Bland. The artwork is uninspired and Box's ability to render a recognizable caricature is lacking; I would have no idea who was being depicted without the text. Weiss displays a decent understanding of Putin but fails to offer any earth-shattering insights.

December 14, 2022

A very satisfying conclusion. Battle scenes were well done; usually I find myself skimming such portions as being pointlessly long.

August 19, 2022

Basically delivers what the title promises but I was hoping for more useful plot fodder than is actually offered, but that's more a reflection of reality than a failing of the author so I'm not letting it affect my rating.

January 12, 2023

An easy read but I found the use of Malay phrases without clear translations irksome (a glossary is not at all difficult to append and useful for educating readers who would like to learn. Its absence smacks of elitism).

June 4, 2022

Cute enough and a quick read. Not exactly a memorable plot.

December 16, 2022

There's “slow-burn” and then there's glacial. I didn't even care enough to finish.

July 27, 2022

Another solid offering from Barnhill. I found it very slow to start though.

March 15, 2023

The text is abnormally large and the digressions lengthy. Interesting at times but this would have made a better article as there's not enough information to sustain book-length attention here.

May 7, 2022

DNF because I find historical fiction that insists on foisting characters with modern mores into the tale like its clever tiresome. Also too much telling, not enough showing.

December 7, 2022

Plot-wise and pacing this was wonderful but the artwork was inconsistent at times (our protagonist had two completely different noses on the same page, for example).

January 13, 2023

Thackeray really does go on at times. And while it serves to set the tone of what was, in its time a groundbreaking novel, the needless verbosity becomes very, very tiresome.

July 5, 2016

Interesting but not riveting due to tangents on unrelated matters and explanations of concepts already established. DNF the last chapter cause it was due back at the library.

March 19, 2022
July 2, 2021

Pretty meh. The writing is dull, although thorough. The artwork is utilitarian.

September 1, 2023

Artwork is amazing. Story barely gets going before the book is over and I'm weirdly upset by it cause now John Lewis is dead and I wanted to hear about his career in federal US politics. I'm sure they'll do a volume 2 but its not the same.

February 13, 2023
May 19, 2022

I suspect this concept would have appealed to me as a child but the illustrations leave me unimpressed.

December 21, 2022

The colour palette is garish and the story really doesn't flow (honestly, I know the myth but I'm confused about what's going on). Don't understand why this is popular.

December 30, 2022

Very readable. Proper journalism with actual primary research (an increasingly rare phenomenon these days). Highly recommended. However, Sommer really ought to buy himself a thesaurus cause using “allegedly” repeatedly in the same paragraph is obnoxious.

April 24, 2023
September 12, 2021

An easy and intriguing read, but the climax is a bit soft.

March 4, 2023

3.5 stars I really enjoyed this but the structure didn't add to the story and struck me as unnecessarily complicating. I'm looking forward to Fahmy's next offering.

January 4, 2023

A brisk, pleasant read. Despite the Korean setting, it feels very much like a standard Anglo-American mystery, particularly the male main character's attitude. My only complaint is the book lacked a glossary/pronunciation guide.

September 18, 2023

I got this from the library and my elderly father tore through this before I had the time to read it; he does not usually read fiction so I knew this would be good and I was not disappointed.

March 3, 2022
July 11, 2021