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Caliph Howl #2
Black Bottle
"Anthony Huso pushes the conventions of epic fantasy to their limits in this tale that that is not quite horror, not quite fantasy, and much more than both. Reminiscent of the novels of China Mieville and Glen Cook, this should appeal to fans of steampunk and epic fantasy."― Library Journal on Black Bottle
Tabloids sold in the Duchy of Stonehold claim that the High King, Caliph Howl, has been raised from the dead. His consort, Sena Iilool, both blamed and celebrated for this act, finds that a macabre cult has sprung up around her.
As this news spreads, Stonehold―long considered unimportant―comes to the attention of the emperors in the southern countries. They have learned that the seed of Sena's immense power lies in an occult book, and they are eager to claim it for their own.
Desperate to protect his people from the southern threat, Caliph is drawn into a summit of the world's leaders despite the knowledge that it is a trap. As Sena's bizarre actions threaten to unravel the summit, Caliph watches her slip through his fingers into madness.
But is it really madness? Sena is playing a dangerous game of strategy and deceit as she attempts to outwit a force that has spent millennia preparing for this day. Caliph is the only connection left to her former life, but it's his blood that Sena needs to see her plans through to their explosive finish.
Tabloids sold in the Duchy of Stonehold claim that the High King, Caliph Howl, has been raised from the dead. His consort, Sena Iilool, both blamed and celebrated for this act, finds that a macabre cult has sprung up around her.
As this news spreads, Stonehold―long considered unimportant―comes to the attention of the emperors in the southern countries. They have learned that the seed of Sena's immense power lies in an occult book, and they are eager to claim it for their own.
Desperate to protect his people from the southern threat, Caliph is drawn into a summit of the world's leaders despite the knowledge that it is a trap. As Sena's bizarre actions threaten to unravel the summit, Caliph watches her slip through his fingers into madness.
But is it really madness? Sena is playing a dangerous game of strategy and deceit as she attempts to outwit a force that has spent millennia preparing for this day. Caliph is the only connection left to her former life, but it's his blood that Sena needs to see her plans through to their explosive finish.
443 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2012
4 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Huso
8 books28 followersAnthony Huso lives in Cedar Park, Texas. The Last Page is his first novel.
Anthony in his own words:
Anthony_PhotoKnowing that a B.A. in English wasn’t likely to land him a good-paying job, Anthony did the only thing he could think of: he got the degree as quickly and cheaply as he could.
Having dreamt of being an author since age eight, he reveled in his classes until June of 1996 when, after three years of school, he left the University of Minnesota with proof that he could read.
Interviewers were unimpressed and, true to his expectations, he found himself making $10 an hour as a home health aide, a door-to-door vacuum salesman, and later as a bill collector.
Jobs that paid the bills were just that: jobs. When the workday was over he left them behind, completely. At home he continued doing what he loved, creating, writing and tinkering with computers.
A self-described nerd (and proud of it) Anthony was completely surprised when his experiments with video game design landed him a job at Arkane Studios, a game company based in Lyon, France.
Deciding it was time to begin living rather than continue dreaming he took a chance, sold his house, quit his job and cashed out his 401k. He spent an amazing year living in France, sightseeing in Switzerland and Italy with his wife and three daughters.
After a year in Europe he returned to the states and continued working in games, this time based in Austin, Texas.
Delighted to finally have a job that encouraged his creativity, and inspired by the many people he had met in the game industry, Anthony took eight months to rewrite a story he had been fiddling with since college.
He submitted “The Last Page” to several potential agents and publishers.
After a couple years worth of rejection and good advice, he finally sold the “Last Page” and its sequel to Tor Books in early 2009.
***
Origins
I don’t really want to talk about me directly. I’d rather talk about motivations behind my writing.
I grew up in a wondrous and sinister region of the Midwest, a small town where some folks thought they were vampires. True story. That blue house for instance, across from the cemetery—south of town on the barren hillside…not even a tree dared grow on that lawn. Or so I fabulized. The whole region was a stew of parochial occult and god-fearing sensibilities, where black magic—at times—seemed real and where God was in the moon and tree arms. God was in the molten strawberry gum in the girl’s mouth I was tasting. God was in fireworks and match heads and the smell of sulfur. Good and evil were equally esoteric during all seasons of the year. And I could smell them.
There were secular and Christian rites and witchcraft and even murder there in that little town on the river—even though it took the FBI man a long time to figure out the case. There were drugs and sex and geese in nooses hung from trees in the cul-de-sac where the road just ended without explanation at the edge of fields and forests frosted with autumn and sprinkled with rusting Hamms beer cans.
It wasn’t a welcoming town. You knew if you were an outsider.
But it was magical, in a Dandelion Wine sort of way…only darker, realer, with more of a sense of true danger (spiced with cinnamon).
I’m just telling you how it was.
Now, this isn’t some kind of soapboxing wherein I proclaim that fantasy is just as good as any other kind of fiction.
All I’m offering is the reason that I write it, which you must be interested in—seeing as how you’re here. The answer is simple.
I don’t really know.
What I do know is that fear and uncertainty are powerful emotions. So are the nuances of awe, awkwardness and powerlessness. So is love and hope.
The instances where those emotions have hit me in conjunction—close together and sometimes for the first time—have left impact craters. I find myself wanting to extrude those things into a thin gooey sheet I can hold up to the light and examine.
I remember standing at t
Anthony in his own words:
Anthony_PhotoKnowing that a B.A. in English wasn’t likely to land him a good-paying job, Anthony did the only thing he could think of: he got the degree as quickly and cheaply as he could.
Having dreamt of being an author since age eight, he reveled in his classes until June of 1996 when, after three years of school, he left the University of Minnesota with proof that he could read.
Interviewers were unimpressed and, true to his expectations, he found himself making $10 an hour as a home health aide, a door-to-door vacuum salesman, and later as a bill collector.
Jobs that paid the bills were just that: jobs. When the workday was over he left them behind, completely. At home he continued doing what he loved, creating, writing and tinkering with computers.
A self-described nerd (and proud of it) Anthony was completely surprised when his experiments with video game design landed him a job at Arkane Studios, a game company based in Lyon, France.
Deciding it was time to begin living rather than continue dreaming he took a chance, sold his house, quit his job and cashed out his 401k. He spent an amazing year living in France, sightseeing in Switzerland and Italy with his wife and three daughters.
After a year in Europe he returned to the states and continued working in games, this time based in Austin, Texas.
Delighted to finally have a job that encouraged his creativity, and inspired by the many people he had met in the game industry, Anthony took eight months to rewrite a story he had been fiddling with since college.
He submitted “The Last Page” to several potential agents and publishers.
After a couple years worth of rejection and good advice, he finally sold the “Last Page” and its sequel to Tor Books in early 2009.
***
Origins
I don’t really want to talk about me directly. I’d rather talk about motivations behind my writing.
