TravelersWife4Life (31 KP) rated Crystal Witness in Books
Feb 24, 2021
The Setting/Storyline
The best way I know how to describe the experience of this book is by likening it to a dream that you do not want to wake up from. Kathy Tyers managed to make me feel as if I were immersed in a very different world, from her detailed descriptions of everyday life to the way people looked and dressed. It was fascinating. I liked how she gave just enough background at the beginning to get you curious, without feeling lost, and make you very involved in the outcome of the character's lives and that of the world they live in. One of the best total immersions I have read in a long time. At some points in the story, I did feel a little lost as I was not quite sure how the beginning of the story connected, but it did make sense by the end.
The Characters
Kathy Tyers brought to life some great characters. I enjoyed Ming’s artistic talent and how Kathy Tyers described the 3D and calligraphy aspects of it. Ming’s reactions to waking up after 20-year imprisonment were very realistic (not that I know what it would really be like), and I enjoyed seeing her come out of her shell; I think Ming showed a very intelligent and sweet nature. Tieg her male counterpart was a cross between a bad boy spy and an emotional musician, he was a well brought to life character that I could envision in my mind while reading. Both Ming and Tieg learned different aspects of trust and doing what is right no matter the cost. The secondary characters were great additions to round out the rest of the story and I sincerely enjoyed their interactions with the main characters, each one displayed growth throughout the story and by the end, I was wishing they had their own stories too! (Hint, hint
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For those unfamiliar with Hunt's incredibly imaginative world - revealed in this book to likely be a far future version of our own which somehow mirrors certain aspects such as Victorian England and the French Revolution - would soon be at home in this book, particularly as half of the book involves a trip up a native-infested jungle river worthy of Conrad. Meanwhile the trail is being followed from the other end and the smoggy streets of Middlesteel in the country of Jackals by Furnace-breath Nick's not so mild mannered alter ego, Cornelius Fortune.
The way the story unfolds is very reminiscent of Saturday morning serials that used to be popular when not everyone had a television. There are a series of episodes where our heroes are put into peril and yet somehow (mostly) break free. The difference is in the mostly. Hunt is not afraid of killing off a character and that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and turning the pages to see if that really was the end or there is a miraculous escape on the cards.
The inventiveness Hunt showed in The Court of the Air is very much still evident with a fiendish plot and fantastic ideas zinging off the page together with very clever dialog. Once again this is a book to read carefully and not to skim, it will be so much more rewarding.
All in all this is a stronger book than the first and the characters in it are terrific, heroes and villains alike. There are still Deus Ex Machina escapes here and there but they are on the whole consistent with the world of Jackals.
I would very much recommend this to anyone who likes their science fiction broad and heading to steam punk rather than space opera (although it's not really steam punk) and their adventure old-school swashbuckling. Terrific work.
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