The little Endless figurines do exist and are far out of my budget, but damn if I didn't stare at them longingly for a long time after I found them. (You can find them for less than that on ebay, but you won't find them cheap.)
I don't love any of the stories in this set, nor do I hate any, I just didn't connect with any of them. "Three Septembers and a January", "August", and "Ramadan" are intriguing character studies, but their whimsy actually strips them of depth instead of adding to it, and yeah, "August" is just so bleak. "Parliament of Rooks" is a fun mix of characters and storytelling, but doesn't feel like it goes anywhere.
I actually like how far "Thermidor" went in its portrayal of immediate post-revolution France (which was a really, really fucked up time before a few more quick overthrows allowed it to gradually settle), and don't mind how they introduce Orpheus to us as this mysterious, unexplained MacGuffin, but Lady Constantine doesn't connect as a character enough to act as our eyes. I've always liked the idea of John having this ancestor essential living her own long-running series which we only get glimpses of (I'll bet Lucien has a full run), but I haven't read enough of her scattered appearances to get a real handle on it, and she does come off underdeveloped here.
On the lesser side for me, I found "Soft Places" more confusing than anything, never got into the story or clash of attitudes in "The Hunt", and while "Song of Orpheus" is fine as a story, it in no way required the extended length it received and ultimately left me bored.
Overall, even though I never hugely got into any of them, it is an interesting collection of stories.
I don't love any of the stories in this set, nor do I hate any, I just didn't connect with any of them. "Three Septembers and a January", "August", and "Ramadan" are intriguing character studies, but their whimsy actually strips them of depth instead of adding to it, and yeah, "August" is just so bleak. "Parliament of Rooks" is a fun mix of characters and storytelling, but doesn't feel like it goes anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI actually like how far "Thermidor" went in its portrayal of immediate post-revolution France (which was a really, really fucked up time before a few more quick overthrows allowed it to gradually settle), and don't mind how they introduce Orpheus to us as this mysterious, unexplained MacGuffin, but Lady Constantine doesn't connect as a character enough to act as our eyes. I've always liked the idea of John having this ancestor essential living her own long-running series which we only get glimpses of (I'll bet Lucien has a full run), but I haven't read enough of her scattered appearances to get a real handle on it, and she does come off underdeveloped here.
On the lesser side for me, I found "Soft Places" more confusing than anything, never got into the story or clash of attitudes in "The Hunt", and while "Song of Orpheus" is fine as a story, it in no way required the extended length it received and ultimately left me bored.
Overall, even though I never hugely got into any of them, it is an interesting collection of stories.