I grew up in a wondrous and sinister region of the Midwest, a small town where some folks thought they were vampires. True story. That blue house for instance, across from the cemetery—south of town on the barren hillside…not even a tree dared grow on that lawn. Or so I fabulized. The whole region was a stew of parochial occult and god-fearing sensibilities, where black magic—at times—seemed real and where God was in the moon and tree arms. God was in the molten strawberry gum in the girl’s mouth I was tasting. God was in fireworks and match heads and the smell of sulfur. Good and evil were equally esoteric during all seasons of the year. And I could smell them.
There were secular and Christian rites and witchcraft and even murder there in that little town on the river—even though it took the FBI man a long time to figure out the case. There were drugs and sex and geese in nooses hung from trees in the cul-de-sac where the road just ended without explanation at the edge of fields and forests frosted with autumn and sprinkled with rusting Hamms beer cans.
It wasn’t a welcoming town. You knew if you were an outsider.
But it was magical, in a Dandelion Wine sort of way…only darker, realer, with more of a sense of true danger (spiced with cinnamon).
I’m just telling you how it was.
Now, this isn’t some kind of soapboxing wherein I proclaim that fantasy is just as good as any other kind of fiction.
All I’m offering is the reason that I write it, which you must be interested in—seeing as how you’re here. The answer is simple.
I don’t really know.
What I do know is that fear and uncertainty are powerful emotions. So are the nuances of awe, awkwardness and powerlessness. So is love and hope.
The instances where those emotions have hit me in conjunction—close together and sometimes for the first time—have left impact craters. I find myself wanting to extrude those things into a thin gooey sheet I can hold up to the light and examine.
I remember standing at t
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 1, 2021
There is magnificence in the intricate game that transcends time, the incredible scope of the scheme, and the jewel-like vision for the fate of this world, seen complete like the glyph of reality in the denouement. Huso's aim is ambitious, and the moving pieces are done with delicate craftsmanship. Hardly a page goes by without throwaway mention of some evocative idea or a piece of wordsmithing that transforms things like "eaten" into "glistening pink conclusion" or a character realizing that the journal entry a character is reading is referring to events years in its future as though they had already occurred.
In the words of the book itself, "it creaked against reality's floorboards, almost insupportable". Cerebral like a Christopher Nolan film, it has the same satisfaction in its own cleverness and sterility despite being packed with astonishing ideas, the weight of which threaten gravitational collapse. You can only see the characters in hindsight, at the End of All Things, and why things had to end this way. Before this it is all a long chase and investigative mystery where Caliph Howl, ten steps behind, is completely in Sena's wake. Her motivations and situation are horribly suggested throughout, even to the point of Caliph seeming a bit of an idiot and observer of bigger wheels turning.
In all, it was supremely challenging, possibly too challenging to really like. The characters, the story, its entire world, are bent towards predation and capital-D Doom in the mythic sense, and this vector of inevitable tragedy permeates. Events are poised and things will start to unravel, and it is only a question of when. The kind of book that I can only read in small doses. The reader is like Caliph on his futile quest, chasing the plot elements and to a glistening pink conclusion.
In the words of the book itself, "it creaked against reality's floorboards, almost insupportable". Cerebral like a Christopher Nolan film, it has the same satisfaction in its own cleverness and sterility despite being packed with astonishing ideas, the weight of which threaten gravitational collapse. You can only see the characters in hindsight, at the End of All Things, and why things had to end this way. Before this it is all a long chase and investigative mystery where Caliph Howl, ten steps behind, is completely in Sena's wake. Her motivations and situation are horribly suggested throughout, even to the point of Caliph seeming a bit of an idiot and observer of bigger wheels turning.
In all, it was supremely challenging, possibly too challenging to really like. The characters, the story, its entire world, are bent towards predation and capital-D Doom in the mythic sense, and this vector of inevitable tragedy permeates. Events are poised and things will start to unravel, and it is only a question of when. The kind of book that I can only read in small doses. The reader is like Caliph on his futile quest, chasing the plot elements and to a glistening pink conclusion.
March 24, 2013
After a scintillating first novel, Huso goes into something of a sophomore slump here. The second book clearly has higher literary ambitions than the first, but in the process it loses the charm that the first one had. Personally, I think that Huso would be better off sticking to innovation in heroic fantasy and writing stories with a happy ending. His gaming roots make him more suited than that. Not since ‘Eyes of the Calculor’ have I ever been so upset at the treatment given to two characters by their author. If you liked ‘The Last Page’ it was because you were rooting for his highly sympathetic characters. But, in the sequel, while it can perhaps be justified to say that the events of the first novel have changed the characters forever, you never really wanted them to be changed and certainly not like this.
February 10, 2013
Which is the more incongruous: an immortal severed head—or the plastic shopping bag, handles, logo and all, into which it's placed?
Black Bottle is a fantasy set in a world of battling duchies and feudal kingdoms which have zeppelins and super-soldiers with blue chromed goggles, where blood and mathematics intertwine with magic and at least one king has been raised from the dead. It's a unique world full of contradictory elements, some of which—like the aforementioned shopping bag—seem inexplicably borrowed from our own. It has vivid geography, wide narrative scope, and several memorable characters.
But Black Bottle is, above all else, the work of a man in love with his vocabulary. Not since the publication of Lord Foul's Bane back in the 1970s have an unabridged dictionary and a thesaurus been such necessary companions to reading a work of fantasy. The book is full of footnotes, too, though they aren't always to the terms that need defining. "Pavonine" turns out to mean "peacocklike," which is not at all what I would have guessed, and "levisomnous" is... sleep-lifted? No, at least one online dictionary defines it as "watchful."
Sometimes, even if the individual words aren't uncommon, it can take awhile to figure out just what Huso is on about...
And so it follows, I suppose, that Black Bottle ends, not with an Epilogue, but with an Apodosis.
I'm not even mentioning the flood of proper nouns, many of which are used only once and then thrown away. I felt like declaring a ten-yard penalty for excessive diacritical marks.
I don't pretend to have been able to notice or catalogue all of the various errors (as opposed to coinages and nonstandard uses, which are a different matter), but I will say that there are times when the mistakes just get in the way of the story, quite apart from the need to hack through tangled verbiage... "imminently" appears where "eminently" would fit better, and there were occasionally flat-out boners like "hoard" (a large group of inanimate objects, usually treasure) instead of "horde" (a large group of individual beings, probably violent). And on p.222, is "transeunt" a mistake for "transient" (which would fit in context) or a brand-new term? Later on that same page, "Capcitance" seems like a pretty obvious error, too... Possibly the proofreader for this volume simply grew weary, since issues like this became more frequent as the book wore on.
Keeping a consistent tone also seems to be a problem for Huso—sometimes he also uses incongruously simple words where a better choice would be less common. He chooses "bellybutton" over "navel" while describing the umbilicus of the dark and mysterious beauty Sena Iilool, for example, and "blubbering" when writing of her tears. Later on, Taelin shines a light towards her "butt" to identify the surface she's sitting on.
