The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Ratings348
Average rating4.1
I'm a sucker for any book that emphasises the power of words to shape who we are. There's so much exploration of current power dynamics and how those in power seek to keep the world exactly as it is. I enjoyed so much about this book.
If you'd asked me on page 80 how many stars I'd give this book it wouldn't have been four (or even three) but then the booked kicked into high gear and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt the awakening to January's understanding of herald was natural and realistic. I figured out who the “bad guy” was and even his connection to the Founder early but it only added to the tension as I knew something January didn't (or at least would t admit). It was a good read.
Gorgeous book–from Gothic mystery to Young Indiana Jones adventure–with characters I could cheer for throughout every page.
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this for the most part. It was well written and engaging but took a while to get going, then struggled to stick the landing.
That's always tough, but the book faltered near the end. There were simply too many loose threads in play that needed to be tugged in and it detracted from any emotional payoff the ending had.
The cover blurb says “Unbearably beautiful,” which kind of scared me! But rest assured, it's emotionally engaging and (as advertised) beautiful, but not so poignant, sad, or tragic that it's “unbearable.”
I mean.
If you're like me, you might want to check Does the Dog Die before proceeding. Or check this spoiler: Bad is reported to be dead, but turns out to be beaten and possibly disabled, but recovers and is a faithful friend for the rest of the story!
Anyway, this is dynamite. It's SF/F with a literary spin. The prose is gorgeous enough to merit a mention without distracting from the story. The characters are my best friends. I got So Inspired, and So Angry, and So Anxious, and So Relieved, and So Joyful!
Read this.
This was I think mainly a pacing problem for me. By the time the novel got to the part I cared about - what were the doors & who were January's family - I had been plodding along for too long & barely cared about the answers anymore.
Realistically, I would say 4.5 but I rounded up. I liked the concept and the characters. I also liked that characters injuries stuck with them, instead of being insta-healed by the plot. The structure of the book has been done before but I still liked it. I enjoy stories within stories.
What a delightful, adventurous ride this book is. Just pick it up and start opening the doors!
This was a wonderful book. It had magic, other worlds, and twists that genuinely surprised me! When I started describing this book to my husband at one point, he said “Wait, there's another book inside your book?”
Yes, friends, this book is like two books in one.
Beautiful.
I'm lost for words in trying to review this book but if I could use one adjective to describe it, it'd be ‘perfect'. Many different themes, adventures, and magic - all beautifully composed within the tale of a young girl on her path to self-discovery. There's nothing about this book that left me unsatisfied or discontent.
It's a book with many layers - those who like to delve deeper can discover themselves lost amidst its many waters and those who like to wallow in the shallows, its an incredibly beautiful tale to be enjoyed just the same.
This was exactly what I needed at this time: A gorgeous escapist tale full of imagination and adventure! This is something of a love story, where the love interest is Fantasy stories and books.
That said, it does not shirk from the realities of the real world. It has villains who believe they are the hero, the role of status, and its fluid nature. While the story is steeped in classic themes, the perspective is still unique.
Speaking of perspective, this is one of the best uses of first-person narration I have read. It's a fantastic story, beautifully told. Steeped in emotion and completely fulfilling, this is a must-read for fantasy lovers and book lovers in general!
I think that the fantasy genre (and portal fantasy in particular) is a really interesting one to use with metaphors of colonialism, and I was really happy to see themes I've been mulling over for a while appear in a Hugo nominated novel. When reading it, the prose reminded me a lot of “This is How You Lose the Time War,” and I wasn't surprised to see either Amal El-Mohtar's blurb or the acknowledgement to her in the back. At times, the tone veered a little too YA for my personal tastes (the good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad), and I personally feel a bit pandered too by books with a magic system based on “writing is magic!” but the background narratives of Mr. Locke's collections and Julian's attempts (or lack of attempt) at being a parent make up for some of the more simplified element. Overall enjoyed and if you like teenagers more than I do, you might enjoy it a bit more.
