The fifty year sword

Amber Herbert reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Where this wasn’t bad, I wouldn’t call it great. It was interesting, but the tone and dialogue don’t work as well in print as they would read out in a public setting. Another thing I disliked was the change in the spellings/names of some of the characters. Was this simply a jab at how titles don’t matter, so long as the story carries the weight? Or was this something that his editors didn’t pick up on prior to publication?

Cori H. Spenzich reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

A short story that is extended in length due to the scattered format and stitched imagery throughout. A story about a man that tells a story, and the secret in his box.

Of which orphan children take part.

My lesser rating may definitely be related to how much I loved House of Leaves, and how the experimental style doesn't seem to have much an interesting impact in this book. The format, instead, breaks it up and makes it more confusing then it does playful. Especially the broken up pieces of quote attribution, with maybe something deeper that I didn't feel like wanting to attempt a dive into.

I think the live show that he has done over the years would be incredibly cool to watch. But the book? Not so sure.

JoeJoh reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I've read both the hardcover and the iBooks version of The Fifty Year Sword. The iBooks version contains animation, music and sound effects (the kindle version, apparently, does not). Generally, I would consider this a gimmick, but in the case of this particular book, it worked. The music and sound added to the atmosphere immensely, and the animations were interesting.

This is a short read (took me less than an hour), but well worth my time. I won't reveal anything in this review. There's a storyteller and five orphans, and the tale the storyteller spins is frightening and wonderful. Books rarely affect me so deeply on so many levels.

If you can get the iBooks version, I highly recommend it. If not, then the hardcover (with the stitched pages) is the next best thing.

Unruly Stacks reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Before reviewing this book (but after reading it), I read a handful of reviews others have written. Inspired by those reviews, I'll say this:

I'm not usually that interested in having my story spoon-fed to me. I like to work for my stories, and Danielewski delivers. I don't, however, see the need to act as inscrutable and mysterious as Danielewski's writing. More power to you if that's your thing, but it's not mine. So...

The book starts off with an intro that, in summary, says the story will be told by five narrators, each with a certain tonal influence, and depicted in the story by different colored quotation marks. Neat idea, but in practice the different personalities had (to my eye) either too subtle or too few differences to make them stand out. They ended up blending into a single narrator, which wasn't a detractor, but seemed a shame.
The …

Before reviewing this book (but after reading it), I read a handful of reviews others have written. Inspired by those reviews, I'll say this:

I'm not usually that interested in having my story spoon-fed to me. I like to work for my stories, and Danielewski delivers. I don't, however, see the need to act as inscrutable and mysterious as Danielewski's writing. More power to you if that's your thing, but it's not mine. So...

The book starts off with an intro that, in summary, says the story will be told by five narrators, each with a certain tonal influence, and depicted in the story by different colored quotation marks. Neat idea, but in practice the different personalities had (to my eye) either too subtle or too few differences to make them stand out. They ended up blending into a single narrator, which wasn't a detractor, but seemed a shame.
The story itself was as engaging and deep as any of his others, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Steen Christiansen reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A minor effort from Danielewski, The Fifty Year Sword cannot reach House of Leaves and nor is it meant to. T50YS has the intensity of a short story and the beauty of a painted poem, which magnificently enhances each other.

AwkwardTurtle reviewed The fifty year sword by Mark Z. Danielewski

Review of 'The fifty year sword' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A fantastic and vivid adult ghost story.

Don't read a plot summary for this one, the experience is in the reading of it, and the beautiful stitch artwork amplifies it's themes and moods tremendously.