The Light Ages
by Ian R. MacLeod
List Price:
Our Price: $4.81
You Save: $9.19 (66%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.28 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Ian R. MacLeodEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2004-04-06
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 464
Book Reviews of The Light Ages
Book Review: Unfulfilled Promise
Summary: 2 Stars
I really wanted to love this book, but I can't recommend it to anyone except the steampunk/industrial fantasy completist. It appealed to me because it takes place in an alternate Earth, where steam and gas technology have been supplemented (and sometimes supplanted) by a magical substance called aether. Some humans have been permanently changed by the aether, becoming outcasts with strange powers. Throw in some class struggle and revolutionary impulses, in a realistically constructed society. Sounds interesting, right?
Unfortunately, only about 20% of this book fulfills that promise. The rest is an unhappy soup of disjointed descriptions, tantalizing but unrealized worldbuilding, characters slowly realizing their own irrelevance, and annoying verbal tics. I got rapidly sick of the author describing things as "(some positive adjective), yet (some negative adjective)." There is a distinct lack of plot in most of the book. I suppose that's intentional and the author's main point may be that the more things change, the more they stay the same. However, if you want to pull that off, you had better be an *amazing* wordsmith, and the writing here, while often good, falls short of the level needed.
Keep in mind that I love slow, strange, introspective stories (like, say, In the Mood for Love) and also wordy Victorian-ish prose with thick layers of description (such as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell). And I *still* thought this book failed to be involving. Actually, I found myself wishing that Scott Lynch and Susanna Clarke had somehow collaborated to write this story instead. Or perhaps a heavier-handed editor would have helped bring out the gem of a story that I felt lay in there somewhere, obscured by awkward prose and no sense of movement.
It's really a shame, because the setting is intriguing, some of the characters are well-drawn, and there seems to be so much potential here.
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
The Sword and the Flame (The Dragon King Trilogy, Book 3)by Stephen R. Lawhead
HarperCollins; Published: 1996-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
El gremio de los magos (Cronicas del Mago Negro) (Spanish Edition)by Trudi Canavan
Debolsillo; Published: 2010-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.49
Price in other shops:
Annals of a Quiet Neighborhoodby George Macdonald
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.91
Buddha (1) - Kapilavastuby Osamu Tezuka
Harpercollins; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
The Whale Roadby Robert Low
HarperCollins; Published: 2006-09-04; Paperback; Book
Enchantment Enchantmentby Orson Scott Card
Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval; Published: 2000-02; School & Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4)by Naomi Novik
Del Rey; Published: 2007-09-25; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.23
Price in other shops:
Mists of Avalonby Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ballantine/Fawcett; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
The Silmarillionby J.R.R. Tolkien
Random House; Del Rey; Published: 1985-01-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.35
Price in other shops:
The Prestigeby Christopher Priest
Tor Books; Published: 1997-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.62
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Book of Jheregby Steven Brust
Ace Trade; Published: 1999-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.14
Price in other shops:
Ashes of Candesce: Book Five of Virgaby Karl Schroeder
Tor Books; Published: 2012-02-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops:
Perdido Street Stationby China Mieville
Del Rey; Published: 2003-07-29; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.40
Price in other shops:
The Affinity Bridge (Newbury & Hobbes Investigations)by George Mann
Tor Books; Published: 2009-07-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Tales of the Dying Earthby Jack Vance
Orb Books; Published: 2000-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.58
Price in other shops:
Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne in)by Mark Hodder
Pyr; Published: 2012-01-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.80
Price in other shops:
The City & The City (Random House Reader's Circle)by China Mieville
Del Rey; Published: 2010-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.76
Price in other shops: