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Bell Weather
A thrilling adventure set in a peculiar world, a fantastical 18th century, where a young woman must uncover the secrets of her past while confronting the present dangers of a magical wilderness
When Tom Orange rescues a mysterious young woman from a flooded river, he senses that their fates will deeply intertwine.
At first, she claims to remember nothing, and rumor animates Root-an isolated settlement deep in a strange wilderness. Benjamin Knox, the town doctor, attends to her recovery and learns her name is Molly. As the town inspects its young visitor, she encounters a world teeming with wonders and oddities. She also hears of the Maimers, masked thieves who terrorize the surrounding woods.
As dark forces encircle the town, the truth of Molly's past spills into the present. A desperate voyage. A genius brother. A tragedy she hasn't fully escaped. Molly and Tom must then decide between surviving apart or risking everything together. Dennis Mahoney's Bell Weather is an otherworldly and kinetic story that blends history, fantasy, mystery, and adventure, to mesmerizing effect.
When Tom Orange rescues a mysterious young woman from a flooded river, he senses that their fates will deeply intertwine.
At first, she claims to remember nothing, and rumor animates Root-an isolated settlement deep in a strange wilderness. Benjamin Knox, the town doctor, attends to her recovery and learns her name is Molly. As the town inspects its young visitor, she encounters a world teeming with wonders and oddities. She also hears of the Maimers, masked thieves who terrorize the surrounding woods.
As dark forces encircle the town, the truth of Molly's past spills into the present. A desperate voyage. A genius brother. A tragedy she hasn't fully escaped. Molly and Tom must then decide between surviving apart or risking everything together. Dennis Mahoney's Bell Weather is an otherworldly and kinetic story that blends history, fantasy, mystery, and adventure, to mesmerizing effect.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
September 8, 2017
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
4.5 stars
Do you get feelings about obscure books? You see a cover, hear good things about an author, scan a blurb, and/or are partial to a publisher, so you get a feeling--more of an educated guess, really--and that makes you choose a book that otherwise would have been completely overlooked?
I used to do that fairly regularly. Not so much anymore (b/c no time for that nonsense).
BUT. That's exactly what happened here, and it's the best gamble I've made in a long, long time.
Simply put, BELL WEATHER is a fantasy. But it's a very strange fantasy.
What if when Spain and France and England decided to colonize the Americas they discovered a land saturated with magic? What if the native peoples not only worshipped various aspects of nature, but were so closely tied to them they were an extension of those aspects? What if rain sometimes fell up into the sky, and light sometimes fell like rain?
That's the only way I can think of to describe this world. It's not the Americas and various Europeans are not the settlers, but they walk and talk and quack like colonial Americans . . .
The story opens in the midst of a flood. A flood of flowers. Flowers that may or may not float up from the bottom of the river bed, and they do this at the same time every year.
An annual flower flood.
The river and it's banks are so covered with blossoms that Tom Orange almost doesn't see the unconscious woman in a floral print dress, clinging tenaciously to a tree branch as she is swiftly carried toward the falls that Tom has no hope of her surviving should he not reach her before she goes over.
I felt the urgency, trying to keep pace with Tom as he recklessly rode through bog and trees to rescue the maybe-already-dead-women. I had to stop several times, forcing myself to read more slowly, my eyes continually attempting to dart ahead.
The rescued woman is a mystery.
There are only so many places she could have come from (exactly three), but she claims to have no knowledge of what came before her near drowning. The only thing she seems to know is that her name is Molly.
FUN FACT: the name Molly means "ocean of bitterness" or "RIVER of dissent."
Heh.
Beyond the spectacular world-building and mystery of Molly's origins, BELL WEATHER is fraking hilarious.
Tom owns and manages a tavern. The tavern, in fact, as it's the only one in Root, and Root is the only settlement on the quickest land route (HA!) between the two major settlements on the continent.
His employees include his ran-away-from-home cousin Bess, a mute he has become adept at deciphering, and a crone so old even the elderly of Root can't remember a time when she was young.
An old and superstitious crone:
An old, superstitious, and rather cantankerous crone:
Also on the premises is a cat likely as old as the crone:
The funniest incidents by far involve Molly, but you'll have to take my word on that b/c spoilers.
However, it is not all fun and games.
There is darkness in the past of many of the characters, as well as a band of thieves who steal "the most valuable part" of their victims plaguing the present.
The humor merely breaks up this darkness so you don't become woebegone (and thank goodness for that).
BELL WEATHER by Dennis Mahoney was a wonderful discovery. Between the fantastical world, the hilarious characters, and a criminal mind made all the more frightening for his mad genius, this is a book you'll be hard-pressed to put down. Highly recommended to any fantasy reader.
4.5 stars
Do you get feelings about obscure books? You see a cover, hear good things about an author, scan a blurb, and/or are partial to a publisher, so you get a feeling--more of an educated guess, really--and that makes you choose a book that otherwise would have been completely overlooked?
I used to do that fairly regularly. Not so much anymore (b/c no time for that nonsense).
BUT. That's exactly what happened here, and it's the best gamble I've made in a long, long time.
Simply put, BELL WEATHER is a fantasy. But it's a very strange fantasy.
What if when Spain and France and England decided to colonize the Americas they discovered a land saturated with magic? What if the native peoples not only worshipped various aspects of nature, but were so closely tied to them they were an extension of those aspects? What if rain sometimes fell up into the sky, and light sometimes fell like rain?
That's the only way I can think of to describe this world. It's not the Americas and various Europeans are not the settlers, but they walk and talk and quack like colonial Americans . . .
The story opens in the midst of a flood. A flood of flowers. Flowers that may or may not float up from the bottom of the river bed, and they do this at the same time every year.
An annual flower flood.
The river and it's banks are so covered with blossoms that Tom Orange almost doesn't see the unconscious woman in a floral print dress, clinging tenaciously to a tree branch as she is swiftly carried toward the falls that Tom has no hope of her surviving should he not reach her before she goes over.
I felt the urgency, trying to keep pace with Tom as he recklessly rode through bog and trees to rescue the maybe-already-dead-women. I had to stop several times, forcing myself to read more slowly, my eyes continually attempting to dart ahead.
The rescued woman is a mystery.
There are only so many places she could have come from (exactly three), but she claims to have no knowledge of what came before her near drowning. The only thing she seems to know is that her name is Molly.
FUN FACT: the name Molly means "ocean of bitterness" or "RIVER of dissent."
Heh.
Beyond the spectacular world-building and mystery of Molly's origins, BELL WEATHER is fraking hilarious.
Tom owns and manages a tavern. The tavern, in fact, as it's the only one in Root, and Root is the only settlement on the quickest land route (HA!) between the two major settlements on the continent.
His employees include his ran-away-from-home cousin Bess, a mute he has become adept at deciphering, and a crone so old even the elderly of Root can't remember a time when she was young.
An old and superstitious crone:
“Any trouble while I was gone?”
“Someone hexed my right hand—I haven’t determined who—and I could not make a fist until I finally guessed the healing word and scrawled it down with ash. Otherwise, no."
An old, superstitious, and rather cantankerous crone:
Tom entered the Orange and bounded up the stairs between the taproom and the parlor, both of which looked empty at a glance, and squinted in the darkness after so much sun. He pressed past his ancient cook, Nabby, who knelt below the landing with a bucket and rags, wiping blood off the steps and angry with him now, not only for his pell-mell approach but for sloshing her water, bumping her head, and tracking mud where she had cleaned the minute before he came.
“And break my neck while you’re at it,” Nabby said, “and then you’ll have a broke-neck cook and a poor tongueless wretch and I should like to see you keep an orderly tavern after that.”
Also on the premises is a cat likely as old as the crone:
Tom hesitated, thinking he had made Pitt hiss. Rather it was Scratch, the cat who stalked the Orange. He’d been hiding on a step between the men without a sound and now he crouched, fierce and mangy, and defended his position. He was missing half an ear and had a milky left eye, and his decrepit coat was battle scarred and stank of rotting offal. Scratch vanished and appeared several times a week and threatened man, woman, and child with bites, sprays, scratches, and underfoot tangles that occurred too often not to be intentional. Tom had known the cat since time out of mind. According to Nabby, the oldest woman in Root, Scratch had been around since she was a girl. The sole explanation for the cat’s longevity—excluding the assumption that the creature was demonic—was that every ten or fifteen years for nearly a century, Scratch had spawned an identical heir, who presumably killed his parents and returned, by feral instinct, to terrorize the Orange.
The funniest incidents by far involve Molly, but you'll have to take my word on that b/c spoilers.
However, it is not all fun and games.
There is darkness in the past of many of the characters, as well as a band of thieves who steal "the most valuable part" of their victims plaguing the present.
The humor merely breaks up this darkness so you don't become woebegone (and thank goodness for that).
BELL WEATHER by Dennis Mahoney was a wonderful discovery. Between the fantastical world, the hilarious characters, and a criminal mind made all the more frightening for his mad genius, this is a book you'll be hard-pressed to put down. Highly recommended to any fantasy reader.
July 8, 2015
Dennis Mahoney might just have invented a whole new genre.
“Bell Weather” is a historic epic set in Colonial times, just not our own. It has a touch of magic realism, a whiff of fantasy. There are elements of mystery and horror. Most of all, it’s a non-stop adventure story.
And with a proto-feminist (one assumes, if Colonial Floria is at all like ours) female lead character, to boot. Molly Bell is a heroine for the ages. This scrappy, brave, infuriating, exciting and unstoppable young woman is beyond captivating, and if the promise of more books in this series holds true, she’ll take her place among the great ladies of literature.
There is such a surety in Mahoney’s writing, such craftsmanship and such trust in his own abilities, that you in turn trust him implicitly to take you on this wild ride. He’s not only created an authentic world, complete with strange flora, fauna and weather, but he’s done it without letting the effort show. This is the work of a true artist and a master storyteller.
He’s also written it all with just a hint of formality (in both dialogue and narrative), at once wholly believable and true to the time yet totally accessible and engaging. And everywhere the humanity shines through.
Nature is as much a character in this as are Molly and her sometimes taciturn paramour, Tom Orange (as well as the many other skillfully rendered rogues and allies that people these pages). Root and Floria and Bruntland and the whole planet Mahoney’s invented gets deep into your senses. You can see, smell, taste, hear and feel everything.
Think of “Bell Weather” like this: it’s a mix of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and the romantic fictions of Jane Austen, thrown back to the century before, and then seasoned with the kind of North American magic realism notes found in some works by Louise Erdrich or Mark Helprin. And that still doesn’t come close to doing it justice.
But let’s forget all this. If you want a rousing, propulsive, inventive, unusual and unique adventure tale, this is the book you need. If you were a fan of Mahoney’s debut novel, “Fellow Mortals,” a much more plainspoken contemporary and literary novel about the connections that bind us, and you think this new one won’t be your cup of smoak (you have to read it to get the reference), rest assured; there are many similarities between the two: Mahoney’s skillful characterizations; the emphasis on nature; a narrative drive that never lags; animals as fully realized characters; a protagonist that never quits, for good and bad; sly humor.
Simply put, read “Bell Weather.” Now. It’s the book of the summer, the book of the year.
September 22, 2015
'Bell Weather,' by Dennis Mahoney is a good solid read. I would have liked a bit more fantasy, but the author made up for it with an engaging plot. Nicholas and Molly Bell, brother and sister, raised mostly by their governess, Frances, since their Mother died during Molly's birth, have a particular and unique bond. Their father was not a kind or caring man, but rather authoritarian. During a prolonged absence, the father hires a strict and unkind governess to replace their beloved Frances. Mrs. Wickware would be enough to bend the spirit of any child. Molly's and Nicholas's personalities are developed greatly by circumstances that occur under the new governess. That's the first part of the tale. The second part has to do with Tom Orange, the owner of a tavern in the land, called, Floria, across the ocean. In the township of Root, in Floria, sometimes it rains up, and electrical phonomena envelops objects and people with no harm, unless another person detonates the charge. Suffice it to say, these fantasy elements create interest. Tom Orange has an ongoing argument with Sherriff Pitts related to ownership of the tavern. Eventually Molly and Nicholas make their way to Floria, but with many adventures occurring before they ever set foot in the New World. Molly is an unlikely heroine, generally leaving a trail of devastation in her path.
Mahoney develops his characters with skill. Actions of the characters are credible because Mahoney lays a good foundation. The plot takes a few surprising twists but in the end leaves some questions unanswered.
Mahoney develops his characters with skill. Actions of the characters are credible because Mahoney lays a good foundation. The plot takes a few surprising twists but in the end leaves some questions unanswered.
October 5, 2017
Couldn't do it. Not sure what everyone is talking about, "well-written," but I found myself rolling my eyes at cliches and tropes and lazy writing throughout. Not to mention, the way he writes females is excessively saturated with the male gaze. When a six year old girl observed the bouncing breasts of her governess, I knew it was over. I read until about page 40... and then skimmed ahead to page 100 and then decided to quit. Onto the next.
May 28, 2015
Bell Weather had, for me, a sort of Firefly/Serenity feel to it, though set in a colonial/revolutionary war type alter-world rather than the future. The land of Floria, with its quirks and foibles of St. Verna's Fire, winterbears, and deadfall, that brutal end of summer, were as much characters of the book as the humans whose stories unfold and intertwine. I truly hope that Bell Weather is a bellwether for more from Dennis Mahoney featuring the world and characters he so skillfully related.
Quick plot summary: Tom Orange pulls a woman from a raging river, thus changing the world as he knows it forever. Molly claims to have lost her memory, but it soon becomes clear that she is hiding much, and that the as terrors of the world of Floria will come to the village she now resides, truths will have to be untangled. The tale is told in alternating time frames, with the backstory as compelling as the main.
An Advanced reader copy turned up at my door in a brown paper parcel. No clue how it got there, but I'm glad it did. Scheduled for publication in July 2015.
Quick plot summary: Tom Orange pulls a woman from a raging river, thus changing the world as he knows it forever. Molly claims to have lost her memory, but it soon becomes clear that she is hiding much, and that the as terrors of the world of Floria will come to the village she now resides, truths will have to be untangled. The tale is told in alternating time frames, with the backstory as compelling as the main.
An Advanced reader copy turned up at my door in a brown paper parcel. No clue how it got there, but I'm glad it did. Scheduled for publication in July 2015.
December 18, 2014
I had the great good fortune of reading BELL WEATHER before its publication, and was blown away by the intricacy of the plot, the brilliant use of magic realism, and the incredible balance in this constellation of characters and desires. I've been a fan of Mahoney since his criminally underappreciated début, the contemporary drama FELLOW MORTALS. BELL WEATHER operates in another world entirely, with much grander ambitions and even richer rewards.
BELL WEATHER is set in an alternate world, a sort of funhouse-mirror reflection of Europe in the merchant age and America in its colonial days. While Mahoney could have used these places literally and crafted a more straightforward (though certainly action-packed) historical novel, he chooses instead to keep the reader always slightly off-balance through the introduction of what I will call magic naturalism - fascinatingly surreal animals, plants, and even weather patterns, all of which manage to hover right on the balance of credulity. The result is that the settings of the novel give the impression of being familiar and strange at the same time, and everything that happens on this stage has a heightened intensity, much like the colors on the cover of the book.
