things like "the prose sparkles" (it does) and "the characters are three dimensional to the point that they leap off the page" (they do). It's a fantastic world she's created, and as a person who really enjoys gritty pseudo fantasy/scifi settings, this one is top-notch. I personally also really enjoy carnival and circus atmospheres, so this is great.

Valentine also plays with the theme of circus life and performance having a magical or shamanic element to it. Death and rebirth, and a power tying all of the circus performers inexorably together are major themes. As a student of anthropology, I ate it up.

I also like that she doesn't reveal too much about this world or the characters. The characters have all taken new names, and "what their names were before isn't important". The ringleader of the circus is simply Boss, for example, and the relationships between the characters are very skillfully and subtly defined. Well done.

However, this good point is also an aspect of the book that I find a little annoying. A little. It takes a very long time for what is actually happening to come into the open, and there are lots of interruptions along the way to flash back and reveal something about a character's past or something. Stylistically this is fine and interesting, but at times it made me frustrated to just figure out what the heck was happening already! Still, those moments were few and far between, and I got through them easily enough.

Also, there are (I think) two voices, and at times I have trouble telling them apart. One seems to be a nameless narrator, and the other one of the named characters, but there is no real difference in the cadence of their voices, so sometimes that's just a bit jarring. Still, I enjoyed the voice very much, and perhaps it is indeed meant to be the same voice anyway.

One reviewer commented that they found her prose style a little complicated - heavy use of parentheses, for example. This doesn't particularly bother me. I suppose I could see how it might bother someone, but I think it's done to create an effect, and well done at that.

So, all in all, 4 stars.