Hmm... there seems to be something of a theme to when he chooses such language. At first, Black Bottle seems almost self-consciously designed to pass the Bechdel test, with female characters who talk to each other (and not about men!), but several plot twists later it became apparent that most of the women in this book are still defined or define themselves primarily in relationship to some man or another (Taelin to her father, for example, and later to King Caliph Howl, whose own first name was a little jarring to me each time I read it).
And yet... despite all of the infelicities on a word-by-word level, beneath the relentlessly ornate, opalescent opacity of his prose, Huso manages to tell an interesting story, even if I haven't talked a lot about that part here. The world he's come up with—half steam-punk, half high fantasy—does hold promise, if you can get past the way it's being described.
And, despite everything, Black Bottle did keep me reading, all the way to that Apodosis.
Black Bottle is a fantasy set in a world of battling duchies and feudal kingdoms which have zeppelins and super-soldiers with blue chromed goggles, where blood and mathematics intertwine with magic and at least one king has been raised from the dead. It's a unique world full of contradictory elements, some of which—like the aforementioned shopping bag—seem inexplicably borrowed from our own. It has vivid geography, wide narrative scope, and several memorable characters.
But Black Bottle is, above all else, the work of a man in love with his vocabulary. Not since the publication of Lord Foul's Bane back in the 1970s have an unabridged dictionary and a thesaurus been such necessary companions to reading a work of fantasy. The book is full of footnotes, too, though they aren't always to the terms that need defining. "Pavonine" turns out to mean "peacocklike," which is not at all what I would have guessed, and "levisomnous" is... sleep-lifted? No, at least one online dictionary defines it as "watchful."
Sometimes, even if the individual words aren't uncommon, it can take awhile to figure out just what Huso is on about...
Caliph felt a tremor of fear but he closed his eyes and let himself slip into the device that made everything simpler, where Sena's movement could be described with angular velocity. He felt the compression. Riding the infinite plane of her back. The foundation for the catapult. Waiting for the throw. And her—waiting for the zoetrope's spinning.Can you tell that's a sex scene?
—p.86
And so it follows, I suppose, that Black Bottle ends, not with an Epilogue, but with an Apodosis.
I'm not even mentioning the flood of proper nouns, many of which are used only once and then thrown away. I felt like declaring a ten-yard penalty for excessive diacritical marks.
I don't pretend to have been able to notice or catalogue all of the various errors (as opposed to coinages and nonstandard uses, which are a different matter), but I will say that there are times when the mistakes just get in the way of the story, quite apart from the need to hack through tangled verbiage... "imminently" appears where "eminently" would fit better, and there were occasionally flat-out boners like "hoard" (a large group of inanimate objects, usually treasure) instead of "horde" (a large group of individual beings, probably violent). And on p.222, is "transeunt" a mistake for "transient" (which would fit in context) or a brand-new term? Later on that same page, "Capcitance" seems like a pretty obvious error, too... Possibly the proofreader for this volume simply grew weary, since issues like this became more frequent as the book wore on.
Keeping a consistent tone also seems to be a problem for Huso—sometimes he also uses incongruously simple words where a better choice would be less common. He chooses "bellybutton" over "navel" while describing the umbilicus of the dark and mysterious beauty Sena Iilool, for example, and "blubbering" when writing of her tears. Later on, Taelin shines a light towards her "butt" to identify the surface she's sitting on.
Hmm... there seems to be something of a theme to when he chooses such language. At first, Black Bottle seems almost self-consciously designed to pass the Bechdel test, with female characters who talk to each other (and not about men!), but several plot twists later it became apparent that most of the women in this book are still defined or define themselves primarily in relationship to some man or another (Taelin to her father, for example, and later to King Caliph Howl, whose own first name was a little jarring to me each time I read it).
And yet... despite all of the infelicities on a word-by-word level, beneath the relentlessly ornate, opalescent opacity of his prose, Huso manages to tell an interesting story, even if I haven't talked a lot about that part here. The world he's come up with—half steam-punk, half high fantasy—does hold promise, if you can get past the way it's being described.
And, despite everything, Black Bottle did keep me reading, all the way to that Apodosis.
May 20, 2013
Finishing Anthony Huso’s “Black Bottle” (Tor, $27.99, 416 pages) was a tribute to pure professionalism – or simple stupidity, I’m not sure which.
First, a spoiler alert, if you read “The Last Page” and planned on finishing the duology that wraps up in “Black Bottle”, stop reading here.
OK, here’s the deal: Everybody dies. Well, OK, two people survive (though they are no longer breathing, whatever that might mean), but they are stranded in a world with no one but them, which seems like a pretty bleak denouement. Then again, compared to what happens to everyone else – and I do mean everyone – parent and child living out their lives alone is a shining city on a hill.
Oh yes, everyone else. Most of them (numbering in the tens of millions on this unnamed planet) die from a horrible plague that turns them into a kind of fish, but only with lots of pain and blood. Those that dodge the awful agony of the plague are eaten alive by horrid demons from the deep (who also die), described, naturally, in loving detail by the sesquipedalian Huso, who delights in every crunch of bone, every spattered drop of blood and every pointless and empty death. Others are burned alive, or poisoned, or suffocated – but none, of course, die in bed surrounded by loved ones.
In between the gore and destruction, Huso’s plot involving the oddly named Caliph Howl – though perhaps it’s just a riff on the king of pain, which is certainly justifiable since the least of his suffering is being killed and brought back to life with full memory of the death – and his vain attempts to figure out his no-longer-human and now immortal lover while at the same time saving the world. He doesn’t, of course, but goes through a long, torturous losing battle that results in everyone he cares about dying in agony.
In any event, this was a completely depressing book with no redeeming virtues, as even Huso’s attempts to bolster his readers’ vocabularies with the use of words such as “catopric” and “pomaceous”, which are on the same page by the way, simply becomes tedious with repetition.
As do the waterfalls of blood, gore, death and depression, so if you’re looking for a book with any hint of happiness or positivity, “Black Bottle” is not for you.
First, a spoiler alert, if you read “The Last Page” and planned on finishing the duology that wraps up in “Black Bottle”, stop reading here.
OK, here’s the deal: Everybody dies. Well, OK, two people survive (though they are no longer breathing, whatever that might mean), but they are stranded in a world with no one but them, which seems like a pretty bleak denouement. Then again, compared to what happens to everyone else – and I do mean everyone – parent and child living out their lives alone is a shining city on a hill.
Oh yes, everyone else. Most of them (numbering in the tens of millions on this unnamed planet) die from a horrible plague that turns them into a kind of fish, but only with lots of pain and blood. Those that dodge the awful agony of the plague are eaten alive by horrid demons from the deep (who also die), described, naturally, in loving detail by the sesquipedalian Huso, who delights in every crunch of bone, every spattered drop of blood and every pointless and empty death. Others are burned alive, or poisoned, or suffocated – but none, of course, die in bed surrounded by loved ones.
In between the gore and destruction, Huso’s plot involving the oddly named Caliph Howl – though perhaps it’s just a riff on the king of pain, which is certainly justifiable since the least of his suffering is being killed and brought back to life with full memory of the death – and his vain attempts to figure out his no-longer-human and now immortal lover while at the same time saving the world. He doesn’t, of course, but goes through a long, torturous losing battle that results in everyone he cares about dying in agony.
In any event, this was a completely depressing book with no redeeming virtues, as even Huso’s attempts to bolster his readers’ vocabularies with the use of words such as “catopric” and “pomaceous”, which are on the same page by the way, simply becomes tedious with repetition.
As do the waterfalls of blood, gore, death and depression, so if you’re looking for a book with any hint of happiness or positivity, “Black Bottle” is not for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
started_finish_later
June 2, 2012Black Bottle by Anthony Huso (sequel to The Last Page which i really loved) arrived unexpectedly yesterday and i was very excited, but I seem not to connect with it for now; the writing is actually captivating for most of the time, but so far I couldn't care less for the content and the jargon which has transformed from charming and interesting in The Last Page to very boring and annoying here; we'll see but I am tempted to give it my "browse random pages every now and then and read the ending" treatment to see if it hooks me anywhere and forget it if not...
Tried more and finally did the above - browsed, read the ending (which i actually liked) and I put the book aside; too many superpowers, people as gods, high magic etc for me; the writing is still poetic and evocative but the content is way too un-involving for me as I simply could not care about the super-people of this book
Not really a surprise in some ways as the ending of The Last Page clearly implied the possibilities here, but still one could hope...
Tried more and finally did the above - browsed, read the ending (which i actually liked) and I put the book aside; too many superpowers, people as gods, high magic etc for me; the writing is still poetic and evocative but the content is way too un-involving for me as I simply could not care about the super-people of this book
Not really a surprise in some ways as the ending of The Last Page clearly implied the possibilities here, but still one could hope...
September 7, 2012
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Anthony Huso's The Last Page was one of my favourite books of 2010, because it was an original and fresh piece of new weirdish dark fantasy. That's why I could hardly wait to get my hands on Black Bottle. (It didn't take long for me to read this book, because it was an excellent and delightfully weird book.)
Black Bottle is a an entertaining and complex sequel to The Last Page. It tells what happens to the characters after the first book's shocking and surprising ending. In the first book the author took the story to new heights of weirdness, which was very nice, because it's fascinating to read about weird things. He does similar things in this book and suprises his readers with new twists and morbid horrors.
I think it's very brave of Tor Books to publish a new weirdish dark fantasy book for intelligent readers, because the markets are full of epic fantasy stories. It's wonderful that the publisher has had enough courage to publish this kind of fantasy, because there are several readers who want to read dark and weird fantasy. As a long time fan of dark fantasy, horror and weird fiction stories I am very pleased with Tor Books for publishing The Last Page and Black Bottle, because we need complex fantasy stories like these (general fantasy is often too easy and avoids complex plot structures, but dark and weird fantasy offers more food for the brains).
This book will delight fans of new weirdish dark fantasy and weird fantasy. It will also be of interest to readers who want to read something different. As many readers may have noticed, it's difficult to find originality in today's crowded fantasy markets, because mainstream fantasy tends to rule the markets. That's why it's great that there are authors like Anthony Huso who refresh the fantasy genre by combining fantasy, science fiction and horror elements in an unusual way. I also think that readers who like steampunk will be interested in this book, because the steampunk elements are compelling.
It's possible that there are readers who wonder if Black Bottle can be read as a standalone book or not. The answer is that you can try to read it as a standalone book, but you probably won't understand what's going on. Black Bottle moves the story forward and reveals more things about the world, so it's imperative that you're familiar with the previous events.
The events of Black Bottle take place a few months after the events of The Last Page. At the beginning of the book, Taelin Rae comes to Isca and wants to stop people from worshiping people, because she has heard that people worship Sena Iilool. She wants Sena to denounce the groups that worship her. Caliph is waiting for Sena to come home from a trip. He is going to attend a meeting, although he knows that it may be a trap. Sena has been changed by the events that led to Caliph's death and resurrection at the end of the first book. She seems to have gained almost godlike powers from the ancient occult book, Cisrym Ta... (That's all I'll write about the plot, because I don't want to reveal too much.)
Caliph Howl and Sena Iilool are as interesting in this book as they were in The Last Page. Sena seems to be an even more mysterious than before, which is very nice. Caliph is a similar character, but in certain scenes he seems to be a bit more impatient and courageous than before. He isn't proud and happy about certain things - especially about the horrible scientific inventions - but he knows that he has to try to accept them.
The author introduces a new character, Taelin Rae, to the readers. She intends to form a church of Nenuln. She is a fascinating character, because has her own agenda and her own fears. Her mission is to stop the cult that worships Sena.
The dialogue between the characters works well. For example, the scenes where Taelin talks with Specks are perfectly handled and nuanced. Anthony Huso brings these scenes to life by writing about the characters' feelings, thoughts and acts. He manages to make the readers feel sad for Specks and his disability, but also manages to make him look like a survivor.
The political things are handled well. The author manages to keep the politics interesting, because it involves several things (the politics concerning the solvitriol power is very interesting). Cultural differences add quite a lot of tension to the politics, because the northeners and the southerners are different kind of people.
It's amazing how fluently Anthony Huso writes about the events and keeps the story entertaining. The mysterious happenings, religious differences, political tensions and cultural differences meet each other in a fascinating way, because Anthony Huso manages to combine them perfectly (the descriptive prose and beautiful crafted sentences make this combination enjoyable).
Anthony Huso's writing style is beautiful and he has clearly matured as a writer. I admired his writing in The Last Page, because he wrote beautifully, but now his writing is better. He uses the same kind of writing style as before, but now he seems to be able to write more fluently.
It's wonderful how the author writes about the world and its different areas (the Atlath continent), because it's fun to read about them. The world consists of several different areas.
I also enjoyed reading about the shade of Caliph's ancestor, Nathaniel Howl, because the shade haunted Sena and Caliph. I'm not going to write more about this subject, because I want to avoid spoilers, but I'll mention that reading about the shade and its doings is fascinating.
The Last Page featured several mystical and mysterious wonders and happenings and Black Bottle continues to amaze the readers in the same way. The cult that has sprung up around Sena is quite an invention and offers lots of fascination to the readers. There are also such wonders as iatromathematique and a strange disease and such happenings as the attack of the Shradnae witches on the zeppelins - these things will delight and horrify the readers.
The steampunkish scientific wonders, which were introduced in the first book, are present here too. Readers will notice than the author mentions several interesting scientific wonders: chemiostatic cells, holomorphic anchors etc. Some of the inventions will probably shock several readers, because the author also lets his readers see how dogs have been turned into weird watchdogs etc.
There are many great moments in this book. For example, Sena ja Taelin's first meeting is interesting. It's easy to imagine what kind of an atmosphere fills the room when they meet each other for the first time, because Taelin is slightly afraid of Sena. This scene features excellent writing.
One of the best things about Black Bottle is that the author lets the readers read about ancient happenings when Caliph reads Sena's notes and journals. The revelations are both surprising and a bit disturbing. Another excellent thing is the introduction of Taelin, because it gives the author a way to show other characters feel about Sena and the cult.
I think it's fantastic that the author trusts that his readers have enough intelligence to figure certain things out for themselves. He uses several difficult and weird names, which make the readers fall in love with the weirdness of the story. These weird names add quite a lot to the strange atmosphere of the book. It probably would've been easy for the author to write a glossary about these names, but I think it's good that there isn't a glossary, because the readers have to think about things.
I've noticed that some readers/reviewers have had trouble liking and understanding Black Bottle (I've seen similar comments about The Last Page too). This is interesting, because I enjoyed this book very much and understood what was going on. It's understandable that Black Bottle doesn't please everybody, because it's a totally different kind of a fantasy book and the story is weird, but I honestly don't understand why people complain about its quality, because there's nothing to complain about.
This book requires a lot more attention from the readers than plain mainstream fantasy, because you have to use your brains when you read it. It's also important to remember what happened in the previous book, because the previous happenings mean a lot (reading or re-reading the first book before this book is recommendable). This duology is like a British quality drama series, because it builds itself on previous happenings and goes full speed ahead without looking back - if you don't know what has happened before, you won't be able to understand the story.
As you may have already guessed by the last two paragprahs, The Last Page and Black Bottle may not be to everybody's taste, but why on earth should they be? I'm sure that there are other readers like me who want to read something different and want to be entertained with shocking and surprising details. These two books are dream-come-true-books for readers who enjoy the darker side of fantasy fiction and want to read about macabre things and situations. Hmm... I guess I could say that these books offer the same kind of thrills and excitement as Felix Gilman's Thunderer duology and China Miéville's new weird books.
The Last Page and Black Bottle are intelligent and richly detailed books (to be honest, I was surprised by the amount of information and small details). These books differ so much from conventional fantasy books that they require a bit of knowledge of science, technology, mathematics and physics from the readers to understand certain things. This kind of complexity is charming, because it's a pleasure to read intelligent new weirdish dark fantasy, which gives its readers a chance to think about what's happening.
It's also good to have a bit of knowledge about weird fiction and weird stories before reading these books, because weird fantasy is different from the typical fantasy fiction. Describing weird fantasy to somebody who has never read it is a bit difficult, but I'll try to describe it. Weird fantasy tends to focus on weird elements and how they affect the characters and happenings. In other words, weird fantasy highlights several weird elements and emphasizes the weirdness and otherworldliness of them. What is common to most weird stories is that the weird elements are revealed gradually. Several weird fantasy stories owe quite a lot to H. P. Lovecraft, who is the undisputed master of weird fiction. (Everybody who has read Lovecraft will notice that Lovecraft's weird stories have had a direct or indirect influence on Anthony Huso's writing style.)
Black Bottle is like a beautiful and artistic painting, which must be looked at for a while before you begin to appreciate its beauty. At first you'll notice the lines and the forms, but then you'll begin to notice that there's more to it than just the surface. The details reveal themselves to you and you begin to understand the big picture... and suddenly everything becomes clearer.
Black Bottle is a perfect sequel and a masterpiece of weird dark fantasy fiction, because it takes the story to a whole new level and reveals several secrets (this book features more haunting elements, visions etc. than The Last Page and it hooks the readers immediately). I loved every page of this book and I loved the ending, because this book was as shocking and macabre as it was beautiful and stunning. After reading both books I can say that they're definitely my kind of weird fantasy books and they made a huge impression on me.
In my opinion The Last Page and Black Bottle form a unique, stunningly original and highly imaginative fantasy duology, which must not be missed. These books are among the best fantasy books written during the last decade, so everybody who likes good and imaginative fantasy should read them (if you like weird fantasy, you're in for a treat).
I sincerely hope that Anthony Huso will continue to write more books (and especially new weirdish fantasy books), because he's one of the fantasy genre's brightest and most talented rising stars.
Highly recommended (especially for fans of the darker and weirder side of fantasy)!
Anthony Huso's The Last Page was one of my favourite books of 2010, because it was an original and fresh piece of new weirdish dark fantasy. That's why I could hardly wait to get my hands on Black Bottle. (It didn't take long for me to read this book, because it was an excellent and delightfully weird book.)
Black Bottle is a an entertaining and complex sequel to The Last Page. It tells what happens to the characters after the first book's shocking and surprising ending. In the first book the author took the story to new heights of weirdness, which was very nice, because it's fascinating to read about weird things. He does similar things in this book and suprises his readers with new twists and morbid horrors.
I think it's very brave of Tor Books to publish a new weirdish dark fantasy book for intelligent readers, because the markets are full of epic fantasy stories. It's wonderful that the publisher has had enough courage to publish this kind of fantasy, because there are several readers who want to read dark and weird fantasy. As a long time fan of dark fantasy, horror and weird fiction stories I am very pleased with Tor Books for publishing The Last Page and Black Bottle, because we need complex fantasy stories like these (general fantasy is often too easy and avoids complex plot structures, but dark and weird fantasy offers more food for the brains).
This book will delight fans of new weirdish dark fantasy and weird fantasy. It will also be of interest to readers who want to read something different. As many readers may have noticed, it's difficult to find originality in today's crowded fantasy markets, because mainstream fantasy tends to rule the markets. That's why it's great that there are authors like Anthony Huso who refresh the fantasy genre by combining fantasy, science fiction and horror elements in an unusual way. I also think that readers who like steampunk will be interested in this book, because the steampunk elements are compelling.
It's possible that there are readers who wonder if Black Bottle can be read as a standalone book or not. The answer is that you can try to read it as a standalone book, but you probably won't understand what's going on. Black Bottle moves the story forward and reveals more things about the world, so it's imperative that you're familiar with the previous events.
The events of Black Bottle take place a few months after the events of The Last Page. At the beginning of the book, Taelin Rae comes to Isca and wants to stop people from worshiping people, because she has heard that people worship Sena Iilool. She wants Sena to denounce the groups that worship her. Caliph is waiting for Sena to come home from a trip. He is going to attend a meeting, although he knows that it may be a trap. Sena has been changed by the events that led to Caliph's death and resurrection at the end of the first book. She seems to have gained almost godlike powers from the ancient occult book, Cisrym Ta... (That's all I'll write about the plot, because I don't want to reveal too much.)
Caliph Howl and Sena Iilool are as interesting in this book as they were in The Last Page. Sena seems to be an even more mysterious than before, which is very nice. Caliph is a similar character, but in certain scenes he seems to be a bit more impatient and courageous than before. He isn't proud and happy about certain things - especially about the horrible scientific inventions - but he knows that he has to try to accept them.