BELL WEATHER is the epic story of a woman whose struggle to determine her own life sets her down a path that spans years, an ocean, and too many adventures and reversals of fortune to be counted. The manner in which her life intertwines with her brother's is the most explicit link to FELLOW MORTALS - Mahoney seems to have both a fascination and a talent for crafting close relationships and their ever-shifting dynamics. These siblings have everything short of an actual love affair, even posing as husband and wife for an extended period of the story. (That is not a spoiler; the ruse in no way prevents our heroine from finding a number of romantic foils, including a great love who always seems to be just out of reach or moving in the wrong direction.) The brilliance of the novel is that every episode in this tale interlocks with every other one - seeds are sown on every stretch that flower in completely unanticipated ways as the story unfolds.
I can locate another similarity between BELL WEATHER and FELLOW MORTALS: They both possess a freshness - an anachronistic nature that sets them apart from much of the fiction that is being published in this time. It would be completely plausible that these books had been written forty or even sixty years ago, in the midst of great American literary eras. (I just finished Robert Penn Warren's WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME and found myself repeatedly making positive comparisons to BELL WEATHER for their structure and confident complexity.)
I fully believe BELL WEATHER will be one of the major publishing events of 2015 because of its originality and its mastery of storytelling. Mahoney continues to be a writer to watch.
BELL WEATHER is set in an alternate world, a sort of funhouse-mirror reflection of Europe in the merchant age and America in its colonial days. While Mahoney could have used these places literally and crafted a more straightforward (though certainly action-packed) historical novel, he chooses instead to keep the reader always slightly off-balance through the introduction of what I will call magic naturalism - fascinatingly surreal animals, plants, and even weather patterns, all of which manage to hover right on the balance of credulity. The result is that the settings of the novel give the impression of being familiar and strange at the same time, and everything that happens on this stage has a heightened intensity, much like the colors on the cover of the book.
BELL WEATHER is the epic story of a woman whose struggle to determine her own life sets her down a path that spans years, an ocean, and too many adventures and reversals of fortune to be counted. The manner in which her life intertwines with her brother's is the most explicit link to FELLOW MORTALS - Mahoney seems to have both a fascination and a talent for crafting close relationships and their ever-shifting dynamics. These siblings have everything short of an actual love affair, even posing as husband and wife for an extended period of the story. (That is not a spoiler; the ruse in no way prevents our heroine from finding a number of romantic foils, including a great love who always seems to be just out of reach or moving in the wrong direction.) The brilliance of the novel is that every episode in this tale interlocks with every other one - seeds are sown on every stretch that flower in completely unanticipated ways as the story unfolds.
I can locate another similarity between BELL WEATHER and FELLOW MORTALS: They both possess a freshness - an anachronistic nature that sets them apart from much of the fiction that is being published in this time. It would be completely plausible that these books had been written forty or even sixty years ago, in the midst of great American literary eras. (I just finished Robert Penn Warren's WORLD ENOUGH AND TIME and found myself repeatedly making positive comparisons to BELL WEATHER for their structure and confident complexity.)
I fully believe BELL WEATHER will be one of the major publishing events of 2015 because of its originality and its mastery of storytelling. Mahoney continues to be a writer to watch.
May 1, 2017
I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
There were so many things that I loved about this book. The world that Dennis Mahoney has created has elements of reality but also fantasy. The land of Floria, and around Root in particular sounds incredible with all of the various weather phenomena, such as St. Verna's Fire, and wildlife, such as the winterbears. The author describes everything in rich detail but not to the point where the descriptions clog up the story. The entire plot was so intricately woven that it kept me on my toes. The characters are all unique and fascinating in their own ways. When I first read about the sickly brother named Nicholas as a child, I never dreamed that he would become a master manipulator and conspirator. From the moment that Tom pulled Molly from the river, I wanted to know everything about her. I was not disappointed because I was soon treated with learning about her from birth through childhood and how she came to Floria from Bruntland. I became attached to her character and hoped she would get the happy ending she so deserved.
There were only a couple of things I felt were missing from this book. There are many mentions of Abigail being a Lumenist and a few mentions of John Lumen, the man the religion is based on but there aren't any real descriptions of what the religion entails. I think it would have been interesting to get a little more background on Lumenism. There were also mentions of the different indigenous people that inhabited Floria but never got to meet any of them in the story. Looking at other's reviews I've seen mentions of this being a possible series (I hope so!) and perhaps the author will go into more detail in future books?
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be recommending it!
There were so many things that I loved about this book. The world that Dennis Mahoney has created has elements of reality but also fantasy. The land of Floria, and around Root in particular sounds incredible with all of the various weather phenomena, such as St. Verna's Fire, and wildlife, such as the winterbears. The author describes everything in rich detail but not to the point where the descriptions clog up the story. The entire plot was so intricately woven that it kept me on my toes. The characters are all unique and fascinating in their own ways. When I first read about the sickly brother named Nicholas as a child, I never dreamed that he would become a master manipulator and conspirator. From the moment that Tom pulled Molly from the river, I wanted to know everything about her. I was not disappointed because I was soon treated with learning about her from birth through childhood and how she came to Floria from Bruntland. I became attached to her character and hoped she would get the happy ending she so deserved.
There were only a couple of things I felt were missing from this book. There are many mentions of Abigail being a Lumenist and a few mentions of John Lumen, the man the religion is based on but there aren't any real descriptions of what the religion entails. I think it would have been interesting to get a little more background on Lumenism. There were also mentions of the different indigenous people that inhabited Floria but never got to meet any of them in the story. Looking at other's reviews I've seen mentions of this being a possible series (I hope so!) and perhaps the author will go into more detail in future books?
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will definitely be recommending it!
March 4, 2017
God could I not give into this book. A few days after I got the audiobook I came to the realization that I was not actually listening to it. I had the opportunity, but I kept avoiding it for podcasts. Why? Because I was in no way invested.
First off, I totally misread the book jacket the first time. I thought this took place in colonial FLORIDA, and I was excepting a Southern Gothic fantasy a la Kiernan. Nope, this is FLORIA, a standard Dungeons and Dragons small town full of not-really-characters with wooden dialogue and roles. It all felt so surface level. Oh, there's a group of BLACK-CLOAKED THUGS on the OUTSKIRTS OF OUR FORESTED TOWN attacking villagers? Oh, we're going to break away from a boring scene with a FLASHBACK TO OUR PROTAGONIST'S BIRTH where the language shows NO EMOTION WHATSOEVER? No thanks.
If this book had a great setting, I might give it a few more hours. But I don't know what anyone is talking about: I did not get that sense at all. The language was good at points but fell into many tropes and missed a handful too many opportunities for me to give it that much credit. I just couldn't stick with it.
First off, I totally misread the book jacket the first time. I thought this took place in colonial FLORIDA, and I was excepting a Southern Gothic fantasy a la Kiernan. Nope, this is FLORIA, a standard Dungeons and Dragons small town full of not-really-characters with wooden dialogue and roles. It all felt so surface level. Oh, there's a group of BLACK-CLOAKED THUGS on the OUTSKIRTS OF OUR FORESTED TOWN attacking villagers? Oh, we're going to break away from a boring scene with a FLASHBACK TO OUR PROTAGONIST'S BIRTH where the language shows NO EMOTION WHATSOEVER? No thanks.
If this book had a great setting, I might give it a few more hours. But I don't know what anyone is talking about: I did not get that sense at all. The language was good at points but fell into many tropes and missed a handful too many opportunities for me to give it that much credit. I just couldn't stick with it.
August 22, 2015
Have never read a book before that so loudly screamed "sequel"! With plot points left dangling in the wind, the story kinda just stop rather than ends. It is a rollicking tale on the order of "Princess Bride". Reading it felt like being a kid again at the Saturday cinema watching the serials like "Buck Rogers" before the main event. Most successful is Mahoney's imagineering of a new world containing exploding squashes and floating rain, among other delights. Least successful are the cardboard characters whose motivations and driving passions are left a mystery right up to the end. Except for the graphic sex, the book reads like a YA fantasy. Curiously. as others have mentioned, I found the book slow to get into; the beginning is lackadaisical and leisurely. But once the story gets going, it tumbles along at a good clip with one improbable event after another. And then stops. But,the ride along the way was fun.
April 18, 2015
I was impressed by the quality of the writing in this book but not so much with the plot or the development. It all begins well with the tyrannical and unpredictable figure of Lord Bell, easily the most entertaining character. But he shuffles off to Buffalo around page 60 and takes the better part of the novel with him. The remainder plods along with increasingly unlikely events, one in particular that's so far-fetched as to be next to impossible. A group of nasty individuals called the maimers appear early on but wind up being akin to window dressing and don't contribute to the story. And I had a tough time believing who was behind them. Essentially four star writing with a two star plot.
February 28, 2015
I got this book from the First Reads program. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I quickly fell in love with the world and the characters. I enjoyed learning about Molly's past little by little. And the revelation about the maimers and about how Molly ended up in the river really surprised me. And now I have to wait more than a year for the next book :(.
PS. Molly reminds me of Jacky from the Bloody Jack series. The way she is wild and impulsive, but always with her heart in the right place.
PS. Molly reminds me of Jacky from the Bloody Jack series. The way she is wild and impulsive, but always with her heart in the right place.
June 17, 2015
When my dear friend told me this book had a Firefly feel to it, I told her I was sold and would love to read it. She kindly loaned me her ARC. I could well imagine Tom Orange as my favorite Captain, and enjoyed the new world I was introduced to. I'm usually not a fan of alternate worlds or histories, but I liked the blend of mystery in this novel. I would like to see more from this world, but not from the main characters in this novel...I'd like to keep my imagined future for them.
January 26, 2018
Actually trash. Y’all are on something if you think this drivel is any good. Also, if I wanted to objectify women (and their boobs) as much as this book did (omg boobs), I’d rather go to a strip club (for the boobs).
July 23, 2019
Engaging from the opening sentences. Very nicely executed plot twist, gut-wrenching emotional scenes, and just enough humor to avoid drowning. Will read again!
March 1, 2021
And with that, it is done!
I'm not entirely sure what I think about this book. It wasn't a difficult read, I loved the way it was written. None of the characters were overly unpleasant. I actually have quite the love for Dear Nicholas. Maybe it's his razer sharp intelligence and amorality. There is no denying the love he has for his sister... The end wasn't exactly what I expect but neither was I surprised. After following Molly through the entirety of her story, she'd of course get her happy ending, as happy as it can be anyway.
I can't pin down a single reason that the rating is a four and not a five. I just couldn't say I loved it. I'd recommend it for sure. As I read I was easily drawn into the story and world but when I stepped away from it I felt no need to return. It wasn't a book that follows you around and tempts you but it was undeniably interesting while actively engaged.