This book was a rollercoaster. The amount of times I had to say, “No. Not Bad!” became emotionally taxing. The writing was excellent and I loved the parts where January focused on the way letters looked and how they added to the words they belonged to. It was a clever allusion to her word-working heritage that she wasn't aware of herself. The beginning of the book within the book was sluggish, but as soon as Yule was introduced, I knew exactly who Ade and Yule were and I was more interested in their story. January is the kind of heroine that I love finding in books. She has strong moments and weak moments and her personality is defined from the beginning. I feel like this book would have been better suited as a series. There were three basic archetypal villains, but if they were given more time and fleshing out, the conflict scenes in the book would have felt less like plot dumping disguised as evil monologues. I would love to have an entire book from Jane's perspective about her acquisition of her hunting skills, her husbands, and her wife. Overall it was an enjoyable read.
3.85/5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. Not only is this a book about books but its also a book about architecture (a win-win for this girl). I loved the character development, ingenuity and overall depth that this book reached. Because the storyline was so precise and very intricate, us as the reader were able to explore many worlds, themes, and time periods, which is not something that happens in many books. Usually the author choses one time for the book to happen. However, this can be a slippery slope because if the writing isn't concise and the sequencing of events is not clear, it can be a hot mess. I am honestly surprised that this book was so good, because it is considered YA. For those of you who have read my other reviews, you know that ya girl is not a huge fan of YA because it always leaves for something to be desired. Brilliant ideas are not usually explored to their full potential, which makes me sad. Harrow, however, did NOT disappoint. This was beautifully written and the characters were amazing. In the end I think that my only criticism was that I wanted more, and not of the main character. The people who were in her life, whether good or bad, were much more interesting to me throughout the story. I found that when the author went into sub-stories explaining the history of some of these people, like January's mother in particular, I was enthralled and I couldn't put the book down. At times January came across as very naive and spoiled. I don't think that her judgement in situations reflected maturity (this was the YA coming across), but she was not an unlikeable protaganist. I will come back to this book in the future to revisit these characters and their stories because there was just so much detail and love put into this book that you could not have possibly caught it all in the first round. I am very curious about this author and look forward to reading their other books!
This was probably the only book in my book clubs' version of “March Madness” this year that peaked my interest and it didn't disappoint. Nothing too stressful, which I'm avoiding like alot of folks this year, and an interesting plot that I don't think I've come across, other than a family trying to get back together.
The end's storyline began to fray a bit as the narrator jumped back and forth in time from one sentence to the next, making following along while driving in some traffic, a bit tricky.
Mostly enjoyed this. I was a bit disappointed at parts of the “big reveal” though. 3.5 stars.
At some point this night I decided I'd try the r/fantasy bingo again, after getting about halfway through last year (or was it 2 years ago?). For starters, I read this one for the “Books about books” square, with “No library” hard mode.
It's a good book. It reads like a modern fairytale, but not in the way books like Patricia McKillip are (which feel out of time, ancient, “true” fairytales), instead decidedly modern and aimed at adults. It has an interesting narrative structure, an almost effortless sense of worldbuilding and charming characters.
You won't necessarily find anything new in this book. It takes some existing tropes and brings them together wonderfully. Definitely worth a read!
She became something else entirely, something so radiant and wild and fierce that a single world could not contain her, and she was obliged to find others.
This review can also be found on my blog.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the story here. For me, this was a page-turner but I know others have found it slow and I agree that the pacing lagged in some areas. The characters were fun to read but largely felt one-dimensional; I felt like I should have cared more about the side characters than I did and while I liked the story of January's parents, I wasn't really drawn to them as people. But the concept made up for it and the twists really got me. I read this as a YA fantasy and I believe the MC is in her late teens for the bulk of the book, but the author has said it was written for an adult audience, just for the record!
content warnings: loss/grief; animal abuse; forced institutionalization; racism
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