The author introduces a new character, Taelin Rae, to the readers. She intends to form a church of Nenuln. She is a fascinating character, because has her own agenda and her own fears. Her mission is to stop the cult that worships Sena.
The dialogue between the characters works well. For example, the scenes where Taelin talks with Specks are perfectly handled and nuanced. Anthony Huso brings these scenes to life by writing about the characters' feelings, thoughts and acts. He manages to make the readers feel sad for Specks and his disability, but also manages to make him look like a survivor.
The political things are handled well. The author manages to keep the politics interesting, because it involves several things (the politics concerning the solvitriol power is very interesting). Cultural differences add quite a lot of tension to the politics, because the northeners and the southerners are different kind of people.
It's amazing how fluently Anthony Huso writes about the events and keeps the story entertaining. The mysterious happenings, religious differences, political tensions and cultural differences meet each other in a fascinating way, because Anthony Huso manages to combine them perfectly (the descriptive prose and beautiful crafted sentences make this combination enjoyable).
Anthony Huso's writing style is beautiful and he has clearly matured as a writer. I admired his writing in The Last Page, because he wrote beautifully, but now his writing is better. He uses the same kind of writing style as before, but now he seems to be able to write more fluently.
It's wonderful how the author writes about the world and its different areas (the Atlath continent), because it's fun to read about them. The world consists of several different areas.
I also enjoyed reading about the shade of Caliph's ancestor, Nathaniel Howl, because the shade haunted Sena and Caliph. I'm not going to write more about this subject, because I want to avoid spoilers, but I'll mention that reading about the shade and its doings is fascinating.
The Last Page featured several mystical and mysterious wonders and happenings and Black Bottle continues to amaze the readers in the same way. The cult that has sprung up around Sena is quite an invention and offers lots of fascination to the readers. There are also such wonders as iatromathematique and a strange disease and such happenings as the attack of the Shradnae witches on the zeppelins - these things will delight and horrify the readers.
The steampunkish scientific wonders, which were introduced in the first book, are present here too. Readers will notice than the author mentions several interesting scientific wonders: chemiostatic cells, holomorphic anchors etc. Some of the inventions will probably shock several readers, because the author also lets his readers see how dogs have been turned into weird watchdogs etc.
There are many great moments in this book. For example, Sena ja Taelin's first meeting is interesting. It's easy to imagine what kind of an atmosphere fills the room when they meet each other for the first time, because Taelin is slightly afraid of Sena. This scene features excellent writing.
One of the best things about Black Bottle is that the author lets the readers read about ancient happenings when Caliph reads Sena's notes and journals. The revelations are both surprising and a bit disturbing. Another excellent thing is the introduction of Taelin, because it gives the author a way to show other characters feel about Sena and the cult.
I think it's fantastic that the author trusts that his readers have enough intelligence to figure certain things out for themselves. He uses several difficult and weird names, which make the readers fall in love with the weirdness of the story. These weird names add quite a lot to the strange atmosphere of the book. It probably would've been easy for the author to write a glossary about these names, but I think it's good that there isn't a glossary, because the readers have to think about things.
I've noticed that some readers/reviewers have had trouble liking and understanding Black Bottle (I've seen similar comments about The Last Page too). This is interesting, because I enjoyed this book very much and understood what was going on. It's understandable that Black Bottle doesn't please everybody, because it's a totally different kind of a fantasy book and the story is weird, but I honestly don't understand why people complain about its quality, because there's nothing to complain about.
This book requires a lot more attention from the readers than plain mainstream fantasy, because you have to use your brains when you read it. It's also important to remember what happened in the previous book, because the previous happenings mean a lot (reading or re-reading the first book before this book is recommendable). This duology is like a British quality drama series, because it builds itself on previous happenings and goes full speed ahead without looking back - if you don't know what has happened before, you won't be able to understand the story.
As you may have already guessed by the last two paragprahs, The Last Page and Black Bottle may not be to everybody's taste, but why on earth should they be? I'm sure that there are other readers like me who want to read something different and want to be entertained with shocking and surprising details. These two books are dream-come-true-books for readers who enjoy the darker side of fantasy fiction and want to read about macabre things and situations. Hmm... I guess I could say that these books offer the same kind of thrills and excitement as Felix Gilman's Thunderer duology and China Miéville's new weird books.
The Last Page and Black Bottle are intelligent and richly detailed books (to be honest, I was surprised by the amount of information and small details). These books differ so much from conventional fantasy books that they require a bit of knowledge of science, technology, mathematics and physics from the readers to understand certain things. This kind of complexity is charming, because it's a pleasure to read intelligent new weirdish dark fantasy, which gives its readers a chance to think about what's happening.
It's also good to have a bit of knowledge about weird fiction and weird stories before reading these books, because weird fantasy is different from the typical fantasy fiction. Describing weird fantasy to somebody who has never read it is a bit difficult, but I'll try to describe it. Weird fantasy tends to focus on weird elements and how they affect the characters and happenings. In other words, weird fantasy highlights several weird elements and emphasizes the weirdness and otherworldliness of them. What is common to most weird stories is that the weird elements are revealed gradually. Several weird fantasy stories owe quite a lot to H. P. Lovecraft, who is the undisputed master of weird fiction. (Everybody who has read Lovecraft will notice that Lovecraft's weird stories have had a direct or indirect influence on Anthony Huso's writing style.)
Black Bottle is like a beautiful and artistic painting, which must be looked at for a while before you begin to appreciate its beauty. At first you'll notice the lines and the forms, but then you'll begin to notice that there's more to it than just the surface. The details reveal themselves to you and you begin to understand the big picture... and suddenly everything becomes clearer.
Black Bottle is a perfect sequel and a masterpiece of weird dark fantasy fiction, because it takes the story to a whole new level and reveals several secrets (this book features more haunting elements, visions etc. than The Last Page and it hooks the readers immediately). I loved every page of this book and I loved the ending, because this book was as shocking and macabre as it was beautiful and stunning. After reading both books I can say that they're definitely my kind of weird fantasy books and they made a huge impression on me.
In my opinion The Last Page and Black Bottle form a unique, stunningly original and highly imaginative fantasy duology, which must not be missed. These books are among the best fantasy books written during the last decade, so everybody who likes good and imaginative fantasy should read them (if you like weird fantasy, you're in for a treat).
I sincerely hope that Anthony Huso will continue to write more books (and especially new weirdish fantasy books), because he's one of the fantasy genre's brightest and most talented rising stars.
Highly recommended (especially for fans of the darker and weirder side of fantasy)!
May 22, 2020
When I first began this book, I didn't realize it was the second novel. The world-building felt like a slap across the face; there was so much of it. I was a bit put off by the end notes. I'm glad I invested in this story. I'm glad I kept reading. It was beautiful, dark, haunting. I have to go back to the beginning. I will be reading The Last Page to fill in the knowledge gaps and to hold on to the characters a little longer. I can't stop crying!
