paperback, 496 pages
Published Jan. 21, 2020 by Redhook.
Der Hauptcharakter ist sozial defizitär und macht seinen Bruder wiederholt runter, was schwer zu ertragen ist. Überhaupt fiel es mir schwer für irgendeine der Figuren Sympathie aufzubauen. Die Story wird erst nach der Hälfte einigermaßen spannend. Wäre mir das Buch nicht empfohlen (und ausgeliehen) worden, hätte ich es nicht (zu Ende) gelesen.
[ Overall Thoughts ]
Holy macaroni, I loved this book. It's one of those rare books that feels like it was written for me specifically. Admittedly, this probably means this review will be exceedingly biased. The book follows Dr. Charles Sutherland—mostly from the first-person perspective of his brother, Rob—who has lived his whole life with the strange ability to read things and characters out of fiction and into the real world. When fictional characters start showing up and talking about the coming of a new world at the expense of this one, it becomes clear to Charley and Rob that there's someone else who shares Charley's ability and may not have good intentions, and that Charley may be the only one able to stop them. This book is adventurous and charming, with mystery and magic, and a great cast of characters—classic and new—to love.
[ The World ]
The Unlikely …
[ Overall Thoughts ]
Holy macaroni, I loved this book. It's one of those rare books that feels like it was written for me specifically. Admittedly, this probably means this review will be exceedingly biased. The book follows Dr. Charles Sutherland—mostly from the first-person perspective of his brother, Rob—who has lived his whole life with the strange ability to read things and characters out of fiction and into the real world. When fictional characters start showing up and talking about the coming of a new world at the expense of this one, it becomes clear to Charley and Rob that there's someone else who shares Charley's ability and may not have good intentions, and that Charley may be the only one able to stop them. This book is adventurous and charming, with mystery and magic, and a great cast of characters—classic and new—to love.
[ The World ]
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is a contemporary urban fantasy set in Wellington, New Zealand. It is entirely identical to our own world aside from the fictional characters who have been read into existence. This magical ability seems to be very rare, though regular people who connect deeply to a character can occasionally end up reading them into existence as well, though the mundane readers who manage it are unaware of doing so.
[ The Characters ]
The majority of the book is told in the first person by Charley's brother, Rob. Rob has spent his life in a very strange mix of resenting Charley's powers and his inability to always control it, and feeling profoundly protective of Charley. He is sometimes something of a bully, and is often exasperated by the situations Charley brings about, but he doesn't often fail to show up when Charley needs him. Their relationship is complicated and served well to make me care deeply for both of them.
In addition to Rob, Charley, and their family, we of course end up with many recognizable characters from classic fiction in the mix, as they get read out of their books and take part in events. Most notably we have Dorian Gray, Heathcliff, no less than five Mr. Darcys, Uriah Heep, Victor Frankenstein, and occasionally Sherlock Holmes.
[ Suggested Audience ]
Readers who enjoy complicated sibling / family relationships.
Readers who enjoy mystery or whodunnit plots.
Readers who enjoy classic (esp. Victorian) fiction and have Opinions™ on books and fictional characters, especially Dickens's.
[ TL;DR ]
This book is a fast-paced mystery adventure, and I found it utterly charming and a great lot of fun to read. With cameos from classic fictional characters, pokes at and fun conversations about literary analysis, and original characters who you can't help but love, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep has so much to offer a lover of books and characters, and plenty to say about the power of the stories we tell.