I'm not entirely sure what I think about this book. It wasn't a difficult read, I loved the way it was written. None of the characters were overly unpleasant. I actually have quite the love for Dear Nicholas. Maybe it's his razer sharp intelligence and amorality. There is no denying the love he has for his sister... The end wasn't exactly what I expect but neither was I surprised. After following Molly through the entirety of her story, she'd of course get her happy ending, as happy as it can be anyway.
I can't pin down a single reason that the rating is a four and not a five. I just couldn't say I loved it. I'd recommend it for sure. As I read I was easily drawn into the story and world but when I stepped away from it I felt no need to return. It wasn't a book that follows you around and tempts you but it was undeniably interesting while actively engaged.
January 10, 2024
Loved this book. Hummingbats, floods of flowers, and rain that travels upward.
A young lady brought up in a very restrictive life searching for freedom, love, family, and peace. Magical. Adventure. Some harsh parts but this story was absolutely beautiful. The authors prose was beautiful and brilliant. Why didn't he write more books????
A young lady brought up in a very restrictive life searching for freedom, love, family, and peace. Magical. Adventure. Some harsh parts but this story was absolutely beautiful. The authors prose was beautiful and brilliant. Why didn't he write more books????
October 11, 2017
This book kept my attention and was an interesting plot. Not my favorite book, but it certainly kept my attention. The fantasy aspect of this was a little challenging and made it harder to follow, but overall the plot was interesting. It was at times creepy the sister/brother relationship in the story, but it didn't seem unrealistic.
June 25, 2018
One of the reasons my favourite literary device is magical realism is that it's so very... variable.
An author can turn it on to the lowest setting and a reader might not even notice the adjustment, just walk away sensing that the realistic-setting novel they just read seemed a bit more warm or even magical feeling than normal. To the other extreme, jacking that magical realism up to the breaking point, the author courts a fantasy categorization and it's up to the individual author - and their readers - to decide for themselves whether it tips over into that genre.
A lot of readers have identified this novel as being a fantasy, with certainty. I'm going to go ahead and declare it to be magical realism, for my personalized categorization, while easily acknowledging that I completely understand why anyone wants to call it a fantasy.
And I loved the magical realism here. So much so that it makes me sad to realize I haven't read much magical realism lately, despite it being my favourite. Henry Holt kindly allowed me a digital advanced copy of Mahoney's second novel and I spent a lot of time selecting words and checking them against the dictionary to see if they were real. Some things, like the winterbears, were clearly created by the author but other things, like food, I never knew until I looked it up as to whether it was a real thing or not. This is because Mahoney does a fantastic job of integrating the real-life elements with the bordering-on-fantasy elements, conjuring a magical world that is addictive.
"Cravens spiraled by, making Molly flinch. These were tiny black birds that traveled by the hundred, terrified of everything and huddled into swarms. They flew towards a tree but the tree scared them off, and so they whirled, dark and fluid, in a smooth gorgeous panic."
I made the decision to consider this magical realism because when one first starts reading it, it feels like a novel set simply during colonization in, say, the eastern United States. Despite there being plants and creatures and definitely weather events - these were my favourite element, actually - that were clearly not of our normal environment, they only bordered or slightly bled into the supernatural or fantasy elements.
There is a bit of messiness here. Please recognize that the edition that I read of this novel was an advanced reader's copy (this should also be taken into consideration with the above quote), and so it's entirely possible that some things were smoothed out and changed before the actual publication. Given that, at least in the copy I read, there were some seemingly disjointed jumps that were confusing. I'd be reading along, turn the digital page, and feel like I must've skipped a page because I was confused by what I next read - but I'd go back and that wasn't the case. It happened frequently with transitions within a scene, and I wasn't sure of this was intended to be a literary technique or maybe simply that some minor editing was needed.
But these complaints are tiny. I've read rumors online (though I have been unable to verify them), that there's a sequel intended. The ending could indicate a mostly-resolution but does veer more towards a possible sequel, which would make me happy. I'll definitely pick it up, if so.
An author can turn it on to the lowest setting and a reader might not even notice the adjustment, just walk away sensing that the realistic-setting novel they just read seemed a bit more warm or even magical feeling than normal. To the other extreme, jacking that magical realism up to the breaking point, the author courts a fantasy categorization and it's up to the individual author - and their readers - to decide for themselves whether it tips over into that genre.
A lot of readers have identified this novel as being a fantasy, with certainty. I'm going to go ahead and declare it to be magical realism, for my personalized categorization, while easily acknowledging that I completely understand why anyone wants to call it a fantasy.
And I loved the magical realism here. So much so that it makes me sad to realize I haven't read much magical realism lately, despite it being my favourite. Henry Holt kindly allowed me a digital advanced copy of Mahoney's second novel and I spent a lot of time selecting words and checking them against the dictionary to see if they were real. Some things, like the winterbears, were clearly created by the author but other things, like food, I never knew until I looked it up as to whether it was a real thing or not. This is because Mahoney does a fantastic job of integrating the real-life elements with the bordering-on-fantasy elements, conjuring a magical world that is addictive.
"Cravens spiraled by, making Molly flinch. These were tiny black birds that traveled by the hundred, terrified of everything and huddled into swarms. They flew towards a tree but the tree scared them off, and so they whirled, dark and fluid, in a smooth gorgeous panic."
I made the decision to consider this magical realism because when one first starts reading it, it feels like a novel set simply during colonization in, say, the eastern United States. Despite there being plants and creatures and definitely weather events - these were my favourite element, actually - that were clearly not of our normal environment, they only bordered or slightly bled into the supernatural or fantasy elements.
There is a bit of messiness here. Please recognize that the edition that I read of this novel was an advanced reader's copy (this should also be taken into consideration with the above quote), and so it's entirely possible that some things were smoothed out and changed before the actual publication. Given that, at least in the copy I read, there were some seemingly disjointed jumps that were confusing. I'd be reading along, turn the digital page, and feel like I must've skipped a page because I was confused by what I next read - but I'd go back and that wasn't the case. It happened frequently with transitions within a scene, and I wasn't sure of this was intended to be a literary technique or maybe simply that some minor editing was needed.
But these complaints are tiny. I've read rumors online (though I have been unable to verify them), that there's a sequel intended. The ending could indicate a mostly-resolution but does veer more towards a possible sequel, which would make me happy. I'll definitely pick it up, if so.
July 28, 2015
I loved Mahoney's debut, FELLOW MORTALS, which was literary fiction he seems to now consider a bit small and anemic. (I beg to differ.) This is also well written and actually carries some of the same themes. At its heart it is about the central relationship between a man and a woman who are both strong but flawed in ways guaranteed to cause them trouble. Here they are not already married, which does allow for some welcome romantic suspense. Here again there is male rivalry and friendship with errors of omission or commission by our heroes. Here again are the ties that bind – and can quickly sunder -- a small community. Here again there’s the wilderness – some woods in the first novel, and practically an entire continent in this one.
This is where BELL WEATHER really makes its mark as what I would call literary fantasy. (Some call it magical realism, and maybe it is.) My greatest joy in this read was the re-visioning of what I feel sure is colonial upstate New York (exactly where Mahoney and I both live -- official disclaimer: I've spoken to him at the local bookstore a couple of times and online as a local author). In the colonial outpost Root, you don't just need to gather in the squash before winter, you need to pick the “ember gourds” before they burst into flames and burn down your barn. The first killing frost is "Deadfall," and brutal cold literally falls out of the air in filaments. The effect is realistic historical action adventure on just a bit of an acid trip, and I delighted in every bit of that.
You’ll also find interesting, well-developed characters, strong writing throughout, and a plot that moves quickly and takes A LOT of unpredictable turns. If I sometimes got impatient with narrative shifts, implausible survivals, and the increasingly warped relationship between Molly and a character who ended up reminding me a bit of Moriarty, that’s probably just me. I'm just not a big reader of action adventure or fantasy.
This is meant to be the start of the series, and I can see how it could continue to be quite entertaining. I personally hope it plays off historical tensions with mother England (or Bruntland) a bit more than it pursues the Moriarty-ish plot line, but I’d expect to be in the minority in that. The fact that I’m sitting here envisioning what it might be suggests just how engrossing a world BELL WEATHER delivers.
This is where BELL WEATHER really makes its mark as what I would call literary fantasy. (Some call it magical realism, and maybe it is.) My greatest joy in this read was the re-visioning of what I feel sure is colonial upstate New York (exactly where Mahoney and I both live -- official disclaimer: I've spoken to him at the local bookstore a couple of times and online as a local author). In the colonial outpost Root, you don't just need to gather in the squash before winter, you need to pick the “ember gourds” before they burst into flames and burn down your barn. The first killing frost is "Deadfall," and brutal cold literally falls out of the air in filaments. The effect is realistic historical action adventure on just a bit of an acid trip, and I delighted in every bit of that.
You’ll also find interesting, well-developed characters, strong writing throughout, and a plot that moves quickly and takes A LOT of unpredictable turns. If I sometimes got impatient with narrative shifts, implausible survivals, and the increasingly warped relationship between Molly and a character who ended up reminding me a bit of Moriarty, that’s probably just me. I'm just not a big reader of action adventure or fantasy.
This is meant to be the start of the series, and I can see how it could continue to be quite entertaining. I personally hope it plays off historical tensions with mother England (or Bruntland) a bit more than it pursues the Moriarty-ish plot line, but I’d expect to be in the minority in that. The fact that I’m sitting here envisioning what it might be suggests just how engrossing a world BELL WEATHER delivers.
November 10, 2015
This is a pretty quiet and unassuming fantastic-historical fiction with hints of magic. Set in an alternate 18th century, a tavernkeeper of a small, isolated town in a "newly-settled" continent (if you only focus on the British-like empire, rather than the continent's natives, who are said to be children of the forest) rescues a woman from the river. In the course of the next few weeks, her mysterious past and secrets are revealed.
The tavernkeeper is a war hero, which gives him some respect in town, but he's continually at odds with the local sheriff, a rival who had also gone to war but never had the opportunity to stand out. This ratchets the tensions up, as there is a suspicion that the woman -- conveniently amnesiac from her injuries, she claims -- may be involved with "Maimers." This refers to a group of bandits who had cut off the town from travellers in recent months -- in addition to cutting off people's most valuable parts (for example, removing a peddler's feet, or a brave man's 'manhood').
The woman's true history is fascinating and relayed mostly in flashback, whereas the equally interesting but less eventful history of the tavernkeeper is related via gossip as the woman in turn learns about the town she washed up into. I classified it as fantasy but that's overselling it; this is a historical novel set in an alternate 18th century in a North America-esque frontier equivalent. I liked it.
The tavernkeeper is a war hero, which gives him some respect in town, but he's continually at odds with the local sheriff, a rival who had also gone to war but never had the opportunity to stand out. This ratchets the tensions up, as there is a suspicion that the woman -- conveniently amnesiac from her injuries, she claims -- may be involved with "Maimers." This refers to a group of bandits who had cut off the town from travellers in recent months -- in addition to cutting off people's most valuable parts (for example, removing a peddler's feet, or a brave man's 'manhood').
The woman's true history is fascinating and relayed mostly in flashback, whereas the equally interesting but less eventful history of the tavernkeeper is related via gossip as the woman in turn learns about the town she washed up into. I classified it as fantasy but that's overselling it; this is a historical novel set in an alternate 18th century in a North America-esque frontier equivalent. I liked it.
October 5, 2015
First, this cover is lovely, the greens and blues of the nature are just wonderful. A very good visual for the colony of Floria, which is a land of very unusual natural phenomenon, such as Upmist, rain that falls up and light storms that are like raining light. Fantastical, yet posed to the reader in such a way that it seems wondrous but completely natural for this land. The characters of Molly Bell and Tom Orange are awesome, they develop one of those quiet love stories where their love is intense and strong but slow to catch and simmers for a while, this type is quickly becoming one of my favorite types of love to see in a book. The story is about the mystery of Molly Bell, who has much to hide and a very tangled relationship with all that she touches. The other element of the story, the Maimers; a band of highway men who steal whatever is most precious to a traveler ( for instance the tongue of a lawyer) are very intriguing. Where did they come from, what is their purpose, they are wholly unique.
June 4, 2015
I haven't read anything in the magical realism genre in quite a while, and this felt pretty close. I reflected several times that this novel had a One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez feel to it. The characters were well fleshed out and interesting, though I'll admit to not feeling terribly connected to them. Molly kind of irked me, as some of her behavior felt over the top. Tom was interesting, and I would have probably enjoyed reading the entire novel about just him. It's funny how that happens--being drawn to one character and not the rest. Otherwise, the novel was well written and set up, though there were some slow parts and I did feel as drawn into it as I would have liked. I guess I would say it's just not my kind of book.
August 5, 2015
What a treat! I became a fan of Dennis Mahoney after reading his debut, Fellow Mortals. That book took my breath away. And his new novel is very different. It unfolds slowly at first, but press on. The world he creates is captivating; by the time it wraps up, you get that feeling of having to leave a place you've grown to love deeply. The characters are real and honest and layered, their actions far from predictable or stereotypical. I get the feeling a sequel may be in the works. Or maybe not. Things could just stay the way they end and that would be enough. A worthwhile read from a writer who excels at the craft of writing ...
June 22, 2016
This book was a nice surprise. It is set in the 1700s in a fantastical world. The main differences between our world and their imaginary world seemed to be the weather and the plants and animals. Strange weather patterns and even stranger plants provide an interesting background for the story.
The story starts off with the dramatic rescue of a drowning woman from a river. No one knows where she came from as she has an apparent case of amnesia. The story alternates between revealing the woman's past, and the present. I suppose I just really enjoyed her story.
The story starts off with the dramatic rescue of a drowning woman from a river. No one knows where she came from as she has an apparent case of amnesia. The story alternates between revealing the woman's past, and the present. I suppose I just really enjoyed her story.
March 4, 2015
Loved the world that author Dennis Mahoney created in this first of what I hope will be a long series. The details he included made it seem so real; the clinging lightning, the waterbreath, the stalker weeds, the colorwash showers, Quicksummer and the impending Deep Winter. They all provided the perfect backdrop to the story of Tom and Molly. I can't wait for the next in the series...hoping for the Kraw to make an appearance!
July 3, 2015
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway and I am so glad I did. I very much enjoyed the book. Dennis Mahoney creates a fantastical land in a place similar to Colonial America, but with plants and animals all it's own. The story about Molly and how she ends up in Root and then what happens, hooks you. The story is well paced and imaginative. All of the characters are interesting in their own ways and I would love to know more about them. I definitely recommend this book.
July 1, 2017
The first half of this book, when Molly and Nicholas were young, was reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". I really like this author's writing style. I loved every single character. The cover though...a wonderful story like this is deserving of a much better cover than the bland one given to it. What was the publisher thinking?
August 3, 2015
I absolutely loved this book. I received a copy through a Goodreads giveaway and began reading it immediately. I won't go into a lengthy review as others have already done so, but I will say that I hope Dennis Mahoney intends to write another book with these characters. The writing was beautiful, the story was riveting and I completely enjoyed myself.
September 5, 2015
This book is incredible. It drew me in and I can not put it down... vivid imagery, an extremely imaginative story line, wonderful characters, outstanding dialog, and just strange enough to be captivating, not over the top. OK - a little over the top, but in the best possible way!
Don't miss this book.
Don't miss this book.
June 15, 2015
Just finished my advanced copy. Loved the book! Dennis creates a fantastic but believable world and his two protagonists are magnificent. Pure genius. Congratulations. Book will be available in July. Look for it!
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