August 15, 2020
Wonderfully Lovecraftian cosmic horror and fantasy with a steampunk edge!
This is the sequel to "The Last Page," and completes that odd mix of steampunk-edged grimdark fantasy and Lovecraftian cosmic horror. Things set in motion in " The Last Page" hurtle breathlessly to an apocalyptic conclusion - I really enjoyed this one!
This is the sequel to "The Last Page," and completes that odd mix of steampunk-edged grimdark fantasy and Lovecraftian cosmic horror. Things set in motion in " The Last Page" hurtle breathlessly to an apocalyptic conclusion - I really enjoyed this one!
February 16, 2022
Excellent read. If you like a bit of horror with an almost steampunk vibe mixed with your fantasy, this will float your boat. I was hooked after the first chapter and had to see it play out. It's the first fantasy I've read in a long time that had me unable to guess where it was going.
August 21, 2013
Here's a extract from my review, full link: http://afantasyreader.blogspot.ca/2013/08/black-bottle-review.html
Anthony Huso's first two books can't be categorized simply as Fantasy novels. In my review of The Last Page, I chose the term Chemiostaticpunk-fantasy to describe it. There were also some gritty elements and a significant level of weirdness. I found that the author's writing was spectacular with some of its own vocabulary, a voluminous dose of stylistic phrasing; a great prose. Moreover, the two main characters were more than compelling. The ending wasn't completely successful but it left interesting threads open, I liked Huso's vision.
So, is Black Bottle maintaining that level of greatness? As far as I'm concerned, not really. On the positive side, the writing of Huso is still mesmerizing for me (but could still be daunting for some readers, the second time around will not redeem those baffled by it...). I like his style and I would pick up almost any new book he comes up with, mostly so if the world building is still as original and the characters so committed. However, in this second opus, it's the tale itself, the complexity instilled into the story and the dense coat of weirdness that threw me off.
While The Last Page was the story of Caliph and Sena, their difficult love life and the coming of age for the ruler of Stonehold, I think that Black Bottle is mostly the portrayal of Sena's disturbing and astonishing plans set into motion. I'm not disappointed simply by the fact that the focus isn't on Caliph and his people but by the fact that the whole story of the first book doesn't seem that important anymore.
For the first half of the novel, Caliph and newcomer Taelin, a great addition to the cast for a time, a young woman from Pandragor seeking to show the world that Sena's not a goddess, are slowly making their way toward an important meeting with most of the world leaders when something incredible happens. Meanwhile, when we follow Sena, her intentions with the powers and responsibilities given to her through the opening of the Cisrym Ta become harder and harder to comprehend. And after that? Everything becomes weirder and the story mutates toward something else, a hard to follow endeavor with the destruction of the world at bay and way too much hallucinations.
Hopefully, Caliph remains true to the man he became in The Last Page and I enjoyed most of the chapters where he was the point of view. But since it's the ex Shradnae witch who becomes the heart of the story, most of the world building created in the previous book becomes less relevant and the Chemiostatic-Fantasy epithet could be switched to Holomorphic-weird-Fantasy.
I grinned on some occasions while reading the book and some threads remained interesting for the better part of them. I think that Black Bottle could please fans of weirdness with tales of apocalyptic proportion embedded deeply in past histories and complex allegories but I can't really shake the feeling that this follow-up isn't what The Last Page deserved. Huso imagination seems limitless and I will still keep an eye open for what he comes up next.
December 31, 2012
I only made it about halfway through Black Bottle, so keep that in mind when reading this review.
Sena’s bringing Caliph back from the dead could have stemmed from her love for him, or from her need for him to be alive. I’m still not quite sure – and I suspect she isn’t, either. In any case, it’s not like she could be honest about her reasons, especially when she gets deeper into the Cisrym Ta – and seems to lose her sanity… But her actions have brought about a new cult, one that Stonehold’s neighbors view with suspicion and distaste.
And so we meet a new character – Taelin Rae, from the Church of Nenuln. I liked Taelin. She’s so idealistic, and some may say, a bit naive. If the Shradnae Sisters couldn’t figure out how to contain Sena – or get the Cisrym Ta from her – what chance does Taelin have? But she goes to Stonehold anyway.
Meanwhile, in Stonehold… Caliph Howl finds Sena’s journal, and being the inquisitive (or, “bored” and “lonely”) sort, decides to read it. I’d say he doesn’t regret doing so, but I’m sure I’d be lying. What he finds keeps him awake at nights – he can’t stop reading, and he can’t believe what he’s reading…
There’s politics and magic, and all the requisite concerned parties. Caliph has diplomatic relations to sort out, Sena has her own stuff to worry about. Neither seems to work with the other, and only one seems concerned about that.
I got as far as the destruction in the sky. It was impossible. Improbable. Some would add irresponsible. Caliph is left mouth agape as Sena walks – literally – away. In the sky. And as many times as I’ve picked it up since, I couldn’t get any further than this.
The world-building is grand, and the story is (probably) a 10 in terms of reach and vision. But, as with The Last Page, I got distracted by all the words that took me a while to absorb and assimilate, and that made it hard to enjoy. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s my own failing I’m talking about here, so if you’ve read Black Bottle and have a dissimilar opinion, feel free to comment, or link to your own review, here.
drey’s rating: Did not finish
Sena’s bringing Caliph back from the dead could have stemmed from her love for him, or from her need for him to be alive. I’m still not quite sure – and I suspect she isn’t, either. In any case, it’s not like she could be honest about her reasons, especially when she gets deeper into the Cisrym Ta – and seems to lose her sanity… But her actions have brought about a new cult, one that Stonehold’s neighbors view with suspicion and distaste.
And so we meet a new character – Taelin Rae, from the Church of Nenuln. I liked Taelin. She’s so idealistic, and some may say, a bit naive. If the Shradnae Sisters couldn’t figure out how to contain Sena – or get the Cisrym Ta from her – what chance does Taelin have? But she goes to Stonehold anyway.
Meanwhile, in Stonehold… Caliph Howl finds Sena’s journal, and being the inquisitive (or, “bored” and “lonely”) sort, decides to read it. I’d say he doesn’t regret doing so, but I’m sure I’d be lying. What he finds keeps him awake at nights – he can’t stop reading, and he can’t believe what he’s reading…
There’s politics and magic, and all the requisite concerned parties. Caliph has diplomatic relations to sort out, Sena has her own stuff to worry about. Neither seems to work with the other, and only one seems concerned about that.
I got as far as the destruction in the sky. It was impossible. Improbable. Some would add irresponsible. Caliph is left mouth agape as Sena walks – literally – away. In the sky. And as many times as I’ve picked it up since, I couldn’t get any further than this.
