laprunminta reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was fun to read but very long. Probably would not read again
Hardcover, 592 pages
Published June 14, 2016 by Little, Brown and Company.
Stiletto
4 stars
(38 reviews)
tgt reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Fun, amusing and imaginative, but in need of some better editing. 600 pages felt long.
Spoiler
It sometimes felt rather slow and the sudden background stories during action could've been blended in better. Most of the earlier storylines eventually fed into the overall story, but I'm not sure why anything about the crystal man was left in. Some of the hinting was a little heavy handed, although I didn't predict exactly what would happen the twists felt less surprising than I'd have liked with so much foreshadowing.
The Gestalt arc wasn't satisfactory. It felt strange that there was no mention of them in the final chapter after it being a major revelation in the previous one. Perhaps it was designed with the next book in mind. I expected (some of) the Gestalt twist when the man melted, but simply assumed their power allowed their mind to move into a …
Fun, amusing and imaginative, but in need of some better editing. 600 pages felt *long*.
Spoiler
It sometimes felt rather slow and the sudden background stories during action could've been blended in better. Most of the earlier storylines eventually fed into the overall story, but I'm not sure why anything about the crystal man was left in. Some of the hinting was a little heavy handed, although I didn't predict exactly what would happen the twists felt less surprising than I'd have liked with so much foreshadowing.
The Gestalt arc wasn't satisfactory. It felt strange that there was no mention of them in the final chapter after it being a major revelation in the previous one. Perhaps it was designed with the next book in mind. I expected (some of) the Gestalt twist when the man melted, but simply assumed their power allowed their mind to move into a clone. I don't think that'd have been unexpected and the egg thing stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too far.
Odette's reaction to being used to kill the Antagonists also felt a little muted, especially since she only survived because she happened to use all her poison in the previous, unforeseen battle.
Given how careful the Antagonists had been, it felt anticlimactic for them to only send Marianne to kill the children and to do so without a dead man's switch.
I'm looking forward to the next book. Hopefully it'll be a little tighter.
Spoiler
It sometimes felt rather slow and the sudden background stories during action could've been blended in better. Most of the earlier storylines eventually fed into the overall story, but I'm not sure why anything about the crystal man was left in. Some of the hinting was a little heavy handed, although I didn't predict exactly what would happen the twists felt less surprising than I'd have liked with so much foreshadowing.
The Gestalt arc wasn't satisfactory. It felt strange that there was no mention of them in the final chapter after it being a major revelation in the previous one. Perhaps it was designed with the next book in mind. I expected (some of) the Gestalt twist when the man melted, but simply assumed their power allowed their mind to move into a clone. I don't think that'd have been unexpected and the egg thing stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too far.
Odette's reaction to being used to kill the Antagonists also felt a little muted, especially since she only survived because she happened to use all her poison in the previous, unforeseen battle.
Given how careful the Antagonists had been, it felt anticlimactic for them to only send Marianne to kill the children and to do so without a dead man's switch.
I'm looking forward to the next book. Hopefully it'll be a little tighter.
settingshadow reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Let's get a few things out of the way: Stiletto was a very different book from the Rook. But it was a very, very good book. In fact, I think it might be a better book than Rook (although not quite as enjoyable.) In Stiletto, O'Malley zooms out from the narrow perspective of Myfanwy to a much bigger story about the Checquy, told primarily from the point of view of the Checquy's mortal enemies, now nascent allies, the Grafters. By switching perspective, O'Malley uses the different takes on supernatural and what each considers the proper way of things to really explore cultural dissonance. I thought O'Malley had a lot of interesting things to say about assimilation, alliances and immigration through the lens of these secret, ancient, supernatural organization. As an aside, I felt pretty anxious about how bring the Antagonists into the story would work with that because I was …
Let's get a few things out of the way: Stiletto was a very different book from the Rook. But it was a very, very good book. In fact, I think it might be a better book than Rook (although not quite as enjoyable.) In Stiletto, O'Malley zooms out from the narrow perspective of Myfanwy to a much bigger story about the Checquy, told primarily from the point of view of the Checquy's mortal enemies, now nascent allies, the Grafters. By switching perspective, O'Malley uses the different takes on supernatural and what each considers the proper way of things to really explore cultural dissonance. I thought O'Malley had a lot of interesting things to say about assimilation, alliances and immigration through the lens of these secret, ancient, supernatural organization. As an aside, I felt pretty anxious about how bring the Antagonists into the story would work with that because I was worried that they would be yet another, totally separate secret, ancient, supernatural group that would really unbalance the novel. I was extremely pleased with the direction that he went in. Also, it's very unusual for me to come across a book with a twist that both makes sense and surprises me.
I also continue to be extremely pleased by how deftly O'Malley writes female characters: they are distinct, nuanced, not sexualized and have agency. Yes, they tend to be dismayed to wear extremely expensive clothing, which they subsequently manage to ruin during action sequences, but everyone has their quirks.
Speaking of literary quirks, people who didn't like the Rook won't like Stiletto either. O'Malley loves info-dumping, and uses the merger between the Checquy and the Grafters as an excuse to go off on historical tangents (I'm pretty into his world-building, and found this fun, but it's an odd pacing choice.) He is intent on sharing the backstory of every character in the universe, even if they only survive for two pages. And he paces books like a TV show, with lots of monster-of-the-week encounters (including one that's kind of poorly paced.) But he's a fresh new voice on the speculative fiction scene, writing new, fun, things with well-written characters, well-drawn settings and something new to say with fantasy worlds, so, yeah, I'll read anything he writes.
Cheri reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
I liked this book as much as the first in the series. Very fun read with engaging characters and situations and I will absolutely read the next in the series, if there is one. Please let there be a next in the series. Daniel O'Malley writes great women and such fun situations. I definitely recommend this series. Fun!
bedone reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Stiletto is long - there are a lot of new characters who weren't around in The Rook, and it feels like every time someone new comes in we get their whole life story. Sometimes, as in the case of Marcel, we also get their parents' life story. We also get the entire history of the Grafters, this timer from their point of view.
Along with the history there are some scenes that don't immediately advance the main story. These eventually tie together, but for most of the book it feels like they are extraneous.
This isn't quite as good as The Rook, but it is entertaining, and we get to see a little bit more of this world. It's especially nice to get a closer look at the Grafters.
unicorndeburgh reviewed Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
Review of 'Stiletto' on 'Goodreads'
This is every bit as good as his delicious first novel, "The Rook". He has switched the main narration from Myfanwy to a young woman who is part of a delegation of a group seeking an alliance with the Chequy, and another young woman of the Chequy. I adored them both, as well as the little brother. It's incredibly funny -- the sort of book that you can only read on the bus if you're not self-conscious about laughing uproariously in public.