The world-building is grand, and the story is (probably) a 10 in terms of reach and vision. But, as with The Last Page, I got distracted by all the words that took me a while to absorb and assimilate, and that made it hard to enjoy. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s my own failing I’m talking about here, so if you’ve read Black Bottle and have a dissimilar opinion, feel free to comment, or link to your own review, here.
drey’s rating: Did not finish
January 18, 2013
Black Bottle by Anthony Huso
This is the sequel to Last Page which I read and reviewed on Azure Dwarf. This was one of those books that makes you wonder if your own imagination was some how truncated. Huso paints a Timothy Leary type civilization with overtones of steam-punk. Caliph Howl is called to lead his nation and finds himself surrounded by treachery in the first book. The second book takes up with Sena, his wife. It explores her journey down a very bizarre rabbit hole.
Huso’s rich environment is carried further in this book. The characters right out of a Rod Serling nightmare from the last book pale in comparison to the bizzarity (seems appropriate) of these characters. Huso has an amazing grasp of florid detail. He paints nightmarishly detailed scenes.
Machiavellian is how I described the Last Page and frankly this is even more convoluted. I enjoyed last page. This book lost me. I lost my connection to the protagonist and never regained it. I suspect those who revel in the absurd and favor the outer limits will enjoy it.
I didn’t.
This is the sequel to Last Page which I read and reviewed on Azure Dwarf. This was one of those books that makes you wonder if your own imagination was some how truncated. Huso paints a Timothy Leary type civilization with overtones of steam-punk. Caliph Howl is called to lead his nation and finds himself surrounded by treachery in the first book. The second book takes up with Sena, his wife. It explores her journey down a very bizarre rabbit hole.
Huso’s rich environment is carried further in this book. The characters right out of a Rod Serling nightmare from the last book pale in comparison to the bizzarity (seems appropriate) of these characters. Huso has an amazing grasp of florid detail. He paints nightmarishly detailed scenes.
Machiavellian is how I described the Last Page and frankly this is even more convoluted. I enjoyed last page. This book lost me. I lost my connection to the protagonist and never regained it. I suspect those who revel in the absurd and favor the outer limits will enjoy it.
I didn’t.
July 28, 2014
I really wanted to like this book. I really hoped that it would bring some sense and positivity to the story begun in Huso's The Last Page. Sadly, all it brought was greater convolutions to the plotline and a sad, sorry closure to the story.
I think the mistake here is that the story was written about the wrong characters. Caliph Howl could've been a great character, but his motivations are weak and he's a passive character in the plot. (Except for the first chapter or two in the first book when they're still at Desdae.) Sena Ilool is a wonderful character, but we don't get enough of her perspective in the story to for it to be about her, and she becomes inscrutable and foreign halfway through the first book. Nathanial Howl (or whoever he actually is) instigates the entire plot, but is practically just a subtext throughout the whole story.
Huso demonstrated in The Last Page that he has a gift for written language, but missed his mark in this title.
I think the mistake here is that the story was written about the wrong characters. Caliph Howl could've been a great character, but his motivations are weak and he's a passive character in the plot. (Except for the first chapter or two in the first book when they're still at Desdae.) Sena Ilool is a wonderful character, but we don't get enough of her perspective in the story to for it to be about her, and she becomes inscrutable and foreign halfway through the first book. Nathanial Howl (or whoever he actually is) instigates the entire plot, but is practically just a subtext throughout the whole story.
Huso demonstrated in The Last Page that he has a gift for written language, but missed his mark in this title.
June 8, 2013
I was a fan of The Last Page and I was excited to read the sequel and although it had some interesting points I felt this book fell flat for me. The plot was all over the place and I never felt like I knew what was happening, and not in a good mystery type way. Huso does a great job of painting pictures and characterizations but this got so diluted with them that I would often find that I had read a few pages and did not even realize I had, again not in a good way as I was often confused. I felt that The Last Page was very accessible and that this book required a lot of note taking and mental effort to follow, something that I do not like to do while I am reading for pleasure, this book would have benefited from a note section or just footnotes through out the book. I give this book three stars because it is well written and for some this is probably a great book but I often read to either be entertained or informed and this provided little of either for me.
August 20, 2012
Warning: spoilers for The Last Page but not for Black Bottle.
Black Bottle started off really, really well. We are thrust back into the world of Caliph and Sena, after Caliph had miraculously been brought back to life at the end of The Last Page. I was revved up to see more of this twisty, dark universe filled with monsters, witches, blood magic and sometimes, horrors. It seemed that some of my concerns of the first book had already been taken care of: the plot was moving fast, the prose a lot easier to follow and also the inclusion of another female character, Taelin Rae. I was hooked.
Read more at Starmetal Oak Reviews.
Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
Black Bottle started off really, really well. We are thrust back into the world of Caliph and Sena, after Caliph had miraculously been brought back to life at the end of The Last Page. I was revved up to see more of this twisty, dark universe filled with monsters, witches, blood magic and sometimes, horrors. It seemed that some of my concerns of the first book had already been taken care of: the plot was moving fast, the prose a lot easier to follow and also the inclusion of another female character, Taelin Rae. I was hooked.
Read more at Starmetal Oak Reviews.
Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.
December 23, 2014
There is a lot of arcane stuff happening in this book. There's a great mix of wanting to see the exposition of a grand plot, and also the dread of knowing that if the plot comes to fruition it will be disastrous. Sort of like watching the rise of the greatest villains. My only big complaint is that the motivations and core personalities of the POV characters change extremely and inexplicably from the first book. It feels like they've grown up overnight and if you read them back to back it's a bit jarring.
In the end, I mostly just wanted more. Can't wait to read more from Anthony Huso.
In the end, I mostly just wanted more. Can't wait to read more from Anthony Huso.
August 23, 2013
I really loved this series, especially this book.
Anthony Huso's created a really well thought world, with story line even more so.
His writing style is not conventional, which brings a lot freshness to reading.
Though I will advice readers to keep a dictionary close at hand (he uses al lot of hard words).
This book really deserves a lot more rating than it's given.
This book is not for 'happy ending' type of readers
Anthony Huso's created a really well thought world, with story line even more so.
His writing style is not conventional, which brings a lot freshness to reading.
Though I will advice readers to keep a dictionary close at hand (he uses al lot of hard words).
This book really deserves a lot more rating than it's given.
This book is not for 'happy ending' type of readers
August 6, 2014
Not sure yet
Not sure yet
I loved the first book. I couldn't stop reading this second one. but I really have no idea what I just finished reading. I liked it, but I can't say why. I hated it but I can't say why. and somehow, strangely, I would read it again.
Not sure yet
I loved the first book. I couldn't stop reading this second one. but I really have no idea what I just finished reading. I liked it, but I can't say why. I hated it but I can't say why. and somehow, strangely, I would read it again.
June 21, 2012
Not as good as The Last Page, this story seemed to wander in many spots or perhaps it didn't hold my attention like TLP did. Probably needs a reread but doubt I'll do it.
Read
August 21, 2012I can't make myself read this. I want to like it. I'm impressed the world building and imagination, but that's it.
December 7, 2014
I got 10 pages in, realized this book is not well written and put it down.
May 22, 2016
weirdness is spades
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews